Foreordained
by Sanctuary Memory
Summary: A collaboration X1999 fanfic.This is a complete retelling of the events of the manga. Hardly anything is the same as in the manga or anime series.What happens when two forces try to make their destinies come true? December 2009; Ch. 76/76 uploaded.
1. Disclaimer and Introductions

**X/1999: Foreordained  
By:**

**Michi, Hayato, Draye, Asalie, Yuzu, Sakura  
Cookie, Nick, Syndal, Kana, Void, Shiro,  
Mimi, Subaruxxx, and KC**

**Disclaimer:** X/1999 is copyright of CLAMP. We never claim these characters to be ours, only the plotline and the situations faced by the cast of X. This fanfic though, is copyright of the X/1999 group, and this is a compilation of all our writings, thanks to me, Michi (aka SanctuaryMemories). Reproduction is not allowed without the consent of us. Thank you, and enjoy. Sorry, also, for the messy-ness of this compilation. I tried my hardest to get everything together in the right order, but, it might not have worked out like I had originally planned, but I think, that you'll catch on to our style quickly, and enjoy it very much. There are a few original characters in here as well, and as such, I will provide you with their profiles at the end, so that you may understand the story fully.

ALSO, this fanfic is rated R. For sexual themes, language, and violence, incest, gore, angst, yaoi, and all that other good stuff. XD; (along with any pairing under the sun).

To the writers of this fic: I want to thank all of you for making the years that we wrote this my best yet. I made a lot of new friends, learned a lot, and had tons of fun. I made this compilation behind your backs, and therefore, when I finally finish the 1900+ bits and pieces of this story, and show you guys, you'll probably die, but hey, I love you all. Thank you!

**Please visit the other author's pages, because without their awesome skill, this wouldn't be here.**

Draye's works- Penname: Soren Stokes  
Asalie's works- Penname: NurikoLuver


	2. Original Character Profiles

**Original Character Profiles**

**_STATS_**

**Player: **Draye

**Name**: Chitsumi Kurai ("Darkest Sins of the Earth")

**Alias**: The Arbitrator

**Sex**: Male

**Age**: Unknown (appears to be about 27)

**Height**: 6'3

**Hair**: Stark ivory-silver, shoulder-blade-length, layered, straight, stringy

**Eyes**: Bright orange

**Place of Birth**: Unknown

**Relatives**: None

**Occupation**: Famous actor, started out as a male porn star

**Advantages**: Dry wit, unhuman powers, speed, seductiveness

**Weapon**: None (his life energy is sufficient)

_**APPEARANCE**_

Possessing a built yet lean stature, Kurai appears rather virile, yet his face is slender and fair enough to give him an almost feminine appeal. The most prominent quirks of Kurai's appearance are the multiple piercing on his body. His ears are pierced several times each--three on the left and five on the right. His right nostril is also pierced, as is his tongue and the middle of his lower lip. Both eyebrows are pierced--once on the right and three times on the left. Both of his nipples are pierced as well, as is his navel. His last piercing is on his...yeah, I think you get the idea.

_**PERSONALITY**_

Kurai has a very dark, dry sense of humor. He is not exactly cold, but rather sarcastic and droll. Toward those he despises, he can be extremely derisive and mocking. He has a sharp, acrid tongue, but usually remains quiet when not confronting someone he considers to be less than a waste of his time. He feigns getting close to people and is a player to the extreme, sleeping around with both girls and guys who admire him for his acting.

_**ABILITIES**_

Kurai's abilities are very similar to those of Shisa. As he is Shisa's polar opposite, his powers focus more on the chaotic forces of the Earth, as does Kurai's sinful nature. His capacities include teleporting, flying, becoming translucent so only a few people with enough energy in their auras can see him, an extremely powerful berserker mode, and a few others that will remain to be determined until later.

_**HISTORY**_

Created to represent the dark and sinful side of the Earth, Kurai is the exact opposite of Shisa in almost every way. He has never made any effort to hide himself from humanity, and in fact as become a part of it in his human form. Though he never had an actual human "birth," he has spent his entire human existence indulging in human sins, acquiring firsthand knowledge of how terrible the human race is and why it should be destroyed.

_**ROLE IN THE X RPG**_

Kurai's role is to prove humanity does not deserve to continue existing. Think of it as the roles of Chihaya and Kagetsuya in Earthian. Though he is not considered Shisa's partner in the least, he still shows up every once in a while to harass Shisa and give him a hard time. In reality, he does care for Shisa (probably the only being he actually is genuinely concerned about), and even saves his life a few times. However, he keeps this fact hidden from Shisa, as it might hinder his progress and reputation as the Arbitrator for the Earth. He has sworn that, when he dies--as he knows deep within himself is inevitable--it will be for Shisa's sake.

* * *

**_STATS_**

**Player: **Myke

**Name**: Dante Shikyoden (last name means "Death Legend")

**Alias**: Baal (as in the demon and the Babylonian word for "Lord")

**Status**: Evil

**Place of Birth**: Rome, Italy

**Sex**: Male

**Age**: 19

**Height**: 6'0

**Hair**: Long (trails down to his mid-back) straight blonde

**Eyes**: Octrine (Purple-green color)

**Relatives**: None that he cares for

**Occupation**: Security guard

**Advantages**: Magick skills, certain occult knowledge, some melee weapon training

**Weapon**: His powers

**Strengths/talents**: As powers go, Dante works with demons and fallen angels generally, summoning and controlling the forces of damnation and darkness to aid him. He's pretty good with computers and math. Its almost amazing that he has chosen to ally the side of the Dragons of Heaven even with his demonic powers. (Dante chooses to ally himself with the Dragons of Heaven as his demonic masters need human's vices and sins for power, without humanity, they falter and die.

**Weaknesses**: He's not extremely built and doesn't quite have enough common sense to get out of infantilism before his demonic masters (demons, devils, fallen angels) completely claim his soul. He has a bad temper even though he hides it to a certain degree. He dislikes Christians.

**Goals**: To gain more knowledge to perhaps eventually to become a spirit himself and own a layer of hell/abyss/whatever.

_**PERSONALITY**_

Dante is a young quiet man with a disturbing aura around him that most people rather not be around. He generally is viewed as a wanna-be goth as the way he acts at times. When he gets angry, its almost apparent even though he doesn't act it. He is usually dressed in red camouflage pants, a sleeveless shirt that says "Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven" with a white overcoat that has an emblem of bathometry on the back of it.

_**ABILITIES**_

As powers go, Dante works with demons and fallen angels generally through enchain chanting and seals, and summoning/controlling the raw forces of damnation and darkness to aid him. Special Chants--Will have them done, I came up with four main spells, one that calls upon the raw force of hell, one that summons a demon in the form of a double-edged sword which only he can wield and one that merges him with a demon for a short time and a defense spell that uses the shadows around him.

_**HISTORY**_

Dante was born to a female geodic (a form of magick that causes the user to call upon the name of God to control demons/angels/spirits and to summon them) magic and a Japanese businessman, they moved to Japan after an incident that leveled a city block in Rome. Dante has been training in the arts of Infantilism since he was 13 after he read onto his mother's works and figured that God is nigh dead when he tried her magicks and getting disowned by his parents when he turned 18 for it. Dante never did well in school and found that magick was his focus in life. Currently he works as a security guard for a small business and lives in an apartment by himself.

_**ROLE IN X**_

His role is to defend and help the members of the Dragons of Heaven as he views them as a hope for his demonic masters since demons do need human's vices, sins and souls to live on.

* * *

**Player: **Void Darkheart  
**Name: **Hikari Ryu

**Name Meaning: **Dragon of Light, Light Dragon

**Nickname: **Hikari

**Origins: **Japanese

**Age: **19

**Sex: **Both

**Appearance: **Lightly tanned, 5 foot 3, long brown hair, cerulean eyes.

Generally wears blue and black clothing that allows for freedom of

movement but isn't too tight. Usually has a book with him/her.

**Personality: **Generally shy and quiet.

**Hobbies: **Reading, walking, enjoying the outdoors.

**History: **Hikari was born as both male and female, but his/her parents

didn't have the money needed to have the surgery to make him/her one

gender. As such, Hikari's had to keep the fact that he/she is both

genders a secret. It has caused him/her to force others away from

him/her so as to keep his/her secret safe. Hikari's parents raised

him/her as a female at first, but when he/she was 8, they moved and

started to raise him/her as a male. This has given Hikari insight on

how to act as both genders. Hikari moved out as soon as he/she could,

and moved to Tokyo.

**Strengths and Talents: **Can be either gender that might be needed at

the time, with the proper clothes and all. Can control the element of

earth, able to create small contained earthquakes, barriers of earth,

and weapons made from the earth (though the amount of earthen

material used controls what kind of weapon can be made).

**Weaknesses: **Doesn't like to get too close to anyone due to trust

issues and all. Also has a curse that causes him/her to lose control

(as in not be able to use) of his/her powers randomly, and the chance

increase when he/she gets worked up during a fight.

**Goals: **To eventually decide which gender to be and get the money for

the surgery.

* * *

**Player: **KC  
**Name: **Tamashii Mayouko

**Name Meaning: **"Soul of a Lost Child"

**Nickname: **May.. It's her nickname from childhood because she hated her full name. Most people don't know that however and continue to call her Mayouko.

**Origins: **Japanese.

**Age: **22

**Sex: **Female

**Appearance **

Height: 6' 0"

Hair: Dark Brown, shoulder length, slightly wavy. It's usually kept up in a pony-tail at the base of her neck.

Eyes: Crimson near the irises and it turns to violet on the edges of her pupils

Clothes: Midnight blue button down blouse, and dove gray slacks. Black boots with a one inch heel(Feminine but practical ). A black trench coat. She also has a belt where she stores her two daggers and one of her throwing stars. The other throwing star and a smaller dagger are stored in secret compartment on the inside of her boots. She changes of course, she doesn't like to wear dresses all that much , but she will wear them if she's forced. These clothes are more of what she wears everyday.

**Personality:**  
Mayouko, like her brother is a cold and solitary person. She however is much more sinister then he is. She is very calculating and is quick to judge. She hates people that she feels are a waste of her time. She is arrogant and also seems to only care for herself. She doesn't talk to many people but when she does it's usually to sneer at them. Though her demeanor on the outside is snobby and unemotional, inside she is almost like a child. She wants things to be right in the world and she wants everyone to be happy. This "inner-child" however is usually locked up deep within herself and she doesn't let it out all that often.

**Hobbies: **Spying on people (especially her brother.. and no she doesn't love him that way.. she's just interested in his life that's all…), starting fights (even if she knows she going to get her ass kicked.. Draye can vouch for that.. right.. ;;;;; ), she also likes to read and write poetry

**History: **Mayouko was born three years after Yuurei. Shortly after her birth, her parents died mysteriously and Mayouko was sent to live in a succession of foster homes. She was quiet and very hard to handle. So every few months she would move. That didn't help her much, but she continued her education, which is the only thing that really kept her going. She loved to learn and she was smart. As her mind grew, she suddenly decided to go against everything and at 18 she left her foster home and headed out into the real world. She mixed in with people in the streets which is where she learned the rough way to fight and to spy on people. She got a low end secretary's job in the DIET building and one day happened to stumble upon the elevator that lead to Hinoto's quarters. There is spied and learned about her brother and his fate. It was at that point that she made it her objective to find him and watch the final battle. To this end, she started to hire herself out as an assassin. Her role in the final battle really doesn't exist, she's more there because she wants to confront her brother about the love he has for Kakyou. Let's just say her view about that aren't really that good…

**Strengths and Talents: **She's one determined woman. She'll fight even if she knows she's going to lose, and she always finishes what she sets out to do (or she tries at least). She's a good hand to hand fighter in the real world (the dream world is another story however).

**Weaknesses: **The love she has for her brother. Though she's never met him face-to-face she loves him all the same. Also she can travel into the dream-world but she is very vulnerable. It's not one of her major powers, so she can't stay for long periods of time and if she fights while in the dream world she is severely weakened. She also has a soft spot for children who live on the street( That's the inner-child coming out..).

**Weapons: **Three Daggers and Two Throwing Stars

**Powers: **Her life-force is only half of her older brother. Mayouko has the ability to create illusions, either in the real world or the dream world. She also can go into the dream world but she cannot stay there for long periods of time, it leaves her weak and drained of energy. She also can put some of her life- force into her weapons, making them deadlier and more accurate.

* * *

**_STATS  
_Player: **Draye

**Name**: Tamashii Yuurei ("Soul of a Ghost")

**Alias**: The Watcher

**Place of Birth**: Kyoutou

**Sex**: Male

**Age**: 25

**Height**: 6'10

**Hair**: Waist-long, straight, black/indigo

**Eyes**: Deep crimson

**Relatives**: None

**Occupation**: Master of a martial arts school, professor of philosophy

**Advantages**: Wit/intelligence, strength, martial skill, dream-watching

**Weapon**: None (his life energy is sufficient)

_**PERSONALITY**_

Yuurei is a cold, solitary individual by both nature and fate. Although he is inwardly extremely emotional, he rarely shows his feelings to the outside world. He scorns humanity's ignorance, but at the same time is pained by their death and endless suffering. He hates himself for not being able to stop the deaths of those he has watched since childhood, as he believes he could have. He enjoys being alone to think, and when he does speak with someone of his own free choosing, it is usually with Kakyou in his dreams. Training in martial arts is what most relaxes him, when he's not busy watching over the Dragons of Heaven and Earth. He has very few friends, but those he admires most are Kuzumi Kakyou and Sumeragi Subaru. He is most contemptuous of Monou Fuuma, since he was the one to act so roughly with Kakyou.

_**ABILITIES**_

Unlike Hinoto and Kakyou, Yuurei cannot see the future through dreams. He is more like Kanoe, able to enter the dreams of others without actually driving them in any particular way. That's why he's called The Watcher. Hinoto claims that he is the one being as powerful as Kamui himself or moreso, but he does not believe her. His energy level is extremely high, but the true extent of his abilities is never really confirmed.

_**HISTORY**_

Yuurei has been conscious of his destiny since his birth. What he did not know instinctively, Hinoto filled him in on the rest. She has had contact with him through her dreamseeing since his childhood. He first encountered Kakyou in his dreams when he was ten years old (three years older than Kakyou), and the two of them were close friends for about a year before Yuurei was told to break contact by Hinoto. From then on, he was not allowed to make any direct confrontation with any of the Seals or Angels until the appointed time. This is part of his fate: if he disobeys and attempts to interfere before that fated time, the penalty will be certain death. Only at the Final Battle would he be allowed to play his part, in finishing the job in case the "false Kamui" was to emerge the victor. Just which one was truly the imposter was his duty to judge. This is the future that Hinoto has predicted for him. Unfortunately, he never gets the chance to see it through.

_**ROLE IN X**_

His role is actually not that big. He has a few confrontational skirmishes with Kamui and the Seals and Angels on the off chances that they happen to catch him watching them. His first major appearance is just after the death of Kotori, when Kakyou interrupts Hinoto's confrontation with Kamui. This brings back a bunch of painful memories, and he disappears without saying much of anything. The most important aspect about his role is that, besides Kamui, he is the only one to break through his cursed fate. Hinoto foresaw that he would most certainly not interfere until the proper time, but when he learns of Kakyou's death wish, everything begins to fall apart. His one big fight scene is also his last, and his opponent, of course, is Monou Fuuma, Kamui's Twin Star. It is said afterward that he lived for Kakyou and died for Kakyou, and that he certainly was in love with Kakyou as well. But the ivory-haired Yume-mi already had his heart set on Sumeragi Hokuto, and so this was a foreshadowing to Yuurei's downfall. Yuurei had no will to live after this discovery, but he had no will to die, either. So he breathed his last breath for the one he loved most, and in doing so, broke the bonds of Fate.

* * *

**Player: **Nick  
**Name: **Soushi, Okita

**Name Meaning: **

Oki rushing water, rush, wet, things to do with wet, etc etc

Ta farming plot, farming lands, fields

Sou altogether, all in all, total

Ji attend, manage, department

**Nickname: **To his fan's he's known as the infamous J-rocker, Shreek

**Origins: **Japanese

**Age: **21

**Sex: **Male

**Appearance: **Okita wears the typical costumes a J-rocker would where, more to the traditions of the more techno Goth ones (Ie. Gackt, Malice Mizer, Hyde). His hair color changes but is bleached platinum blonde when the dye is washed out. He appears to have a very pale completion and very strange purple eyes. On his back is usually a nice Italian leather guitar case containing a custom electric guitar. (Note: No one will recognize him if he's not in his outrageous costumes so to escape fans he wears a t-shirt and black baggy jeans.)

**Personality: **Okita is a nice guy as most celebrities go. He feels good about doing charity work and giving donations. Yet inside him, he desperately searches for something to give him new found joy...something he hasn't done yet. He believes he's been there and done that with pretty much all of life's wonders. Thus he seeks his own demise so he can be born again from the flames...His artistic Dream. This is why his world must end...because only then can he achieve a new self.

**Hobbies: **Okita enjoys martial arts...mainly kata because he feels it to be artistic. Another thing he enjoys is writing music...for himself. He plays the piano usually to accomplish this but has been known to perform a few of his songs for albums. Okita also enjoys Shounen and Shoujo Manga.

**History: **Okita was born in old city of Kyoto. He grew up with his mother, father and little brother (5 years younger than him). He moved with his family when his father sought out a position in the Government. Since his father's election, the family has lived relatively well off so money was never a issue for Okita. Okita began playing the guitar at the age of six, almost instantly getting a real feel for music. He was one of the founding members of the visual Rock bands, Drath, who blew up to the top of the charts his senior year of high school. A year later he left the group on friendly terms to a start his solo career. Since then he has been #1 on the charts quite a number of times.

**Strengths and Talents: **Okita is obviously a talented musician. He can play piano and the guitar. He has skills in singing as well. Yet why is his music so perfect sound wise? Answer: Okita has the unique ability to modify sound to his wishes. He can amplify, change or cancel sounds with other sounds merely with a though. He can not create sound but he can use the sound of a penny hitting the floor to shatter a entire room's eardrums, (himself as well if he doesn't wear a set of headphones). He can also use the sound of a penny to warp into a sound wave of the same frequency to cancel out the sound of a oncoming car. Another use of the penny is an obvious one, using the penny to create a sound wave and knock or cut someone. Yet another one is changing his voice to sound like someone else by warping the sound of his voice to someone else's. The total control of sound makes a Okita a worthy adversary. Finally Okita's other specialty is riding his motorcycle insanely well. While popping a wheelie is beyond his skill, getting out of tight fixes by sheer driving l337 skills is not.

**Weaknesses: **Okita is obviously a girl/guy magnet due to his fame. (Saw the flaw and couldn't resist) These fan girls/boys usually get in Okita's way and could potentially end up being target practice for Fuuma. A major flaw for Okita is tuberculosis, causing him to every so often cough up blood and grow weak. This is a depressing fact in Okita's life, showing his mortality.

**Goals: **Rebirth, Something new awaiting him tomorrow...

**Etc: **Okita rides a customized Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle, modified for extreme speeds. His guitar is custom made and features the finest parts money can buy. He lives in a expensive house where he tends to his flower garden daily.

* * *

**Player: **Kana  
**Name: **Tokuichi Shouri

**Meaning: **Virtuous One (Tokuichi) Guardian (Shouri)

**Gender: **Male

**Age: **Uncertain- supposedly in his late teens or early twenties

**Birthday: **December 12

**Zodiac: **Sagittarius

**Personality: **Shouri is somewhat cautious around people and his attitude and actions sometimes come off as a mystery to others. He's sometimes quiet and sometimes very friendly towards whomever will talk to him. He's a little shy and seems to have an obsession about believing that he is strong, and believing in himself. He is portrayed as a somewhat tortured young man with many secrets that about him that he does not even know. He adjusts when he needs to. For one tossed into such a squall of confusion, he's not afraid to cry. While he could also be considered a person who you might just want to cheer up 'just because', there is much more beneath that smile then one would dare to think.

Shouri is troubled by his own thoughts and mind. It is obvious that he does not fully understand 'bad' things. He struggles with himself because of it, sometimes managing to swallow it, and other times he is the one swallowed. He is very naive and has always thought that no real troubles would ever reach him, thus his kind, caring, and somewhat over emotional attitude. As he grew, he only saw more and more of the

cruelty of the world and somehow allowed himself to sink into a more accepting act. He is unusually naive. At the current moment in time, Shouri's a little unstable but far more determined than he has ever been in his life. His mind seems to be split between sadness, fear, hate, and anger. He appears to be having a continuous conflict within himself, a

conflict that stands out in his mind and has found ways to reveal itself in his empty dreams. He feels as though he's unsure of himself, and that he is going to be consumed by his own subconscious, so to speak. Because of this, he's confused and very cautious.

**Occupation: **Flutist, artist, a 'shrine apprentice', and volunteer at an orphanage

**Hobbies: **Playing the flute, sketching, painting, taking care of the shrine and Matsuko (his mentor), visiting the orphanage and helping around there, and playing with the local children to help their parents out.

**Likes: **Dreaming, children, helping others, flowers (roses the most!), myths and legends, animals, birds, playing the flute, sweet things, art, sketching, and sports.

**Dislikes: **It varies. Painful memories, evil possessed people, mentions of his past, brutes, hurting people (usually), feeling weak, Seishirou, himself, and being unaware of things

**Description: **Imagine, if you will, a man who might appears to be somewhere in his early twenties, quite possibly his late teens. He has fair skin and looks rather delicate. He has black hair that is a little

spiky, maybe even dark brown. His eyes are a light green splashed with midnight blue. He looks rather angelic and, in many ways, child-like. For this reason, it is often hard to tell how old he is from appearance.

**History: **Shouri was born... well, he really doesn't know where or when he was born. He was found in a graveyard, tucked beneath the flowers when he was only three years old (in appearance). He was taken to an orphanage after a visit to the police station. No one ever claimed him. No one was sure quite how long he had been at that graveyard on his own or if his parents were even alive or even how old he really was.

He grew up in the orphanage, often the boy who sat by himself and watched the others from a distance. He was more of a big-brother figure to the little ones often brought there that were troubled. The boy always put on an act to make people think he was stronger than he really was, and he began to believe that, too. Although he was small, it seemed that there was always something that pushed him to be stronger when he needed it. His body could never take that much, but he moved so fast it didn't matter- and it did matter when the bullies decided to pick on someone he cared about. The older he grew, the stronger he became... until he began to question himself.

At age six, or so determined by his record since no one really knew his age anyways , Shouri asked many of his friends to help him escape the orphanage. He made this request due to the fact that he had been having

the strangest of dreams in which he'd hear a voice that told him to go or a strange music. Often he would faint from such experiences. After a few days, he was out of the orphanage and in the clear.

He ran into trouble in the streets, and this was when he found out a small part of 'who he was'. This part was a girl, unfortunately, and the girl was in his mind. He had always known that there was something talking to him, but he had never actually felt it was real until this point. After some explaining, she told him he was the other 'him' that had been denied physical form. Not understanding, he found out that he had a bit more up his sleeve than he thought when he accidentally caused a man's arm to freeze where it was whilst the voice was yacking at him.

It was when he was still very young, that the voice in his head began to grow stronger and that same area of his mind remained filled all the time. He would dream of a strange girl. He went to find help, feeling he

might be possessed or something of the sort after he had thought more about it. The help he received was from Sumeragi Subaru and Sumeragi Hokuto (around the T.B. time period.). At this time, he encountered the twins, and Seishirou, and did get quite a bit of help from them in finding out that the girl inside of his mind was actually his sister and something about some 'prophecy'- a thing pushed to the very back of his mind. He's never thought much of it, but has grown with his sister, Sasori, to become very strong. He grew very dependant of her, and often sought no company from people because of his dependence upon her.

Shouri lived on the streets, schooled by an old woman who lived within a small shrine in Tokyo. He did not tell the woman (Matsuko) of his abilities for maybe a year when he really trusted her. When he did, she began to hone his abilities to their fullest, believing there was something he was suppose to do... but not quite sure what. Soon after, she applied for legal custody over him.

Shouri grew with his abilities, mastering them to their fullest as well as an uncanny speed. Despite the fact that his body still not being able to handle too much, his speed remained an advantage. He continued to

take care of the old woman in her age while walking through the city in silence. He still searches for his true name, as well... as apparently "Shouri" is all that he could remember being called within the dreams.

He continues to guard the small shrine on the outskirts of town, still searches for his past and name, and still looks for whatever might be calling to him... though what, he isn't sure. He tends to lend a hand when things get out of hand, also, and because he has always been so 'busy', he often doesn't really pay attention to admirers who stalk him around the shrine.

**Weapon(s): **None really... a dagger, kept in its case at all times and attached to his side no matter what

**Abilities: **Shouri possesses the ability to wield a pretty powerful mental force. It hurts him though, so he usually doesn't. This mental force only shows up when he needs it or calls it. Aside from this, he has the strange ability to use water to his advantage, and ice. These abilities are used with his hands and he must push his mental ability behind it so it can hurt him very much. It's nothing big and not comparable to a tsunami or anything of the sort. He also seems to be able to call water into a strange form, a bird- His two main attacks in this 'field' would be...

Aka Submerge- "Red Submerge"- a red wave of water that takes the appearance of blood- a combination to scare for sure. This water attack is often pressuring and comes in the form of a water wave or whirlpool Ryu no Aka Nami- "Dragon of the Red Wave"- A more powerful version of Aka Submerge. He's gained it recently. Wall the wave remains red, it takes the appearance of a giant water dragon that has its own agenda. It only comes when the person is angered

Kanashimi no Ame- "Sadness of the Rain"- An ice attack. It can freeze you if it hits you. Like Aka Submerge, it's an attack from the hands which propels ice to simply attempt to freeze the opponent's form. It is an advanced version of Aka Submerge. It first sprouted when Shouri simply hated everything...

**Skills- **Healing. Let's say he got a little cut... it'd heal in a an hour or two instead of a few days. Gashes are another story. He just heals faster than normal people.. but he's not superman. He can't heal others, only himself. When he concentrates hard enough, he can speed it up the process... but it often tires him out and he has to sleep so he doesn't. (Note: With Matsuko's abilities, he can extend his healing ability to another. In other words, if Matsuko's assisting him, he can heal people.) Speed- He's VERY fast, abnormally fast even. Watch out for his speed. It's his best bet against anyone.

**High Disadvantage: **He cannot build off of 'Shisa' or 'Sasori'. He has a high pain tolerance, but his body tires easily for some reason. He's very delicate and not very strong physically.

**Other Things:**

**Real Name: **Tokuichi "Shouri" Shisa

**Information: **Shisa translates as "Messenger of the gods". His father named him "Shisa" originally and it is another fulfillment of prophecy. His mother named him Shouri, meaning "Victorious". It was prophesied, by the stars, that Shouri "shall be a single flower within the field as the time draws near, darkness filling what once was dear". The field refers to his entire family, a large but small group of people. All of them were dead but his mother and father, and now Sasori has joined that category, fulfilling this small part of the prophecy.

**What Happened: **Can we say bad people came after his parents? Yes. A considerably strange 'creature', or rather a completely insane paranoid person who just wanted them to die this person was prophesied to die at "Shisa"'s hands should Shisa live came and killed them one night. He was also going to kill Shisa. Police believed that the murderer blew up the house. Police reported a 'terrorist' attack there, a few years before Shouri turned up in the graveyard. It would have been in the newspaper.

How in the world Shouri got to the graveyard was a mystery, but he survived somehow. This was "Shisa's" doings.

Shisa, the mysterious specter is a true 'guardian'. Shisa appears to be more of a demonic looking person because of his clothes, but he is incredibly angelic in his looks and really is rather an older version of Shouri, a bit more kawaii, too. He appears as a specter to most everyone and has an ability that allows him to shift his energies.

It was Shisa who killed the murderer. It was Shisa who saved Shouri from the explosion and destruction of his home. Shisa killed the man with his bare hands, ripping him into many pieces. The explosion was also Shisa's work, as there were a few more people who wished the boy dead. He emitted a stronger power, gathering energy from the 'elements' of death as it was fresh on the spot to corrupt the small area and cause the house to explode, making those who wished for 'Kodomo-kun', or 'Chibi-kun', to believe that he was dead.

Shisa took the baby to the graveyard and took care of him for three years. Shisa has appeared many times to guard and protect Shouri, but never revealed his presence to the boy. His powerful aura is certainly noticeable when he reveals it, but he seems to be able to control it very well. He seems to be a silent creature, and not precisely human.

How old Shouri really is cannot be determined because of any of this... and how long he remained in the graveyard fed and taken care of can't be determined either.

**A Few Notes on Shisa: **Unlike most mysterious beings, Shisa is not remembered by Shouri. His origins really aren't known. He cannot be summoned to Shouri's aid... it only happens whenever it's "supposed" to happen… or whenever Shisa feels the need to come to his aid. It appears that it's not specified.

Shisa is not the same creature as Shouri. Apparently, he isn't even human, from the way he talks. He refers to people as "human" more often and thinks of them as "humans". Perhaps he's not human. He is in touch with the earth to the point that he can feel its pain. Every living thing- he can feel its emotions, hear it 'speak'. He can never stop hearing it, either. It's like a curse. Shisa appears not to directly intervene with the lives of others. Who knows why... He simply watches everyone from a distance.

Last, but not least, Shisa always seems to never speak. He propels his emotions and they form words to those that need them. Sasori knew of him, but… nothing really. That is why she sacrificed herself for her

brother willingly, knowing that Shisa would take care of him. Why's Shisa protecting 'Chibi'? What's his purpose? We'll find out soon enough…

**Abilities (Of Shisa): **(1) Extreme speed. (2) Quick healing (shared). (3) Wields peculiar energies and shapes it to his liking. (4) Abnormal strength should he call it. (5) Illuminates darkness using a light from himself. (6) Predicts things that are just ahead (like near-death, usually only related to Shouri) -This and he seems to show up in an astro-form... though normal people can't see him and Shouri isn't aware of him...

Travel- Shisa is capable of traveling through shadows or moving so quickly through Tokyo that he's just there. His methods of travel aren't certain, but it seems he can materialize thanks to the energies of all living things...

His Energy- Shisa is capable of drawing energy from the very earth. It will force energy upon him should he need it. It seems that he is more closely linked to the earth than others. He can hear it scream in pain, feel the pain of the very earth itself. That is not something he can turn off. It's always there.

-Shisa has never had the need to use any special attacks. It's quite clear that he's a pretty powerful figure, but it seems that he's somewhat limited in what he can and cannot do...

* * *

**Player:** Kana  
**Name: **Mitsu Kohaku Houou

**Nickname(s): **Nana-chan, Uo-chan

**Meanings: **Shine (A surname, Mitsu) Amber (Kohaku) Pheonix (Houou)

Pisces (Uo, derived from the 'uo'in the center of 'Houou')

**Gender: **Female

**Age: **16

**Birthday: **February 23

**Zodiac: **Pisces

**Personality: **Uo-chan is really sweet and tends to let no one, except

for her best friends, take advantage of her. She can be

a real hard person to handle when upset and often doesn't hesitate to start fights. She is very headstrong and willful. Her tendency to want to do everything fun and no work sometimes brings her off as lazy. She wants to have fun and be a good person but often finds it hard to do so as she is unusually sneaky and very cunning.

Uo has always been the tough kid who sits in the corner and watches everyone else live and have fun, also shy when it comes to relationships; and thusly, has never taken the incentive to have one. She is very competitive and her emotions sometimes get the better of her. Clearly clever, though somewhat foolish, she will reason improperly in her thinking and sometimes mess up some very good plans or something important. She's really a genius, if she'd apply herself. At times, she may seem somewhat violent... or overly genki. Her multi dimensional personalities really add to her, but sometimes end up being a pain.

**Occupation: **Dancer, poet, mechanic/inventor, student

**Hobbies: **Dancing, writing poetry, having fun, hanging around with her

friends, day dreaming, playing the pipe, protecting her friends, inventing, studying, listening to anything involving J-pop, eating pocky, and managing her laboratory and life along with volley ball

**Likes: **Guys, poetry, anything involving machines, inventing things,

small furry animals, flowers, music, dancing, reading fantasy books, pocky, J-pop, J-rock, volley ball, running, and karaoke

**Dislikes: **Being spied on, getting caught no matter WHAT it is , being wrong, people who do things without reasons (OR with reasons that she can't understand/tolerate), and any sort of law that threatens her house laboratory.

**Description: **She has dark brown hair that goes to her waist that appears black unless in light. Her eyes are a sad-blue and she appears to always have an up-lifted look to her. She has fair skin and is built for quick movement. She appears to be strong and not puny in any way at all. A noticeable feature is the light scar that looks like a poorly drawn fish on her left shoulder.

**History: **Houou was born and raised in Tokyo. Her life was normal

mostly, save the fact that she was a genius. She has had a knack for inventing ever since she was a little kid and constantly continues to do so. Her garage remains a full-fledged laboratory, at least for things that are mechanical.

She met Kotori and Fuuma most likely when she was in Pre-K, if not sooner. She was very rough at the time, but gradually warmed up to the two. Because she was born late in the year, she ended up being in Kotori's grade. What resulted was a fierce rivalry with Fuuma at least on her part and a best-friends-for-ever bond with Kotori. Thus, she's known the two for a while and it explains her odd protectiveness of Kotori and her respect for Fuuma.

As she grew, she began to grow very interested in the fields of science and engineering and stayed on her own a lot unless she spent time with her small circle of friends. She only grew more competitive with Fuuma as she grew older. Eventually, Uo became like a shadow, only watching her friends from a distance while they had fun and she kept to herself.

She had always been the tough-girl, always the one who could lift almost anything and would only use her strength to the benefit others. Unfortunately, her strength did nothing to help her defense and constitution, which remains/was poor. It was only in the past year or so that she began to apply herself fully in mathematics and science. She was placed in a few upper classes, classes that Fuuma took. Thus, rivalry grew far more intense.

At age sixteen, she got a job at a mechanics shop. Her skills were already sharpened because of her obsession with inventing, working with circuits, and because of her dad. She did her job while balancing school with no problem.

Her life is really nothing special- a balance between work and play; however, she loves inventing above most everything and has an assortment of odd inventions within the extra room. Her laboratory is in the attic, and another is in the basement. She lives in the attic. Uo's obsession with pocky, J-Pop, and J-Rock also developed as she grew into her teens.

Her obsession with dancing was inherited from her mother. She can

dance up a storm and copy most other dance styles with no problem. That's the one thing she'll do for free without charging you at the mechanic store. Even as she grew, she never let her ties with Kotori and Fuuma die- probably because they went to the same school.

Aside from that, she always has kept notebooks with her. With

her friends all seeming to vanish, she's been spending extra time inventing things and toying with wires. She recently took up the electric guitar and seems to be having no problem with it.

Currently, she lives in Tokyo with her mother. Her father is a businessman and is never home. Her mother is often a grief-stricken heap because of it and will go out and get drunk, though Uo has no idea about it.

**Skills: **Uo can play the pipe, dance, sing, invent, and play the electric guitar... she can also fix just about anything..

**Abilities: **Her strength exceeds the ordinary limit for a girl her age. She could knock a man twice her size out like a light with a punch if she tries and concentrates on it enough... but she has limits. She knows certain points on the body can cause severe damage and this helps her with her fighting abilities.


	3. Chapter 1: The Beginning

**Chapter One: The Beginning**

Yuzuriha gave Inuki a quick pat on the back before skipping off to  
the convenience store. Her rations of pocky for the day ran out a  
little after fourth hour, and she couldn't meet with Hinoto-sama and  
the others in the DIET building without some.

She pulled out a couple of 100 yen coins and purchased a box of  
Strawberry, Chocolate, and Men's Chocolate. Unable to resist taking a  
taste, she opened the Men's chocolate and took a nibble, breaking off  
half the stick she scavenged for herself and handing it to her  
beloved Inuki.

This caused Yuzuriha to get a strange glance from a man a few feet  
over, who purchased some cigarettes and left shaking his head.

Yuzuriha ignored the man's strange looks and glanced at her watch.

"Oh no! I'm late!" Yuzuriha squealed, running to the DIET building, Inuki scampering behind her.

* * *

Kotori slowly opened her eyes. The late-morning sunlight drifted into  
her room. She sat up. She had never been allowed, by her father or  
herself, to sleep this late.

She rose from her bed and opened her closet. She pulled a pressed,  
faded-pink dress from a hanger. She stretched and pulled it over her  
head. She ran a brush through her hair a few times and ran down the  
stairs. The flowing dress swished around her ankles.

"Father! I'm going out for a while. I'll pick up groceries on the way  
home okay?" she called. She smiled brightly and walked out. She  
glanced over her shoulder, and waved at her father from the shrine  
before she exited her home and disappeared around the corner.

* * *

Honestly, Yuzuriha wasn't looking where she was going. So it was no  
surprise when she ran straight into Kamui. Inuki bumped into her,  
causing a mass collision of beast and human.

"Eel...Gomen-asi!!" Yuzuriha bounded up and bowed several times to  
the fallen Kotori.

"Ohhh!" Yuzuriha recognized her. "You're Kamui-kun's friend, right?"

* * *

Kotori fell back. She landed on the concrete, caught in the pile. She  
slowly stood up again, and brushed her dress free of the dust.

"It...it's okay." she said slowly. She looked up at the girl.

"Kamui-chan?" Kotori blinked a few times. A smile slowly spread  
across her lips. "Yes. I'm Monou Kotori." She bowed to Yuzuriha. She  
knew this girl, although not well...but she had to also know Kamui-  
chan.

Kotori studied the girl.

"I was actually just about to head to the DIET building to go see  
Kamui-kun," Yuzuriha beamed, picking up a pocky box that fell in the  
mess. "Hey, would you like one?" she said, offering the box to Kotori.

"Thank you." Kotori said quietly. She reached out and took a stick  
from the box. She bit into it. "Men's. My favorite." she smiled.

"You're really going to see Kamui-chan?" Kotori looked hopeful. It  
had been a while since she'd seen him. Her heart longed for him. She  
looked at Yuzuriha, trying to locate her face. Surely, she had met  
this girl before...she knew it, but she didn't remember her name.

"Oh...I'm sorry, the fall must have made me lose my memory." Kotori  
said sheepishly.

"Nekoi Yuzuriha desu," she beamed. "I'm sorry, but I seem to have  
forgotten your name, too." Yuzuriha scratched the back of her head  
sheepishly.

"Oh, I'm Monou Kotori." She bowed again. Then she stood and put the  
rest of the pocky into her mouth. "My brother is Monou Fuuma." she  
said, trying to make things clearer.

"Why is everyone going to the DIET building?" Kotori asked. She was  
really eager to see Kamui. That had been her whole point in going out  
today anyway, to try and talk to him...

"I mean, if you don't mind my asking?" She grinned sheepishly.

"Oh um..." Yuzuriha stumbled for the words. She didn't know if she  
COULD tell Kotori about what Kamui was doing. After all, that was  
between Kamui and this girl.

Instead, she grinned coyly and changed the subject.

"Do you like Kamui-kun?"

Kotori was caught off guard so fast, that she didn't have time to  
react. She hardly even noticed the subject change.

"Uh...wha...what?" Kotori began blushing profusely. "Me? Like Kamui-  
chan?" She began stumbling for the words she needed. They were on the  
tip of her tongue. She figured she'd just as better get it over with.

"Yes...I..um..." Kotori looked around. She didn't want to be caught  
in some practical joke. "I love Kamui-chan." she said in almost a  
whisper. She hung her head, embarrassed.

"You must think this is some kind of school-girl crush..." she  
whispered. Boy, did she hope Kamui wouldn't show up right now...

* * *

Kamui landed nimbly on the roof of the next house. The Togakushi shrine wasn't to far from here and for some reason he just needed to see how Kotori and Fuuma were doing.

As he leapt again to the next roof he stopped suddenly and turned his head towards the city. The DIET building seem to stand out amongst the rest, seemingly beckoning him. Kamui smirked and turned away.

"To hell with all of them," he said coldly.

The streets seem to be a little busy and he leapt off the roof into the back of an ally. As he emerged, he straightened his shirt and began to head off on foot. Though he didn't get very far when two people seem to catch his eye from up the street. Kotori and that girl from before.

He gritted his teeth in anger. He was hoping to just get in and out undetected, but now things were getting complicated. He refused to back down now and run away and just slowly approached the two.

"Speak of the devil," grinned Yuzuriha. "It's Kamui-kun!"

Just as Kotori was speaking of his name, she heard footsteps from behind her. She turned swiftly, afraid of who she might face.

"K-Kamui-chan..." Kotori's breath seemed caught in throat. She slowly pushed her hair from crowding her shoulders, and looked at Kamui. It was in her mind, to ask how much he had heard, but that would be rude. Although she once heard that he should get what he gives.

She licked her lips, and tried to speak through her dry throat. "It's nice to see you...Kamui-chan..." Kotori looked at the ground.

Kamui looked back Kotori. He stood silent for a moment before finally speaking.

"Good to see you too..." he said.

He looked over at Yuzuriha, his eyes narrowing.

"What are you doing here? I thought I made myself clear when I said I didn't want anything to do with you and the rest of them..."

"Oh, Kamui-kun, don't be so distant," Yuzuriha grinned. "Here, how  
about some pocky?" she asked, offering him a stick of Men's.

Kotori kept her glance down. She felt nervous around Kamui, although  
Yuzuriha made it a bit easier to talk to him. Her heart fluttered  
when he responded to her directly...well...almost.

She smiled softly. "It's really good. Have you ever tried it?" she  
asked, trying to make conversation. "Oh, Kamui...you should visit  
more often you know."

She looked at him, gazing. She thought back to their childhood, when  
Kamui was a lot more friendly.

"Yuzuriha-chan? Weren't you going somewhere? To the DIET building?  
Kamui...are you going with her?" she asked, remembering how the girl  
had run into her so hurriedly before.

"I'm not hungry..." he told Yuzuriha. "I don't plan on going anywhere with her. The path I'm taking is different from the one she chose..."

Kamui pushed his way through sidewalk and began to walk away. "I'll see you later Kotori and...I'll try to make more of an effort to visit you and Fuuma."

Without saying anything else, he disappeared around the street corner.

"Oh...hm..." Kotori said. "I thought you and Kamui-chan were friends." she asked Yuzuriha. She watched after Kamui.

"Thank you, Kamui-chan." she told his back.

"Hey, Yuzuriha-chan, is it okay if I talked with you later? I really  
have to get going." she said finally, her eyes never faltering from  
Kamui's back as he disappeared around the corner. "Thank you for the  
pocky, it was very nice meeting you."

Kotori bowed a few times thankfully, and took off, walking briskly  
the way Kamui had gone.

Yuzuriha watched Kamui hurry off before saying goodbye to Kotori and  
heading off to the DIET building. What was his problem?

Oh well. At least she could tell the others NOT to expect Kamui-kun.


	4. Chapter 2: Ambushed

**Chapter Two: Ambushed**

Kamui had only walked ahead a few blocks after leaving Kotori and Yuzuriha. The street was oddly empty expect for one man that he couldn't make out in the distance. He couldn't help but be suspicious.

As he pressed on, the man seemed to be speeding up is steps. It wasn't long before the two met face to face, but the man suddenly stopped right in front of Kamui.

"Excuse me..." said Kamui moving to the side.

The man suddenly moved in front of him again, refusing to let Kamui pass.  
"Get out of my way!" snapped Kamui. The man suddenly took a swing at him. His speed was incredible, but Kamui easily leapt out of the way. Bits of pavement shattered everywhere as the man retracted his fist from the ground.

"Its you guys again..." Kamui said with a smirk. "So who sent you? Could it be Hinoto? Or perhaps that other one...Kanoe was it? Either way it going to take more than one measly curse zombie to stop me..."

The sky suddenly seem to darken a bit as shadows appeared all around Kamui. Each taking from of a man in a dark suit and glasses. There seemed to be at least ten of them. Possibly more.

Kamui laughed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "That's more like it. Too bad for you in in a bad mood right now..."

* * *

Kotori didn't want to seem weird, so she took her time walking. Upon rounding the last corner, she saw Kamui. 

And a bunch of men. In suits no less! She studied the seen. Something was strangely wrong, and it could be the nice aura of power swirling there.

"Kamui...?" Kotori asked, looking around the corner, quite confused.

* * *

Yuzuriha hurried off to the DIET building, not noticing the ruckus that was happening a few blocks away...

* * *

The ground shook violently as Kamui's power began to swirl around him. "Time to die..." he said as he held out his hand, launching a wave of energy that tore through three of the curse zombies. 

The other seven seemed to hold their ground, almost hesitant to attack. "What's the matter? Scared? I didn't think a puppet could show fear!" he said laughing.

The ground shook once again as blocks of pavement tore itself from the ground, ready to be hurled at the enemy, but Kamui hesitated as something caught his eye in the distance. "K-Kotori!" said Kamui. "Get out of here! It isn't safe!" he shouted at her.

The curse zombies seem to have noticed Kamui lack of concentration and immediately attacked. He barely had the time to dodge their assault and fell back.

Kotori stumbled on the shaking ground. She looked on at the men and Kamui. The wave of energy...Kamui was so strong...

She looked at the pavement pieces, confused.

_"K-Kotori!" said Kamui. "Get out of here! It isn't safe!" he shouted at her._

"But..." Kotori began to protest. If it wasn't safe for her, it obviously wasn't safe for Kotori either. She was going to turn and run, go around the other way, as suggested, when she saw Kamui fall.

"Kamui-chan!" Her eyes became fearful, her lip quivered. "K-Kamui!" She wasn't too far from him, and so instead of leaving, she attempted to make her way over to her fallen friend.

Kamui quickly leapt back on his feet as the curse zombies continued their attack. Two seemed to notice Kotori's presence and immediately rushed at her while the others leapt at Kamui.

"Get out of my way!" shouted Kamui launching a blast of energy that destroyed them in mid air.

Kamui ran as fast as he could after the remaining two. "Kotori! Run!," he shouted at her.

"No, no! Kamui-chan, you should be coming with me!" she said. Kotori still insisted in protesting. She watched Kamui run up at the curse zombies.

Finally, Kotori turned with a swish of her dress. She took off running, past Kamui. She decided to run to her favorite pastime, the park.

Upon entering, she ran to a huge tree. Stopping there, she fell back against it. She sighed hugely, trying to catch her breath. With each raged breath, she looked up at the tree, remembering. She smiled, remembering the time they had gotten stuck up there, returning a bird to its nest. Kamui had held her the whole time until help came.

"Kamui-chan...you saved my life again.." she said quietly.

Now that Kotori was out of the way, Kamui wasn't going to hesitate to use his full power. The ground shook violently as Kamui launched a wave of energy that killed the remaining two curse zombies.

As the dust settled, Kamui took a quick look around to see if there were any more surprises. The damage around the area was pretty bad. Pot holes, craters, tons of scattered debris.

It was obvious that someone was bound to notice and call the police, so Kamui quickly ran off towards the direction Kotori headed.

Kotori didn't notice when Kamui had come her way. She yawned, staring up at the tree. She closed her eyes for a moment, ready to just sleep there. She opened her eyes and looked down; he was there.

"Oh...Kamui-chan." She stood, looking at him. Slowly, she tried to make her appearance acceptable.

"Are you...Are you alright?" She asked, starting to make her way over to him. She smiled softly, so many questions were on her, but she kept them behind.

"I'm sorry, I probably could have hurt you a lot. I should have gone when you first told me to." She looked down, saddened, and waiting for his harsh words.

Kamui slowly approached Kotori. He ignored her pleas and began to examine her up and down. A sigh of relief came out when he noticed she was safe.

"Its ok..." He told her finally. "Just... Just as long as you're safe." A gentle smile came across his face as he looked up at her.

* * *

Yuzuriha started to run in the direction of the big boom when she saw Kotori, and then Kamui run by. 

"HEY GUYS!!" she ran after them, screaming. "Just WHAT is going on?!"

* * *

It wasn't long before Yuzuriha came by and he simply smirked at her question. 

"Just a bunch of curse zombies thought they could get the best of me..." he told her. "Nothing important."

"What?!" Yuzuriha gaped. "Kamui, you're hurt!"

Kamui stared back at his arm, which was bleeding. Probably received it during the fight with the curse zombies. Luckily, the wound wasn't that deep.

"This is nothing..." he told Yuzuriha. "I'll be fine…"

* * *

Kotori smiled at him. "Sometimes you can be really sweet. You should worry more about yourself." 

She turned, looking at Yuzuriha. "Oh, Miss Yuzu-chan. I thought you would have been at the DIET building already." She smiled politely. "I'm not exactly sure what went on, but I'll just take Kamui's word for it." She looked over at Kamui gently.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I keep running off like this." She bowed. "I have to stop by and pick up some groceries soon. If you two would like, after Miss Yuzu-chan's meeting, you can come over for dinner."

Kotori wrung her hands slowly. She was a bit agitated that she had chosen this moment to walk up on her and Kamui. She had wanted to ask Kamui if he remembered that day... She glanced back up at the tree.

Kotori stopped talking. She looked at Kamui.

"Kamui!" She felt extremely guilty now. If she hadn't gotten in the way...

"Oh my...Kamui...We need to treat that!" She looked at his arm. She ripped one of the sleeves off her dress and wrapped it around Kamui's wound before he could protest.

"That should hold it until we get home. Then I'll fix it up better." she mumbled. She looked up at Kamui.

"Good eyes Yuzuriha-chan. How could I not notice that?"

Yuzuriha worried, despite Kamui's insistence that everything was "OK".

"Kamui..."

Inuki whined a bit, and Yuzuriha pet him a little to calm him down.

"This wouldn't have happened if you came to the DIET building with me like you were supposed to!" Yuzuriha's tone changed from concerned in an instant.

* * *

Arashi flipped some hair from her shoulder. She'd been walking idly for not to long- wearing her typical school uniform. Then, in the distance she spotted some familiar figures. Speeding up, she ran towards them. 

She reached the three after the spat was over. "Yuzuriha? What happened here?" She had stopped, her eyes slightly narrowed.

She'd never been known to be overly kind. She nodded her head slightly towards Kotori in greeting, and visually assessed Kamui's wounds while she waited for the teen to speak up.

Kamui began to become annoyed when Arashi showed up. It seemed like everyone was bothering him today.

"I'm fine..." he scowled at her and covered the bandage with his hand. Kamui turned back to Kotori who seemed to be caught up in this mess. He really didn't want to get her caught up in this, but it seemed inevitable.

From the distance the DIET building called to him once again. Maybe it would be wise to follow Yuzuriha there...

"I'll see you later Kotori," he told her and began to walk ahead of the others.

Kotori stopped. She looked at the new girl. She seemed all but friendly. Kotori frowned.

"Ohayo. I'm Monou Kotori of the Togakushi Shrine," she said, kind of bitterly, but sweetly. Her manners never failed her. She bowed down, but quickly straightened when Kamui walked past her.

Arashi's eyes narrowed slightly. Kamui was always headstrong. She walked past Kotori, and then stopped, turning her head to look at her. "Perhaps you should return home." She said, before jogging over to Yuzuriha and ushering her after Kamui.

"Kamui-chan..." Kotori started to follow him when Arashi stopped her, and told her to go home.

"Actually, I really needed to go by and pick up some items for tonight's dinner. I had invited Miss Yuzuriha and Kamui over... You may join as well," she said. She didn't want the girl to feel left out, but she didn't exactly want her there either.

Kotori sighed, holding her bare shoulder. "I'll see you then, Kamui-chan.," she said quietly. She turned around, and ran the other way of where the others were going.

Yuzuriha smiled. "Let's go then; I'm sure the others are waiting for us!"

Arashi stood, her normal cold air about her. "Lead the way, Yuzuriha-chan. You did say the others were waiting on us."

She said, crossing her arms lightly. She liked to let the girl feel as if she did do something, sometimes. She felt so sorry for Yuzuriha, being only fourteen, and still having to be a Dragon of Heaven. However, her attitude showed none of this as she awaited movement from either Kamui or Yuzuriha.

When the threesome entered the DIET building, they really stood out. Not many young people ever went to the DIET building, unless they were in a school trip...

Kamui simply stared at the ground as they wondered they DIET building. The staring eyes of the people that worked there were begging to annoy him, but he did his to hold back his anger.

"So why is it that I'm needed here?" asked Kamui. "What makes you think I changed my mind from last time?"

Yuzuriha lead the way through the DIET building, and then to the elevator that lead to Hinoto-sama's quarters. As soon as the elevator reached the basement, the doors opened, and Yuzuriha approached Hinoto-sama slowly...


	5. Chapter 3: They're Watching

**Chapter Three: They're Watching**

Glancing over his broad shoulder, he watched as the young girl with long flowing tresses of gold ran opposite the group radiating of powerful auras. He watched them closely as a scrawny girl and her dog led the rest in the direction of the House of Representatives.

The sound of the operator suddenly spoke up, and Kigai Yuuto grumbled a curse under his breath as he deposited another coin. There was a brief silence, then a deep womanly voice on the other end.

"Yuuto, what are you doing, using a phone line? I thought I told you not to do that again."

He chuckled and looked up briefly to keep an eye on them. "Forgive me, Kanoe, but this couldn't wait. Two of the Seven Seals--they can be no other--are heading for the DIET building. And Kanoe...Kamui is with them. We may be losing territory fast. What are your orders?"

"Orders?" the voice on the other end of the line snickered. "Do you not know how to think for yourself, Yuuto?" Her tone turned serious. "Follow them. Get Kamui alone and talk to him. I don't care how, just do it. We need him." A pause. "And Yuuto...be careful."

"Of course." He smiled and placed the receiver back in its cradle. Then, as though it were nothing out of the ordinary, he vaulted into the air quicker than the eye can blink, and leaped gracefully from building to building, until he arrived shortly on the roof of the infamous DIET building. Watching them enter, he knew what he had to do.

Kigai Yuuto was no fool; he was not arrogant or ignorant enough to believe he could penetrate the defenses of this sacred place, then still have semblance of mind and body enough to take on two of the Seven Seals, as well as the dream seer Hinoto. So carefully he closed his eyes and concentrated, calling forth his powers of water to burst the pipelines beneath the building, creating a tidal flood throughout the upper chambers almost instantly. The trio could not have made it all the way down yet, so hopefully his trap would be in time.

Inside the DIET building, faucets ruptured and water lines under the floors erupted along the halls and in the rooms. Under the power of Kigai Yuuto, the meager water supplied by the explosions soon formed torrents of rushing liquid, surging through the halls and crashing against the government officials who dared get in the way. Now all that was left was to trap the Seals, for such a trick would hardly faze the great Kamui, as well Yuuto knew. Only then would he be able to bring the young man to the side of the Seven Harbingers...the ones who would purify the Earth...

* * *

Kamui had been following Yuzuriha for a while now and when it finally seemed like the reached the elevator to Hinoto's lair, the walls began shake violently.

"What the hell is that...?" said Kamui looking around.

The sound of the roaring water became louder as it made it way through the hallways till finally a giant wave appeared from behind a corner, speeding at them with no sign of stopping.

"W-what the!? Get out of the way!" shouted Kamui.

* * *

Kasumi Karen made her way down the hallway of the Diet building towards the elevators as she checked her watch. She had just come out of work for the day, and she was running late to the meeting with Hinoto and the other Dragons of Heaven. "I hope everyone else hasn't been waiting for me too long," she murmured to herself. She began walking more quickly as she neared the elevators that would take her to where Hinoto and the others waiting.

At that moment, a rumbling sound filled the air, which gradually grew louder and louder. Karen looked around at her surroundings in confusion. The walls of the building seemed to be vibrating, and she thought she could hear the sound of rushing water.

Suddenly she heard a voice somewhere behind her shout, "Get out of the way!" Karen gasped and her eyes widened in recognition of the voice.

_::Kamui!:: _

She immediately turned around and raced down the hallway to where she thought the voice was coming from. When she turned the next corner, she saw Kamui and Yuzuriha standing in the hallway, with a giant wave of water headed straight at them.

"Look out!" Karen shouted. She immediately dashed in front of the two teenagers. Summoning up her powers, she flung a wall of fire at the oncoming wave. Water and fire crashed together, producing hot steam that filled the hallway. "Hurry, get out of here!" she yelled to Kamui and Yuzuriha over the noise of the flames and the water.

Arashi watched as the steam flew. She covered he face, and took a step back, then heard Karen's voice. She whipped her arm down and jogged to the woman.

"Karen-san," She breathed, "I do believe this is not your normal flood." She said, in her normal stoic way. She flung her hand outwards and out flew her lithe sword.

She caught it easily, her eyes darting about, "We might have company."

* * *

A sudden change in his psychic flood reached his keen perception. With sight far beyond the walls of physical vision, he reached through the DIET building to find its source.

There. He chuckled at the realization. There were more of Hinoto's Seals already in the building than he had at first thought. This one was using...fire? Yes, the sensation of heat was immense.

_-Hn,- _he murmured to himself. _-This one may pose a problem.- _After all, fire and water were equal matches. _-Some assistance would be nice...,- _he added with a thought, perceiving the attention fixed on him at that time.

* * *

Satsuki looked up from her tea as Kanoe hung up the receiver of the phone. They were in Kanoe's room having their usual afternoon tea, but Yuuto had not appeared yet.

Kanoe answered the question written on Satsuki's face. "That was San-san. He'll probably be late for tea today. He's at the DIET building right now, trying to separate Kamui from those two seals with him."

Satsuki looked at Kanoe in confusion. "Only two seals?"

"That's right, San-san told me that he saw two entering the DIET building with him."

Satsuki frowned. "But BEAST told me earlier that the seal who controls fire is in the building. That means that there are three seals altogether."

Kanoe elegantly arched an eyebrow. "Three? That presents quite a problem to San-san, then."

Satsuki sighed. As much as she respected Yuuto, she knew that it was beyond his powers to take on three of the seals and Kamui at the same time, especially if one of those seals was the fire-caster. "Excuse me, Kanoe-san. I'm going to go lend San-san a hand."

Satsuki put down her cup of tea and left, going to the chamber where BEAST was. As she opened the door to the chamber, the supercomputer hummed in greeting. She patted the metal surface briefly, and then vaulted herself inside the control compartment. As soon as she sat down, wires attached themselves into her skin. She put on her goggles and said, "BEAST, please show me the current conditions at the DIET building."

The situation was just as she thought; the red-haired seal inside the building was holding her own against Yuuto's flood of water. The computer screen then flicked over to show an image of Yuuto standing outside the building. Satsuki thought he looked a bit overwhelmed.

"San-san, you should have waited for me," she softly chided the image on the screen. A smile crossed her lips briefly, and then faded away as she spoke.

"BEAST, stop the fire-caster and separate Kamui from the seals."

* * *

Karen nodded briefly to Arashi in greeting. She had staved off the first attack of water, but she was nearly certain that there would be another one coming, and she didn't want to be caught off guard. "I think you're right, Arashi-san. This might be an attack from one of the Dragons of Earth. We need to stay alert."

Almost as if on cue, a mass of cables and wires burst through the ceiling and shot toward the two seals. Another bundle exploded through the floor between Kamui and Yuzuriha, effectively separating Kamui from the three seals.

Arashi jumped into the air, skillfully bringing her sword down to cut through some of the wires. She successfully reached Yuzuriha.

"Yuzuriha-chan, I have a small job for you." She said, guarding the young girl well, "Find Kamui." She muttered, knowing it wouldn't keep her out of trouble fully.

She did also know, that Kamui had to be found by the Dragons of Heaven... not the Dragons of Earth. Her eyes narrowed as wires and cables once again flew at her. She sliced through them, sending pieces flying everywhere. She was then back at Karen's side.

"Karen-san, I think you were correct in you assumption on whom we are fighting with." She said, her eyes scanning for any other threat.

* * *

"There's no way she can gold that for long..." muttered Kamui as he watched Karen hold off the flood of water. He began to scan the room in hopes of finding a means of escape when the floor beneath him began to rumble.

Kamui was flung to the ground and separated from the others as streams of cables and wires eroded from the ground.

"Damn it! What now!" said Kamui as he leapt back to his feet. The wires flung at him almost immediately and Kamui nimbly dodged them, then countered with a blast of energy that destroyed most of them. More seemed to appear almost immediately.

Kamui grinned evilly as his energy began to charge greatly. "I think I know how to take care of you," he said as the ground began to shake.

The attack that Kamui was planning would easily level this building. Destroying everyone and everything in site. Why should he care who died in the process? These people meant nothing to him. Plus he might get lucky and kill the person responsible for this mess...

Though this was the plan in mind, Kamui hesitated to do so. He clenched his teeth in anger and flung a smaller energy wave against the wall, creating a small hole to the outside. It wasn't like him to run from a fight, but maybe he could cause enough distraction from the wires so the others could find a way of getting rid of the water.

Kamui ran through hole, turned and fired another blast of energy at the approaching cables. Kamui was expecting more, but there didn't seem to be anything else following him.

Suddenly Kamui could feel a strange energy from the distance. Kamui looked around and saw a strange man in a trench coat and tie. He seemed to be almost oblivious at the current happenings in the building.

"Could he be the one that's causing this?" said Kamui.

"You there!" shouted Kamui as he approached him. "What the hell are you doing?"

Arms folded bluntly across his broad chest, Yuuto was so immersed in examining this new source of psychic energy, which he failed to sense the presence that had just emerged from a hole in the building's wall. Casting an idle glance downward from his perch on the rooftop, their eyes met just as the young man called out to him, and he had to catch himself from jumping in surprise.

_-How did he get out of there without my knowing?- _he thought, shoving his hands in his pockets, as a sweat drop clouded his brow. _-I'd better not be losing my edge.-_

Recomposing himself in an instant, Yuuto leaped gracefully to the ground, dropping to one knee to soften his landing. His hands never left his pockets during the descent. Now, straightening himself as he looked up again, he was standing no less than twenty paces away from Kamui himself.

Lowering his head, he let out a deceptively light-hearted chuckle. "No, I suppose you wouldn't know 'who the hell' I am. But I most certainly know who you are. And I've been waiting a very long time to meet you...Kamui Shiro." He then softened the creases in his brow into a guileful smile. "I have no wish to fight or harm you, only to talk." His eyes glistened as he met Kamui's cold glower. "You will at least hear me out, won't you?"

"I take it from your actions that your not one of Hinoto's lackeys," said Kamui as Yuuto landed on the floor.

Kamui was a bit caught off guard that the man knew his name, but he wasn't very surprised when he asked his question.

"Heh. You went to all this trouble just to get a chance to talk to me? Well, what I don't feel like talking? What if I rather tear your limbs off from your body for that little stunt you pulled back there?"

Kamui sent out a small shock wave that tore through the ground and stopped Yuuto's feet. He laughed and folded his arms across his chest.

"But I guess I could use a good laugh. So go ahead, make your speech. Before I change my mind and kill you right on the spot..." he said with a piercing gaze.

Eyeing the energy wave the halted just as abruptly as it had started at his feet, Yuuto let out a low whistle. "Oh, dear, you are a serious young man, aren't you? I guess I should be honored to have such a famous audience. But you really should learn to acquire a sense of humor. Going around threatening to rip people limb from limb won't get you very many friends." He chuckled dryly under his breath.

Then just as suddenly, his demeanor turned deadly serious. "No, I'm not one of Hinoto's lackeys, as you so quaintly put it. I'm here to offer you real power. What Hinoto wants from you is your help to save humanity in all of its profound corruption. Now call me crazy, but I get the feeling you're not exactly the type to go around saving people just to be a nice person. With the sort of power that I can give you, you will easily be able to protect the few you love, while cleansing the rest of their vile nature. Humanity's term on Earth is at an end, and then you would be free to reshape it as you see fit...if you so choose."

* * *

Arashi turned in time to see the water beginning to gush into the room they stood in. Despite herself her eyes widened.

"Yuzuriha! Karen! Quickly, up the stairs!" She called. She prayed the Princess was all right... But now was the time to save themselves. They had to live in order to save the world after all!

* * *

Satsuki watched the computer monitor impassively as the seal with the sword blocked her attacks. Suddenly the computer beeped, and a small window containing a message appeared at the bottom of the screen: KAMUI OUTSIDE BUILDING. Another window appeared, showing an image of the hole Kamui had created in the wall.

"Good, this makes Yuuto's task much easier," Satsuki murmured to herself. She then spoke commandingly: "BEAST, stop the seals from leaving the building." And then, "Power shut down."

* * *

Hot steam filled the hallway as Karen continued to send blasts of fire at the oncoming flood. Soon, the hallway was clouded with mist, greatly impairing the visibility in the room. Yet the waves still kept coming, and Karen had no choice but to continue blocking them with her flames. With her hands tied, she was unable to stop the cables when they had attacked her and Arashi. Luckily, Arashi had stopped the cables in time and was ready for action.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Karen saw Kamui tearing a hole through the wall and running outside. Before she could react, another mass of black cables erupted through the floor and blocked the hole that Kamui had created, stopping anyone from following him. At the same time, the electricity in the whole building stopped abruptly running; Karen could hear the power whirring and shutting down. The fluorescent bulbs lighting the hallway exploded simultaneously, plunging them all into darkness.

With the light of the wall of fire that she was using to stop the still-oncoming flood, Karen could barely make out the cables whipping in her direction towards her and Arashi. At the same time, more cables exploded through the ceiling above Yuzuriha, sparks flying everywhere and giving off tiny amounts of light in the darkness. "Arashi-san, Yuzuriha-chan, watch out!" Karen shouted.

* * *

Kamui should have just blown away the man for his little wise crack, but the proposition seemed to catch his attention.

"Power to protect the few I love?..." he questioned. A horrible flash back of Kotori's death flooded his mind immediately. Kamui cringed and turned away. He didn't want that to happen...he couldn't.

"What kind of power could you offer me that I don't already posses!" he snapped. He sent out another Shockwave at Yuuto's left side, tearing through the ground with greater force than the last.

"And what do you mean about cleansing this world? If anything it seems like your just making me do your dirty work for you! You're just like Hinoto! Making me into some kind of puppet at your command! Why should I trust you any different from her!?"

He stood perfectly erect as the energy blast shot past his left shoulder. Even with the dangerously sharp retort, Yuuto had seen the moment's hesitation in Kamui's fearsome eyes. Only an instant, but it was enough. There was still room to work.

"Yes, Kamui, you are a pawn in this cruel game," he said, giving the young man what he knew to be the unexpected answer. "And in this game there are sides. But it doesn't matter which side you're on, or even if you choose to take a side. You are THE Kamui, and your actions will affect us all, whether you like it or not." Taking his hands out of his pockets for the first time since leaving his watch atop the crumbling DIET building, he spread his arms widely to either side. "I'm a pawn as well. We all are. The only difference between us is that I've chosen my side for the good of the Earth. And the only difference between sides is that Hinoto wants to save the very race that has corrupted this planet, and Kanoe--a dear friend of mine-has made it our mission to resurrect the Earth and bring it back to life as it was meant to be."

Then he raised a sagacious eyebrow. "Even if you act on your own will and deny us all, you are never truly living for just yourself. If you evaluate your own desires, I think you'll find we have much in common. That's the purpose of sides--for those with the same needs and purposes to unite and act together for a more effective result."

With that said, his dry smile returned cunningly to his lips. "And as for the power...you would have to see Kanoe about that. That's my whole purpose of confronting you, to ask you to accompany me back to pay her a little visit. So, Kamui, what do you say?"

* * *

Arashi kept her calm exterior as she heard the cables coming towards them. Her eyes flickered towards the tiny flashes of light and she was able to deflect most of what came.

Arashi cut the cables form the air, then landed with ease. She whipped around, lashing out with her sword cutting more cables.

"Yuzuriha! Get out of there!" She hissed at the younger girl. She knew Yuzuriha would get hurt, she just knew it... But for now she'd have to try and save her hide and help Karen. After all, Karen was keeping the water that threatened to drown them all at bay.

The cables stopped momentarily, probably to gather again, so Arashi slid into a battle stance. She stood behind Karen, her sword raised.

"I do wish they would stop this." She murmured.

Yuzuriha attempted to dodge the sparks, but no such luck. She cried out in pain just as Inuki pulled her to safety.

"I...Inuki," Yuzuriha gasped, clinging to her wolf-spirit. "We need to do as Arashi said. We've got to find Kamui-kun!"

The wolf spirit nodded, as if understanding Yuzuriha's request, and tore at the cords with his teeth.


	6. Chapter 4: Heated Confrontation

**Chapter Four: Heated Confrontation**

Kotori had wandered off to the store in search of some food. She was going to cook tonight, in hopes that Kamui would come back and join Fuuma and herself. She wasn't quite sure what to buy even, and so she just picked up random items in hopes of something sparking her interest.

"Wasn't Kamui's favorite ice cream vanilla? I wonder if he still likes it?" Kotori thought as she purchased some with her other random items.

She exited the store and headed back home slowly, a bit tired. She started crossing into the deeper part the city, near the DIET building. She kept her head downcast, studying her feet, and didn't notice Kamui and Yuuto on the street in front of her.

* * *

"Pawn?!" laughed Kamui. "I'm nobody's pawn! You may have sold your soul already for the sake of this planet, but I couldn't care less what happens. The fate of earth means nothing to me. Everyone can just burn in hell for all I care..."

Though Kamui had said that, a part of him didn't actually mean it. He turned away again clenching his teeth. He couldn't stop thinking about what would happen to Kotori. If they could somehow help him prevent that nightmare from coming true, then maybe it might be worth it to see what this man and Kanoe could offer him...

"Take to me to Kanoe..." he said finally. "But lets get one thing straight! I don't plan on joining you or anyone else! Understand!? If any of you try to pull off anything suspicious, then I wont hesitate to kill you all...especially you..."

Despite the young man's bold retort, Yuuto had broken through. Smiling inwardly, he bowed his head to Kamui. "Of course. You will be able to make your own free decisions at every turn. We wouldn't think of forcing you into anything...not that we could if we tried." With this added compliment to Kamui's power-centered ego, Yuuto began to turn in the direction of Shinjuku's Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, beneath which the underground headquarters of the Dragons of Earth was based.

Suddenly he froze as something caught his eye. No, someone. A girl, but not just any girl. It was the same young woman who had been with Kamui and the others just recently, parting just before the young Dragon of Heaven led the rest into the DIET building. Staring for a moment, something occurred to him. Nodding in her direction, he said coolly, "That's her, yes?" He turned back to Kamui. "Everyone knows about her. If you'd like, you can invite her to come along. It may  
be the safest choice. But don't worry, we wouldn't dream of causing her harm." He offered a reassuring smile, knowing how little it would accomplish. Still...

Kotori stopped. She looked at the man with Kamui. Unsure of why they were there, standing still in front of her, she slowly approached.

"Kamui-chan..." she said with soft smile. She wasn't trying to let her worries show. Kotori adjusted her bags, switching them over to her other hand.

"Sir." Kotori nodded her head in the direction of Yuuto as greeting. "Monou Kotori of the Togakushi Shrine. Pleased to meet you. Are you...", she glanced at her friend, "A friend of Kamui-chan's?"

"Leave Kotori and Fuuma alone..." said Kamui coldly. "No one at the Togakushi shrine has to get involved. Just let them live in peace..."

It didn't really help matters that Kotori herself had shown up. A slight sweat drop fell down Kamui's head. "He's hardly a friend," said Kamui in response to Kotori's question.

"Just go home Kotori." he said. "Its best you don't hang around here..."

* * *

Satsuki was becoming slightly annoyed at the situation as she monitored from BEAST both Yuuto's conversation with Kamui and the Seals inside the DIET building. Yuuto appeared to be having difficulties convincing Kamui to cooperate, and the Seals weren't making Satsuki's job any easier. The girl with the sword had managed to deflect all of Satsuki's attacks so far, and the fire-caster was holding back Yuuto's flood quite effectively. Satsuki randomly sent cables at the Seals to distract them from getting outside of the building, but the Seals were responding in the same way to all of her attacks. She was quickly becoming bored. "Hurry up, San-san," she muttered slightly under her breath.

Suddenly, BEAST beeped as if it was in pain, and it recoiled its cables slightly from attacking the Seals. The slight noise broke Satsuki out of her concentration on Yuuto's progress.

"What's the matter, BEAST?" Satsuki said. She quickly surveyed the computer monitor and frowned as she assessed the situation. The youngest Seal had set her spirit-dog on the cables blocking the hole Kamui had made in the wall. Soon, the Seals would manage to get out of the building and interrupt Yuuto, wasting all their efforts to get Kamui. This was unacceptable.

"BEAST, perform a full-scale attack. The Seals have to be stopped from reaching Yuuto at all costs."

BEAST beeped again when she spoke Yuuto's name; however, this time it sounded almost agitated. It did not respond to Satsuki's command and instead continued to randomly send cables at the Seals.

"What's wrong, BEAST?" Satsuki frowned for a minute in confusion at her computer's behavior, but she quickly shrugged it off. She then looked at the computer monitor again, examining the situation. It suddenly occurred to her that only the girl with the spirit-dog was actively trying to reach Kamui; or rather, the girl's spirit dog was actively trying to reach Kamui. BEAST's cables already suitably distracted the sword-wielding girl, and the fire-caster was too busy holding back the flood of water to pose a threat. A full-scale attack would be unnecessary.

"Never mind, BEAST. A full attack would be a waste of effort. Please attack the spirit-dog." The computer beeped in confirmation.

* * *

Karen looked around helplessly as Inuki attempted to get through the wall to Kamui. She was extremely worried for Kamui's safety, and she wished that she could help Yuzuriha to find him. But if she moved from her place, the building would flood, and innocent people would drown. All she could do was stand by, powerless to do anything.

Suddenly, even more cables exploded from the floor; only this time, there were at least three times as many cables as before. It seemed as if whoever was controlling the cables was intent on seriously injuring the three Seals this time.

Karen braced herself and prepared for the worst, fully expecting the mass of black wires to come flying her way. However, to her surprise, the cables shot off in the other direction. Her surprise turned to horror as she realized that they were aimed directly at Inuki…

Inuki attempted to dodge the attack, and his fur was barely nicked. He bled a bit, and Yuzuriha clung to her friend tightly. "I...Inuki!"

Suddenly, Inuki glowed in a flash of light and turned into a sword. Grasping the pommel tightly, she slashed at the wires viciously, "Hya!!"

Arashi found herself getting agitated with the cables. She was simply stuck doing a whole lot of nothing. Her eyes narrowed again, and out of the corner of her eye she watched Yuzuriha slash at some cables. Jumping into the air, Arashi deflected some of the thicker cables that had come her way. She landed squarely near Yuzuriha.

"Yuzuriha-chan," She said calmly, "Have you spotted Kamui or at least where he went?" She asked, sword still raised. She was prepared to fight her way out of this building in order to get Kamui... not that she wasn't prepared to begin with. However the threat of losing Kamui gave her that extra drive to be nearly ruthless.

* * *

Turning to nod courteously at the young girl who had just approached, Yuuto gave a sweet smile. "The pleasure is all mine."

_"Leave Kotori and Fuuma out of this. Let them live in peace."_

His eyes returned to Kamui's serene face. "Of course. I can understand your hesitance. Now...if you'd be so kind as to follow me..." Tipping his head once more to the lovely Kotori, Yuuto vaulted back into the air, bounding from building top to building top in the direction of Shinjuku. He did not have to look behind him to make sure Kamui was following, as the young man's life energy was powerful enough to sense from the neighboring city, but he humored himself once and cast a casual glance over his shoulder.

In no time at all, he descended to the ground before the tall Metropolitan Government building. There he waited patiently for Kamui to catch up. "Not at all amiable like that funny boy from Kouya," he murmured idly under his breath.

Kotori looked at Kamui. "But...Kamui-chan..." She looked at the man.

He seemed friendly enough. Maybe it was just her, but...

"Kamui-chan, let me come along." She once again, adjusted the bags. They were becoming a bit heavy. She smiled at him, sort of pleadingly. "I won't be any trouble at all...I promise." she told him.

Yuuto had gotten a pretty good head start and Kamui was eager to catch up to him. But Kotori was being rather persistent.

"Its not very safe where I'm going..." he told her.

But the more he thought about it, it wasn't very safe here either. Those cables could attack her at any minute. At least he had the assurance of know that he could protect her himself should any trouble arise.

Fine..." he said softly. Kamui wrapped around Kotori's bags with his left arm and scooped her up gently with both hands.

"Hold on tight and no matter what, don't let go," he told her.

With a starting run, Kamui leapt high into the air after Yuuto.

It wasn't long till they arrived at the building and Kamui set Kotori down gently. "Stay close," he told her. As they approached Yuuto, Kamui still had his suspicions and glared at him.

"So are you going to show us in or not?"

Kotori held on to Kamui as they followed the man. She wasn't sure why they were even following him if he wasn't Kamui's friend, but she didn't ask questions. Instead, she decided to keep as quiet as possible. Kamui looked like he needed it.

When they landed, Kotori stood carefully on the ground. She steadied herself, then took her bags, leveling them in her arms so they weren't heavy anymore. She tilted her head, looking at where they were.

_"Stay close."  
_  
Kotori nodded and hung behind Kamui a bit. "Hai.." she mumbled.

* * *

Satsuki watched her computer monitor with little interest as the spirit-dog escaped her attack. She wasn't truly expecting BEAST's cables to actually injure the animal; it would indeed be quite pathetic if a powerful guardian spirit could be destroyed so easily. Satsuki watched as the Seal with the sword joined the spirit-dog's young mistress; it appeared as if they were becoming more and more determined to find Kamui.

As she examined the scene, she noticed that the flood of water that the fire-casting Seal was holding back was steadily decreasing. Soon, the Seal would no longer need to push back the water, and she would be free to join the others in finding Kamui. A distraction was in order.

Suddenly, a movement in the window at the bottom of the screen caught her eye. Satsuki watched as Yuuto leaped into the air, disappearing quickly from the screen. After a moment, Kamui jumped after him, carrying the pretty blonde girl in his arms. Clearly, Yuuto had finally managed to convince Kamui to follow him to the Metropolitan Government building to see Kanoe. It was just as well, since the Seals in the DIET building were nearly ready to counterattack the cables in earnest. Satsuki decided to continue her attack until Yuuto and Kamui were safely inside the Metropolitan Government building.

"Alright, BEAST, attack all three Seals one more time," Satsuki ordered.

* * *

Karen began to notice that the flood of water was becoming weaker and weaker. Whoever was controlling the water had stopped controlling it. She was extremely glad, as she was becoming quite exhausted from holding back the water. But she still couldn't move away; she estimated that it would be another five or ten minutes before it was safe for her to retreat and let the water flow.

Suddenly, more black wires broke through the floor of the DIET building and further blocked off the hole Kamui had made. At the same time, masses of even more cables shot at Arashi and Yuzuriha. Karen watched horrified as cables came flying in her own direction, when she was unable to protect herself. She braced herself and prepared for the worst...

Yuzuriha could have sworn she heard Arashi say something but she couldn't catch it over all the chaos. She waded through the water, shivering violently; why couldn't this water be a little warmer...

HINOTO! The thought came into her head suddenly, as she attempted to cut off some of the wires. Where was Hinoto?

Suddenly, she found herself bombarded with more wires...No...

She bit her lip, and braced herself for the attack. There was no way she'd be able to dodge this.

Arashi cursed lightly as the cables grew in number. She knew she couldn't protect both Karen and Yuzuriha at the same time... So she slashed away the cables coming at her, succeeding it being hurt only mildly. Then, with a burst of effort she jumped towards Yuzuriha, and knocked her to the ground, causing the cables to barely bypass them both. Immediately she snapped her head upwards to watch Karen- knowing she could do nothing to help her fellow Seal.

* * *

When Kamui finally landed, Kotori was with him. Holding in a light-hearted chuckle at the young man's compliance, he gesticulated for them to follow. Treading through the entrance of the Metropolitan Government building, he directed them to the private elevator that would lead to the underground headquarters of the Dragons of Earth.

"Keep in mind," he said placidly, as looked out the glass walls of the elevator, "that Kanoe is not a dream seer like Hinoto. But she is capable of watching those her elder sister weaves." Glancing kindly down at the young woman next to Kamui, he smiled with a tip of his head. "And be reassured that none of the equipment will harm you, though it may appear intimidating."

The elevator stopped, and he entered the large chamber where Kanoe would be waiting. As soon as he saw her, he grinned and pointed a casual thumb over his shoulder. "I've brought a few guests tonight," he said playfully. "I hope you don't mind..."

"Ah, San-san, you're back." Kanoe smiled as she approached the trio. "Of course I don't mind, we always love to have company here."

She looked at the two teenagers standing slightly behind Yuuto, lifting an eyebrow as she rested her eyes on Kotori. "That girl..." Kanoe murmured softly to herself.

She shook herself out of her reverie. "Ah, but where are my manners? My name is Kanoe, sister of the dream seer Hinoto. And you must be Kamui. It's a pleasure to meet you." Kanoe bowed slightly in Kamui's direction, and then turned to Kotori. "And who is this lovely young lady?"

Of course Kanoe already knew what her name was; she had seen Kotori appear often enough in Hinoto's dreams. But she wanted to put the two teenagers at ease, especially Kamui. She glanced knowingly at Yuuto as she awaited an answer.

* * *

"BEAST, show me where Yuuto-san is right now," Satsuki commanded from her seat inside the computer. Another window appeared on the screen showing Yuuto entering the elevator of the building, followed closely by Kamui and the blonde girl.

"Good, he's safe now," Satsuki murmured. "BEAST, stop attacking the Seals in the DIET building. Our job is done for today." Satsuki removed her goggles as the wires detached themselves from her skin and slid away. The cover on the top of the supercomputer opened, and Satsuki gracefully jumped to the floor. She pulled on her yellow jacket and put on her glasses, then walked out of the room to where she thought Yuuto would be. Predictably, as she approached, she heard Kanoe's voice in the room with him. Satsuki entered the room and saw Kamui, still looking suspicious, with the blonde girl standing near him.

"Hello, Yuuto-san, Kanoe-san," she said, inclining her head slightly to each of them. She stood to the side near the two and remained silent, waiting for them to continue the conversation they had been having before she had entered.

* * *

Yuzuriha blinked in surprise as Arashi pushed her out of harm's way. "Arashi...-san..."

Suddenly, the wires disappeared and the place was cleared out. Yuzuriha blinked in surprise. "Wha...where'd they go?"

Karen twisted to the side as much as she could as the cables came flying at her, scraping her shoulder and slashing her dress. She winced at the pain as her arm began to bleed, but she still did not move from holding back the water. After all, she was a Dragon of Heaven, and it was her job to help protect humanity. She was not sure what the intent was of the Dragons of Earth in attacking them, but she was sure that they would not hesitate to tear apart the building and kill innocent people to reach their goal. She could not allow this to happen. She would either stop the attacks or die trying. Determined, she set her feet steady and watched as another set of cables came shooting at her.

Suddenly, to Karen's surprise, the cables stopped coming towards her and dropped to the ground, falling only inches away from where she was. At the same time, the flood of water decreased until it was about knee-deep, and then stopped flowing. The attacks seemed to have finished for good.

Karen sighed in relief and stood up straight, brushing a hand over her forehead. She held out a hand and used her power to create a flame of light, as the power was still out and the hallway was pitch black. Karen waded through the water to where Yuzuriha and Arashi were standing. "The attacks seem to be over," she commented.

Arashi stood back up, helping Yuzuriha to her feet. Her sword sucked itself back into her hand. "I see this." She replied to Karen as she smoothed out her uniform. She then let out a sigh, bringing a hand to her head, "And I do believe we've lost Kamui for a time..." She murmured. A bit of blood trailed down her arm from a mishap with the cables, but other than that Arashi was fine.

"And we must check on Hinoto." She gave a strict nod, bringing her hand back down to her side.

* * *

Smiling sweetly at Kanoe, Yuuto remained silent in wait for Kamui's response. He knew full and well that the lovely dream walker did not need to be filled in on Kotori's status. The woman was already aware of practically everything surrounding Kamui's life.

Suddenly he heard light footsteps behind him, and he turned to see the graceful form of Yatouji Satsuki advancing toward the group. Debonairly he lifted a hand to wave his greeting. "Konban wa, Satsuki-san. A fine afternoon, is it not?"

Kamui stepped in front of Kotori protectively and folded his arms. He still didn't trust these people one bit. And since Kotori was with him, he planned to stay on guard.

"Is this it?" said Kamui with a smirk. "You three plan to revive the planet? You have your work cut out for you. In any case, why is it so important that I had to be here? Why do you need me and what is this so called 'power' that you can offer me that Hinoto can't?"


	7. Chapter 5: Ready To Play

**Chapter Five: Ready To Play**

Everything was darkness...all around him. The dismal abyss might have been a comfort to his eternally condemned soul...if it had not been so terribly painful. He could have sworn he felt his entrails spilling from his body, covering the ground in an ensanguined mess.  
But when he gingerly fingered his abdomen, he was somewhat surprised to find the skin still intact...for the most part. Deep gashes covered his body; blood was everywhere--on his clothes, covering his raw skin, distorting his vision, gumming up his hair, seeping down his bruised forehead. It was a wonder he was alive at all, must less that he could move.

He was lying facedown on the pavement. His sporty dark sunglasses were inches from his nose, the lenses shattered into a million pieces and strewn all across the ground. Part of him wished it had ended with that final blow, yet somewhere, deep within the wicked sanctums of his mind, he wanted to rip his solemn attacker limb from limb. Was he being given another chance to fulfill that sick desire?

With much effort he hoisted himself up on his elbows to get a look around. Off in the distance, there was the unmistakable clamor of more destruction. Was that the DIET building? Yes...even from his current position, and with his peripheral vision destroyed from the moment he lost sight in his right eye all those years ago, he could still make out the slight figure atop the building...sense the ki that was certainly similar to his own.

_-So...,- _he thought, startled by the immensity of the effort. _-It's truly starting now. Ours isn't the only major battle, simply the first.-  
_  
Twisting his head painstakingly to the side, he glimpsed the still body of the man he had known for so long. Subaru lay on his back, eyes wide open, panting for breath. All it would take was one movement...one thought...one summons...and the young Omnyouji's blood would eternally stain his hands. But as he dragged himself closer, the more uncertain he became. What was this uneasiness? This...remorse? No. He shook himself avidly. Impossible.

_-Perhaps he can still be of use to us,- _he breathed, though in the back of his mind, he knew this was not the reason why he withdrew his hand.

So instead of killing the despondent young man, Sakurazuka Seishirou called forth the five points of the inverted pentagram to envelop both himself and his long-term adversary, drawing in the last of his energy to summon the black abyss. He caught Subaru's arm as they began to fall through the portal. Down, down they went. He never remembered it taking this long. Maybe it was the effects of delirium. Falling...falling...

Then, just as suddenly as it had started, the emptiness vanished, and a new sort of darkness encompassed them as they fell a few more meters. The floor came up on him in a rush, and he had not the time or the strength to shield himself before his body made violent contact with the solid surface of the headquarters of the Dragons of Earth.

His head spinning beyond control, he tried to look up. Bad idea. The aching in his temples sent him to moaning deeply, but at length he finally forced his neck to comply. He glanced briefly to Subaru. -Good. Still alive.- Probably better off than himself, as the situation would have it. Craning his head up to see the giant computer system lurking above, he irritably shoved himself to his knees and made for the next room. Why could his cohorts never be in the right place at the right time? He seemed eternally cursed with such luck.

But the adjacent chamber held more promise, as his single functioning eye fell to the tall, slender figure with her back to him. "Kanoe...!" he called out in a deep, raspy voice. It was a wonder his vocal cords had not been completely torn from his throat. But he was relentless. Reaching out with a bloody, mangled arm, he curled over himself in pain. "Help me..."

* * *

Satsuki looked towards Yuuto and gifted him with one of her small, rare smiles. "I suppose it is, San-san. Although I haven't been outside all day, so I wouldn't know."

Kanoe opened her mouth to respond to Kamui's question when she was suddenly interrupted. "Kanoe…! Help me…" a voice came from the doorway. Satsuki turned to look in the direction of the voice, and her expression turned to one of surprise and alarm. Sakurazuka Seishirou stood in the door, looking for all the world like he had been through hell and back. His usually immaculate black suit was ripped and covered in blood, and he looked as if he was about to collapse at any moment.

"Sakurazuka-san!" Kanoe hurried over and caught him before he crumpled to the ground. "What happened to you? You look terrible!" She took of her jacket and began ripping it apart, using the pieces to wrap his wounds.

Satsuki was not well acquainted with the Sakurazukamori, but she felt an obligation to help him; after all, he was one of her comrades among the Dragons of Earth. "I'll call an ambulance to take him to the hospital, Kanoe-san," she said. She left the room and headed to the chamber where BEAST was located to fetch her cell phone. But when she entered the room, she stopped dead at the sight of a figure clad in a white trench coat lying crumpled on the ground…

* * *

Kotori stayed behind Kamui. He was seemingly so protective. She watched as he crossed his arms.

"I..uhm...Monou Kotori." she said quietly. They all seemed to know Kamui, but her...? She tilted further around Kamui's body to look at the new girl.

"Hey..." Kotori pointed to the man calling Kanoe's name. "Are you okay?" Her face became worried. "Don't try to move!" She threw her bags to the side and ran from behind Kamui.

"Is there anything I can do?" she asked Kanoe. "Sir, how'd this happen?" She asked, bending over Seishirou.

* * *

Karen frowned in worry as she thought over their current predicament. "It's true that we should see how Hinoto-hime is... But right now we have a more pressing problem on our hands." Karen pointed out. "Who knows what might have happened to Kamui-kun. For all we know, he could have been kidnapped by the Dragons of Earth."

Karen's forehead creased in concentration as she continued. "I think Souhi-san and Hien-san are capable of protecting Hinoto-hime. But if you would really like to check, we could always split up. One of us could go check on Hinoto-hime, and the other two could go find Kamui-kun. Or we could just stay together. Whatever you want."

Yuzuriha thought for a moment; she had no idea what to do! Kamui-kun--he mattered a lot! But Hinoto-sama, she was an important person, too!

But what did Hinoto-sama want? She...wanted to help Kamui. That's what she'd want. Yuzuriha was sure of it!

"I think we should go find Kamui-kun!" Yuzuriha confessed. "I'm sure that's what Hinoto-sama would want."

Arashi gave a small nod, "I'm going to have to agree with you." She said lightly. "Kamui-kun is more important... and Hinoto-hime does have all the help she will need."

She gave a slight nod. "I suppose it's settled then. We'll find Kamui." She stated, giving another nod to emphasize her point.

"Uhm," Yuzuriha paused. "Where do you think he is?"

* * *

Subaru groaned loudly, and tried to push himself up with his right hand. Suddenly, he heard a loud crack, and collapsed. His hand? Was it broken?

He tried to push himself over, and found that Seishirou was not too far away, and several people were hovering over him-- several people he recognized as Dragons of the Earth.

He tried to push himself away from them as best as he could without getting noticed.

Collapsing reluctantly into Kanoe's arms, Seishirou let go of his control over himself and relaxed his aching muscles. He made it. He wouldn't die for now...not until he got what he wanted.

Suddenly there seemed to be multitude of people swarming about him, but his mind was too groggy to distinguish one from the next. He thought he heard a feminine voice say she would call for an ambulance, and the thought suddenly jarred him away. No, no one could be called. It would take too long, give the Dragons of Heaven too much time to act. "No...ambulance!" he called out after the unseen face, but he knew not whether he was in time.

Glancing up over Kanoe's shoulder, he caught sight of several distorted faces: a girl he recognized vaguely but could not put a name to, his colleague Kigai Yuuto, looking contemptuous as ever, and the young man that would decide the fate of the world...Kamui. He stifled a chuckle. So they had pulled it off. They had gotten Kamui down here after all.

Yuuto drew near to him. "You look like Hell."

Seishirou met his gleaming eyes for only a moment before breaking off into a horrendous coughing fit. -Insolent bastard,- he breathed beneath the clouded blanket over his mind. When the blonde young man had retreated into the room from whence he had come, Seishirou suddenly remembered what was still there.

With much effort he managed to push away from Kanoe's careful embrace, though the comfort of the cloth against his lacerated skin was something he did not want to yield. Looking intently into her eyes, he did his best to clear his throat. "Sumeragi...remember?" he choked in as few words as possible. "Hokuto's brother. Do not kill him. He is...mine." Unable to explain more without choking on his own blood, he slumped back into her arms, thankful that she and the others cared enough to want him alive.

As Yuuto pulled up the Seal's collar, Satsuki started in recognition at the face. He was the young man whom Seishirou seemed to be interested in… very interested in. She was almost certain that the Sakurazukamori felt some sort of attraction to him, albeit in a  
morbid, stalker-ish way. Satsuki remembered watching the assassin from BEAST on many different occasions, and every time he seemed to be discreetly following the young man who was presently lying half- conscious on the floor. His name was Sumeragi something, she recalled, or some other name along those lines.

Satsuki looked on with a vague sort of concern as Yuuto dragged the Seal to the side. "San-san, not that I'm disagreeing with you, but you may want to be a little more gentle with that Seal. I don't think it would be a wise idea to get on Sakurazuka-san's bad side." Leaving Yuuto with that cryptic message, she strode towards the door of the chamber. Before she exited, however, another thought occurred to her. Satsuki turned back and said, "San-san, why don't you take the Seal to one of our bedrooms right now? It's very unlikely that Kamui will find him if he's hidden there. I'll go back to where the others are and see if I can distract Kamui while you move the Seal."

Satsuki returned to the other room with some cloth bandages and saw that the blonde girl was now hovering over Seishirou as well. Realizing that she could not say anything privately to Kanoe without making Kamui suspicious, she said, "I couldn't get through to the emergency dispatcher, so an ambulance won't be coming. I'm afraid that we'll have to take care of Sakurazuka-san's wounds without help." As she said these words, Satsuki looked directly into Seishirou's eyes, to let him know that she had received his message.

She then looked towards Kamui, saying, "I'm very sorry, this is a very unexpected occurrence. This is not typical at all of being one of the Dragons of Earth. Please don't let this discourage you." Satsuki took some of the bandages she had with her and pressed them to a wound on Seishirou's arm. "I don't want to trouble you, Kamui- san, but could you please help me to tie these bandages? I think I'll need to go back and get some more."

Glancing idly at the computer genius as she addressed him, Yuuto shrugged and returned a smirk in Subaru's direction. "Fine, whatever you think his best." His tone was sardonic but cool. As Satsuki left, he wrenched the young Seal from the floor and dragged him down the hall to the nearest bedroom.

_-I guess I'll just wait here and watch him until Kanoe comes to check things out,- _he mused, locking the door behind him, not that it would do any good against the power of a Dragon of Heaven. But by the looks of it, the young man was in no condition to move at all, much less escape his vigilant eye.

Subaru felt himself being dragged. He tried to move his hand, but no...it didn't seem to want to move at all.

He felt a familiar taste in his mouth. A metallic taste. Blood.

Eventually, the blood collected in the front of his mouth, and he tried to spit it out, but that only resulted in it drooling out down his chin. That took too much effort; he ended up swallowing much of his blood.

He tried to open his mouth and speak; he wanted to ask where he was going, what they were doing with him. All he managed was a soft cough.

After a minute, he was no longer moving. He found his head hitting a hard marble floor. He winced as it cracked against the floor.

* * *

Though as cold hearted as he was, Kamui couldn't ignore the request to help a dying man. Taking some bandages from Satsuki, Kamui began to help tend to the mans wounds.

"This is very serious. Maybe you should try calling the hospital again. I'm surprised he hasn't died of blood loss yet..."

He got his first good look at Kamui. Not just an image he had been shown, not just through one of Kanoe's dream-manipulations, but the real thing. Beautiful. He had no other words. His complexion was very much like Subaru's, though not as refined or sophisticated. Still...this boy had power and cunning beyond the full knowledge of either Hinoto or Kanoe.

Meeting those large golden eyes of pure power, Seishirou chuckled under his breath. "Thanks for the help," he managed to choke, his cynical tenor hidden in the raspiness of his voice. -You have no idea what you're getting yourself into...- And he smirked darkly under his bloody mask. Oh, yes. He would thrive on the pains of Kamui's decisions...

* * *

Slumping against the door of the bedroom, Yuuto buried his face in his hands and smothered a yawn. _-Gah, I wasn't meant for guard duty,-_ he thought wearily, peering listlessly through the gaps between his fingers. How did he get stuck here, anyway? Oh, yes, he had to agree to Satsuki's plan to get the sniveling little Dragon of Heaven out of the way.

The haggard breathing of the lovely young Seal drowned out all other sounds within his hearing, and the panting form on the bed filled his vision. Just a single clench of his hand around that frail, clammy neck...just one short blast of energy, not even enough to arouse the attention of his cohorts in the next room. He could almost hear the young guardian begging for mercy.

"Heh," he scoffed under his breath, casting a shallow simper in the darkened room. -I'm starting to sound like Satsuki and Sakurazuka- san. I wonder whatever happened to that funny boy from Kouya? My charismatic charm and wit was certainly in affect that night...- Rubbing his chin with his thumb and forefinger, he suddenly shook himself with an amused chuckle. _-Damn, I'm worse off than I thought. Boredom really isn't my forte.-_

Suddenly he straightened his back. That was it--the answer to keeping Kamui from finding out this Seal's condition, and keeping the other Dragons of Heaven occupied long enough to get the Messenger of God over to their side...hopefully.

He leaped to his feet. "Don't go anywhere, now," he said disdainfully in the young Onmyouji's direction. "I'll be right back." Running out and slapping the door behind him, he returned to the doorway where everyone was still gathered about Seishirou.

Motioning to Satsuki he pulled her aside and a smug grin. "Tell me, Yatouji-san, can BEAST transmit holograms?" At her understandable look of confusion, he proceeded to elaborate a bit. "You know as well as I that the other Seals need to be kept away. We have the perfect bait"--he threw a toss of his head in the direction of the bedroom--"and I need something to do. Sitting and watching some half- dead psychic isn't exactly my idea of a good time. So what do you say?" He flashed the girl one of his most charismatic smiles, placing a tender hand on her shoulder as he sensed her hesitation. "And of course...what Sakurazuka-san doesn't know...can't hurt us."

Subaru could barely hear the words that Yuuto said, let alone react to them. He lay crumbled in a mess of broken bones and blood, breathing heavily.

* * *

Satsuki glanced sharply towards the bedroom where Subaru was and quickly looked in Seishirou's direction to make sure that he hadn't heard. She then looked at Yuuto, puzzled by his question. "Yes, BEAST can do anything I tell it to." She narrowed her eyes at him. "You're not planning on doing something..."—she paused, and then continued her thought for lack of a better term—"...stupid, are you?"

Sensing that she might have given Yuuto the wrong impression, she hurried to correct herself. "What I mean is, I don't want you to try something and then get yourself into a problem that you can't get out of. What if something happens like the incident with the Seals at the DIET building? If Kanoe-san hadn't told me what was going on, the Seals could have stopped you. You would have failed your mission."

Truth be told, Satsuki was much more concerned about Yuuto than she let on. Normally, she found humans to be boring, primitive creatures. She cared for none of them, and likewise none of them seemed to care for her. They were much too wrapped up in their own little worlds to notice anything other than themselves anyway. Yuuto, however, was different from other humans. She didn't know why, but he made her feel something for him that was different… not disdain or contempt, but rather respect. And something else more than respect... She couldn't quite place her finger on what she felt. At any rate, she felt her reluctance crumble as Yuuto placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled kindly at her. His smile touched something inside that she couldn't identify. It somehow made her feel warm inside, happy, almost like she could fly...

"Well, I suppose we could do something," she finally conceded. "Tell me, San-san, what is it exactly that you have in mind? I'll help you as much as I can. Just make sure Sakurazuka-san doesn't find out about this, or..." she left her sentence unfinished, not wanting to think about the consequences.


	8. Chapter 6: Hunting for Kamui

**Chapter Six: Hunting For Kamui**

Karen thought for a minute, concerned. Kamui could be anywhere in Tokyo, and Tokyo was an extremely large city. There was no way that they could possibly find him by trying to follow his trail. Unless...

An idea formed in Karen's mind, which quickly grew into a full- fledged plan. Of course, the answer was obvious. She wondered why she didn't think of it sooner. Karen looked at Yuzuriha and Arashi and said decisively, "What we can do is go out together and walk around the city. We'll use our powers to sense where Kamui is. We'll have to play hot-and-cold, but at least with our powers we'll be able to feel if we're headed in the right direction. And since there's three of us, it'll be easier to sense Kamui's presence."

Arashi almost laughed. She should have come up with that! Oh well- at least someone **did **come up with it. She gave a curt nod, "Very well. That's a capable plan." She said, heading for the door, "At any rate we best be on our way..."

* * *

Satsuki was a brilliant young woman with a certain disdain for the world and humanity. So when he caught a hint of deep pink color in her cheeks as he touched her shoulder, he was almost surprised. Next to Kanoe she was surely his closest companion, but her sharp disposition had taken him at a loss for the most part. This was a pleasant change. At least he would not have to do any deeper persuading.

Nodding solemnly as she gave her warning, he straightened his back and rolled his shoulders. "Of course I'll be careful," he replied with a more cheerful grin. "Just transmit my image from the bedroom and let me guide it. Make it as real as possible--so my ki can be detected as though from my picture. We're going to lead the Seals on a bit of a wild goose chase."

Turning abruptly, he retreated into the bedroom and locked the door behind him. The young man still lay unmoving where he had been left. Approaching without hesitation, Yuuto grabbed a fistful of the damp ebony tresses and yanked the battered face close to his own. "Are you ready to play?" he smirked when he had caught the Seal's weary gaze. "Let's just see how much your comrades would pay for your life..."

Subaru could only make a mere gasp for air. "I..ie...--"

* * *

There was something strange about this man. He couldn't pinpoint it by his looks alone, but his ki was familiar. Faint, but familiar.

Taking a wad of bandages, Kamui cleaned up his hands. He couldn't help but overhear a bit of the conversation between Yuuto and Satsuki and immediately became suspicious as he watched Yuuto leave again.

"Hologram projection?" he asked Satsuki.

"What do you plan to project? If anything it wouldn't be wise to attract attention to yourselves..."

Kotori had finished her deed with helping. She turned to Kamui. "Projections?" she asked questioningly. She tilted her head and blinked a bit.

"Will he be alright?" she asked, turning back to Kanoe. "I mean...really, shouldn't he seek medical help?" She looked behind her again. "Wasn't there another guy here?" she asked Satsuki.

Kotori was confused, and she swung her hair over her shoulder. "Maybe I just imagined it, but I could have sworn..." She stood up again, and walked towards Kamui.

* * *

-I can't believe he doesn't recognize me,- he breathed haggardly, purposefully averting his eyes. Kamui seemed to be getting just slightly suspicious. Thankfully with all this blood and sweat covering him, his face must have been more distorted than he thought.

"Transmit projections?"

The words barely reached his consciousness. Already he was slipping away...into a world of the past.

_-"Seishirou-san..."-_

He looked up sharply. Where was he? Everything was so calm...so...right. But that was impossible. His apartment? The one he had shared with Subaru and Hokuto for an entire year? He glanced around...and met the eyes that forever haunted his dreams. Yes, that had to have been it. This was a dream. Subaru never looked at him that way anymore. Not since...

Shaking himself sternly, he turned abruptly away to rub the bridge of nose. And he nearly shed his skin when he felt the hand on his shoulder. He could not escape them, those eyes that continued to consume his entire world.

Knowing now that this must be a dream, Seishirou pivoted slowly on his heels to face the man of his long-term rivalry. Lifting a hand to the prim jaw line, he brushed a finger against the pallid cheek. _- "Subaru-kun, what I wouldn't give for you to look at me that way today..."-  
_  
And then the picture faded, and he cringed half consciously as he found himself back in his own mangled body, back in this horrid place of corruption and conspiracy, back in the arms of a woman whom he cared nothing for. He could not remember what he had heard just before drifting out of awareness, but he felt it was important nonetheless.

_-Subaru...- _Jaw tightening into a vicious gnarl as his teeth clenched so adamantly that his gums began to ache, he formed a fierce fist around Kanoe's slender arm as he clung to her for support, digging through the cloth of her suit and into her soft flesh. For an instant he thought he glimpsed a sakura blossom drift idly to the floor. _-I swear with every last breath I have, Subaru...I will drain the life from your wretched body with my own bare hands. You are mine--your soul belongs to me. And I will see you crumple beneath my grasp.-  
_

* * *

Yuzuriha nodded in agreement with the two other women. She felt a little strange; she really wanted to fit in with Arashi-san and Karen- san. She'd try her best.

Inuki whined a bit, and Yuzuriha noticed a little blood draining from his leg down to his paw. She pulled her ribbon off of her school uniform and tied it around his leg. She hugged him tightly, trying to ignore the pain from her own arm.

'If I were taking Kamui, where would I take him?' Yuzuriha thought to herself. She'd take him to Hagen-Daaz, but she doubted that the Dragons of the Earth would be taking him out for a treat.

As they left the DIET building, she tried the best to locate Kamui with her power...

Karen followed Arashi and Yuzuriha out of the building and looked around as they stepped outside. She noticed Yuzuriha wincing in pain, reminding her of her own injuries.

"Here, Yuzuriha," she took a cloth napkin she happened to have in her purse and gave it to the girl. Karen looked in concern at her two fellow Dragons of Heaven as she held another napkin over the wound in her shoulder.

"Is anyone seriously injured?" she asked. Besides her natural maternal concern, the pain of an injury could block out their sixth senses that they needed to find Kamui. She prayed that he was still alright and that they would be able to find him before something happened...

* * *

Drilled with questions by both Kamui and Kotori, Satsuki's mind raced to come up with a plausible explanation. She decided to go with a partial truth; after all, it was more believable that any excuse she could come up with in such a short notice. She prayed that Kamui hadn't overheard too much of the conversation, or her excuse would be an obvious lie.

"I'm sure you know that the Final Battle is coming, Shiro-san," Satsuki said smoothly. "Right now, Kanoe-san is gathering all of the Dragons of Earth in preparation for the battle. But as you may have noticed, the Dragons of both sides are scattered all around Japan. It makes communication rather difficult at times, especially when real life gets in the way."

Hoping she could fill out her rather thin excuse, she continued speaking, saying the first thing that popped into her head at the moment. :: Kusanagi-san isn't going to be very happy about this :: she thought sardonically before she continued, still keeping her exterior cool.

"One of our Dragons of Earth happens to be in Japan's Defense Force, and it's extremely difficult for anyone to contact him directly while he's on duty. I suppose they don't want any pushy family members distracting the soldiers while they're in training," she smiled cynically. "In any case, the only ways one can communicate with the soldiers is to send mail, to leave a message with the commander, or to visit the base in person. Sending mail takes far too much time, and obviously leaving a message with the commander about the End of the World is rather awkward. The rest of us do have our own lives, and visiting the base in person isn't always convenient. So the easiest way for us to communicate with him is to use hologram projections that look real enough to pass off as people to the army personnel at the base."

It was theoretically true; communication with Kusanagi was virtually impossible while he was at the base, and holograms would be the best way to keep in touch with their fellow Dragon of Earth if nobody could go to see him personally. Satsuki simply didn't mention the fact that this method of communication had not yet been used, nor did she mention that Kusanagi was on leave at the moment and was currently in Tokyo.

"Anyways, you can see—" she pointed at Seishirou's form slumped over on the floor, "—that the other Dragons of Earth need to be informed about this situation. But those wounds need to be treated, and we can't afford for anyone to go personally to the base right now. So San-san has gone to send a message to Kusanagi-san. That's why he's not here right now, Monou-san," she said, addressing Kotori's question. "Kusanagi-san might be able to help, because he has learned how to deal with serious wounds as part of his training."

Finishing her speech, Satsuki bowed slightly to Kamui and Kotori. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to fetch more first aid supplies for Sakurazuka-san." She took a roll of bandages from her pocket and pushed them into Kotori's hand. "I'm sorry to trouble you like this, Monou-san, but could you help Kanoe-san to take care of Sakurazuka-san a little longer? I'll be back in a minute with more supplies." Satsuki walked calmly the door, fervently hoping that Kamui wouldn't question her excuse. But even if he did, she knew that he wouldn't follow her. Kotori, undoubtedly, would stay in this room to help Seishirou, and Kamui would never let Kotori out of his sight here.

Kotori looked at the bandages she was handed. "Oh, really? I'm sorry to hear that." She wasn't even sure if there was that kind of technology around yet, probably was, but hey.

She turned her attention back to the injured male. "I still don't understand what could have done this." she murmured. The boy was looking a bit familiar the more she looked at him, but she couldn't place it. "Shouldn't we try to remove some of this blood before it dries up on him?" she questioned.

"Kamui, is everything okay?" she asked, looking over her shoulder.

* * *

He felt the energy surrounding him as Satsuki's pet machine was started up and directed at the bedroom. The link between his position and his destination was clear, and he prepared himself for the tumultuous trip through the distance of time and space.

The atmosphere changed in an instant, and he caught his breath in his throat for a moment as the air thickened around him. The bleak scenery of the bedroom vanished in an instant, and suddenly he was standing in the middle of the street, almost exactly where he had been while confronting Kamui for the first time.

He glanced down at his arms and legs, took a look over his shoulder and ran his hands down his chest. -Yup, all here.- He grinned light- heartedly with satisfaction. -You never let me down, Satsuki.- The girl was a genius. He was here--part of him, anyway.

Shifting his gaze to the crumbling DIET building, he saw the girls emerging from the death trap he had triggered not a few hours before. They were relentless rascals, he had to give them that. Undoubtedly they were still pursuing Kamui, blind and minorly injured as they were.

With ample power he vaulted from the ground and landed on the roof of a neighboring building, well out of the immediate reach of the baffled Seals. Clasping his bloody hostage's throat with slender, apathetic fingers, he gathered his breath and began his game.

"Well, it seems you've all survived!" he called down in a genuinely cheerful voice--he was finally getting what he wanted. "Thank goodness, I was afraid I might have come too late. I commend you on your skills and wit, but what do you think to do now?" He paused suspense fully to watch the reactions on each lovely face. "And where is Kamui? Have you lost him?" With his free hand, he wagged a accusing finger at them playfully. "Tsk, tsk, not good at all. But this..."--he hefted the young man off his knees for all to see, clenching a fist around the lithe neck until the poor Seal was choking for air--"...Is this not one of your own? I can't help but wonder...would you dare to help him, knowing your mission would be at stake? Or would you choose to let him die, drowned in his own blood...?"

Summoning a spurt of energy, he drew his tendrils of blue ribbon about his body, letting the edge of one get just close enough to the wounded Onmyouji's face to nick the pale cheek with a static shock of electricity. A drop of blood seeped from the comparatively insignificant wound, but the reaction from his fellow Dragons of Heaven was enough to get even his corporal blood boiling.

"So...what will it be?"

Arashi's eyes narrowed. She knew what needed to be done- find Kamui. He was the most important thing at the moment- but saving another seal was also fairly important. Emotionlessly she held out her hand.

Out came her sword and in one fluid motion she snagged it from the air, "Karen-san, Yuzuriha-chan... Please go find Kamui-san. I will take care of this- Kamui-san is more important at this moment." She said. With that, Arashi bounded into the air, her sword raised at an arc ready to bring it down upon Yuuto.

He felt a slight nick across his cheek; the small wound was seemingly nothing compared to the pain he felt fall across his body. He considered struggling, and actually tried to shake himself free with the rest of his strength, but found himself losing more blood than ever because of it. He couldn't hold himself up anymore, and before long he found himself succumbing into the darkness.

"A...Arashi-san! We can't leave you," Yuzuriha protested. She put her hands together and made her force shield over-take a kilometer x kilometer of the surrounding area...

Glad for the action presented him, he cocked his head curiously at the Seal with the psychic blade and stepped easily aside, out of her striking range. "Nice trick," he commented, peering a little closer at the sword. "And you seem to wield it well. No doubt you're a Dragon of Heaven."

Suddenly a shield barrier spread around them, encompassing the entire area. Yuuto glanced down to see that a young girl had cast the spell. A cute little thing, and she had a spirit dog. "I suppose this means a death match, eh? Seems I'm trapped here for the moment..." He smirked with a toss of his fair stringy hair, knowing with Satsuki's aid he could leave at any time.

Guilefully he drew the limp young Seal's body up against his abdomen, wrapping one arm around the waist, using his free hand to crane the supple chin toward his face. Blood marked the panting, clammy body as the man's dark eyes stared blankly into space. Completely helpless. Seishirou had done a thorough number on him.

Smiling innocently Yuuto looked back up at the beautiful Dragon of Heaven wielding her blade in a defensive stance, poised to attack. "You wouldn't risk striking me now...," he mused quietly, just loud enough to reach her ears. "Would you sacrifice your comrade to get to me?" He stroked his hostage's face with mock tenderness, then ran a finger along the slender throat, cutting a shallow incision vertically from his Adam's apple to the soft chest cavity.

His ribbons entangled about his body, he focused his ki on the two young women standing below. "It wouldn't be any fun if I didn't get my turn." With this breathless phrase, he summoned the power to shoot the energy-laden silk strands at the Seals standing beside the building. But before the one with the sword--evidently the most powerful of the three--had the chance to race to the rescue, he held out his hand that had been grasping the Onmyouji's throat. "You wanted to play, didn't you?" he said with grim sarcasm. "Please...you can't back away now." An orb of pure crystalline water formed in the air, hovering just centimeters above his palm. Then he turned his hand toward her with a sudden burst of energy, shouting with delighted pleasure as the attack blasted at her in a stream of liquid, "You don't seem very enthusiastic. Here! I guess I'll have to liven things up for you!"

"Arashi!" Yuzuriha cried out, running to her comrade. Her feet pounded against the pavement, and every movement, every second it took seemed like one second less she had to help Arashi.

She tried harder; Yuzuriha was never incredibly athletic, but she had her times. She pushed herself farther and farther until she was sure that she'd be able to help her friend.

Inuki took heed of Yuzuriha's actions and quickly bounded past her, and pounced Arashi, as if attacking her.

Yuzuriha blinked in surprise as she watched her spirit dog try to bring Arashi down to the ground.

Karen was normally a very patient woman; she understood that a Dragon could not choose which side of the Final Battle to be on, and she knew that it was the responsibility of a Dragon of Earth to bring down the Kekkais' of Japan. She did not agree with the Dragons of Earth, but she could not blame them for their actions; after all, they were simply carrying out the duties that Destiny forced on them.

But now, she found that her patience was being severely tried. This blonde man was slowly but surely wearing away any sympathetic feelings that she may have had with his situation. First, he had attacked them under the DIET building; Karen was sure that the flood has been his doing. He had put innocent lives at risk and nearly destroyed the entire building in the process. Then, he had somehow spirited Kamui away; his comments only confirmed to Karen that Kamui was being held by the other Dragons of Earth. He had badly wounded Subaru, too; Karen had no doubt that the blonde Dragon had inflicted those injuries on her comrade. And now, his uncalled-for attack on Arashi was the last straw. Fortunately, Yuzuriha had rescued the young Ise priestess, and everything seemed to be under control.

Karen had been mildly annoyed with the Dragon of Earth at first. Then, that annoyance gave way to severe irritation. And now, for possibly the first time in her life, Karen was angry. Not mildly angered or frustrated, either; Karen was completely furious.

Karen looked quickly towards Arashi and Yuzuriha to make sure that the two girls were all right for the time being. Trying to keep her emotions in check so she wouldn't lose control of her powers, she then leapt up the side of the building and landed on the roof directly in front of Yuuto. Karen approached her handsome adversary and stopped a few feet away from him, smiling pleasantly; yet a dangerous flame in her eyes bespoke her true emotions. "That was hardly gentlemanly of you, sir, to attack a girl so viciously without giving her a fair warning," she remarked in a light tone.

Karen then clasped her hands together and lifted them in front of her, calling forth her cross-shaped shield that quickly expanded and enveloped Yuzuriha's. She gazed again at Yuuto, anger burning in her eyes. "I suppose you're here to stop us from reaching Kamui," she commented. "But I'm not going to let you toy with Sumeragi-san like this. And I won't let you hurt Yuzuriha-chan." She indicated the girl's cylindrical barrier with one hand, and then motioned to her own that surrounded it. "If you want to leave here, you'll have to take down my Kekkai first. I'll give you two choices. You can either make this easy on yourself and let Sumeragi-san go now, or you'll have to fight me." Karen's eyes burned dangerously as flames slowly began to swirl around her body. "You wouldn't want me to remind you why your mother taught you not to play with fire when you were young, now would you?"

* * *

Satsuki closed the door of the chamber behind her and sighed with relief. It had been a close call, too close for comfort. After she collected her nerves a little, Satsuki walked to the room where BEAST was located. She glanced quickly at the door of the room where Yuuto and Subaru were, noting that all seemed quiet. It was a good sign; it meant that they had been transported in the hologram already.

Satsuki entered BEAST's chamber and collected some bandages that were in the room, commanding as she worked: "BEAST, please monitor Yuuto- san for me. If the situation becomes too dangerous for him, pull him back here immediately." The computer whirred and beeped lightly at her request; it seemed to comply, but rather grudgingly.

It passed through Satsuki's mind that her computer was acting quite strangely, but she was too busy to think of it now. Brushing aside the thought for the moment, she left the room and returned to the chamber where the others were. She paused in front of the door first and took a deep breath, knowing full well that Kamui would probably be suspicious of her intentions. :: Well, here goes nothing :: she thought, and pushed open the door.


	9. Chapter 7: Back on his feet

**Chapter Seven: Back On His Feet**

Yuzuriha smiled at Karen's speech. She could only wish that she could ever be that brave. Personally, she was still just a coward. Even now, she was afraid of death. However, judging from Karen-san's confidence, she could care less what happened to her. Yuzuriha hoped that one day she could be that confident and brave and selfless. But for now...

She turned to Arashi. "Arashi-san, daijobu desu ka?"

His water cannon missed as the spirit beast shoved the young priestess to the ground, but he recovered quickly, never letting his guard down. This may have been a mere hologram, but its physical bearings still allowed for him to be injured. He could not afford to be too careless.

When he looked up again, he found himself staring into the face of an extremely beautiful young woman...with a little less clothing than seemed appropriate. Flames licked at her eyes as she declared her challenge, standing with fierce determination before him.

At first a surprised expression fleeted across his features, startled that such a lady would defy him so arrogantly. But as she enveloped him in her own kekkai, he regained his smug composure. This was, after all, one of the Seven Seals.

Then a word struck him meaningfully. "Sumeragi-san...?" he mused, glancing down into the pale face of his battered hostage. "The clan of Onmyouji...led by a man. This is the head of the infamous Sumeragi, then?" He could not help but laugh out loud at this. "My, my, Sakurazuka-san certainly chooses his enemies well."

His face turned serious. "You would think to attack me while I have your dear Sumeragi-san as my human shield? You surprise me, taking the risk of burning him alive just to fight me. But...I'll humor you." Carelessly he shoved the limp body to the ground, knowing that even if one of the Seals tried to save him, they would not be able to touch him. Sumeragi's holographic image was weaker than Yuuto's, on account of not wanting to lose the hostage. The young man was his trump card to luring the others away, and he would not give him up that easily.

Straightening his trench coat with a cocked eyebrow, he rotated his neck and cracked his knuckles, as though preparing for a brawl in a wrestling arena. "All right, so now we answer the age-old question: which would prevail, fire or water?" And with this he raised a hand, stained with a bit of the Onmyouji's blood, and summoned the essence of his power...

Arashi stood and dusted herself off. She should have seen that water attack coming, and thanking goodness for Inuki and Yuzuriha. She listened to Karen's speech before answering Yuzuriha, "I'm fine... but we must end this quickly. Kamui-san still needs to be found and having all of us tied up here is not going to help him wherever he is." she stated, her sword in hand still. She walked up and stood behind and slightly to the right of Karen. She was there to back up the fire user whenever needed- no one had to be hurt in this battle... and she didn't **want **anyone hurt either...

* * *

Though Kamui still had his suspicions of these people, Satsuki's explanation of the hologram seemed reasonable to believe. He couldn't tell if she was lying anyways. The girls composure never wavered. She was either a good liar or as heartless as she seemed.

"No, it's not ok..." he told Kotori.

Kamui had been standing quietly for some time now, watching as Satsuki disappeared a reappeared from the other rooms. He had no idea where Yuuto went off to. He seemed so eager to get him here and he doesn't stick around afterwards. Not to mention the strange noises from the other rooms. Like a machine or something.

Patience wasn't Kamui's strong point, and the neglecting of getting any kind of answers from these people were getting him angered rather quickly.

"If all I was invited here to do ,was clean up a half dead man, then I wasted my time! If I don't get some answers soon I'm taking Kotori and..."

Kamui suddenly stopped in his tracks and quickly held his head. A high pitched like noise began to ring through his ears. Not once, but twice. He was familiar with this sound...

"A Psychic Barrier?" questioned Kamui. Sorata had explained this to him before and he never forgot that sound since.

Things were starting to make sense now. Yuuto's disappearance, Satsuki's odd behavior and the strange noises from earlier. Kamui looked up at Kanoe,his eyes filled with rage.

"What's going on here!? Is this some kind of set up!?" he shouted.

Kanoe looked up at Kamui and paled slightly. "No, no, it's not a setup at all," Kanoe hastened to reassure him. She shot a desperate glance in Satsuki's direction and continued talking to Kamui, keeping his attention on her. "You see, our equipment here has been rather faulty lately…" she said, saying the first thing that came to mind.

Satsuki took her cue from Kanoe and slipped wordlessly from the room, going unnoticed by Kamui. As soon as she was out in the hall, she dashed to the chamber where BEAST was located. "BEAST!" she cried out as she burst into the room, "Bring San-san back right now! Hurry!"

To Satsuki's surprise and horror, the supercomputer simply hummed slightly and continued on with its projection. "BEAST, what are you doing?!" she shrieked, temporarily losing her usual cool demeanor. "This is no time to be temperamental! Bring San-san back immediately!"

This time, the computer did not even acknowledge Satsuki's command. Satsuki slowly sank to the floor, dropping to her knees. For the first time in her life, she was unable to understand her computer's actions. The thought frightened her greatly, and she felt as if her powers had suddenly been stripped away from her. In desperation she again spoke to the supercomputer, her voice trembling:

"BEAST, bring Yuuto-san back! Please, listen to me!"

* * *

"SUBARU-KUN!!" Yuzuriha screamed, with an outreached hand. There was no way that she'd be able to reach him before he fell against the hard concrete.

She watched as his body hit the ground and bounded up again from the impact, then made its final landing. Blood flew onto Yuzuriha, and she found herself trying to wipe it from her face and hands, with no avail.

She got up and ran over to Subaru...

Karen bristled with fury as her opponent casually dropped Subaru on the floor. She couldn't believe that anyone was capable of being so heartless, yet the proof was right in front of her, in the form of a smiling, handsome blonde man. She could feel her anger almost exploding from within her and had to roughly push her feelings down before she lost control of her powers.

Karen winced as the Subaru's battered figure hit the floor with a dull thud, yet was at the same time relieved that the Dragon of Earth had let him go. It would give her some space to carry out her plan. She had an idea that was slowly taking shape in her mind, and she prayed that it would work.

Karen slowly became aware of Arashi's presence behind her; she hadn't realized that the girl was there, so distracted was she by her fury at the Dragon of Earth. Her fellow Seal's presence caused her idea to click firmly into place in her mind. From the corner of her mouth, she muttered to Arashi so that her opponent wouldn't hear, "Try to get Sumeragi san out of the way. I'll distract the Dragon of Earth." Then, without waiting for the water caster to send his attack at her, Karen leaped to the side, away from Subaru, and threw a blast of fire at her adversary.

Arashi's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing. She took a step back then  
leapt gracefully from the building. She landed neatly near Yuzuriha.

"Are you alright, Yuzuriha-chan?" She asked unnecessarily. She then looked to Sumeragi-san. She winced slightly at all the blood and gore. Her sword re-entered her body as the priestess knelt down beside Yuzuriha, looking over the man before them.

"We need to get Sumeragi-san out of here- can you help me?" She asked gently, knowing Yuzuriha was probably horrified.

The flames came hurtling at him from close-range. He had no time to think, barely enough to move. Luckily his instincts had not totally died on him, and he sprang out of the way just in time to watch the stream of fire blast past him. However, he did not escape unscathed. A stray flare singed the lining of his coat sleeve, and he slapped a quick hand over it to put it out. The occurrence did well to remind him that he was not invincible, nor anything like.

"That was close," he called out, scowling smugly, throwing her a debonair smile. "You're a ruthless little thing, aren't you? I bet you would shoot me through the head at point-blank if I gave you the chance. Am I right?"

Landing on the opposite corner of the high rooftop, Yuuto brought forth his awaiting buildup of hydroelectric power, forming it into a lethal attack of his own. "It seems you've all but set the place on fire. Allow me to extinguish that flame!" Thrusting his hands forward, he released three simultaneous blasts of water, one directly at the fiery Dragon of Heaven, and one to each side of her. If she tried to escape to the right or left, she would be struck. The only alternative was to jump straight up out of the way, and he would be ready for that.

* * *

He needed to breathe. All these imbeciles crowding his space... If he did not die from blood loss, he would most certainly perish from suffocation.

Then it dawned on him. He could think clearly again. It was finally kicking in, the power of Onmyoujitsu that flowed through his veins. His strength was slowly returning, though he could not sense it taking place.

Irritably he brushed the prying hands from his blood-caked form, reaching out for the closest body to pull himself to his feet. Kotori. He felt her shuddering gasp as he clung to her shoulders for support, forcing himself with endless effort to his feet. At first he felt as though he would instantly collapse again, like his legs were made of pudding. But after a few moments of finding some semblance of bearing, he found that no bones cracks as he stood. This was a definite improvement. He could have sworn Subaru had broken at least one leg in two different places, cracked three or more ribs, and he was sure he had seen the bone protruding from his left elbow earlier. Yet none of that was apparent now.

He looked down into the young girl's eyes. So full of innocence...of wonder. "Such a shame," he murmured, and was surprised to find he no longer choked on every word. Gingerly he lifted a hand that was no longer tingling with impending deadness, and stroked her satiny cheek. His finger left a streak of blood across her angelic complexion. "So much beautiful life...wasted."

Straightening himself through a painful crack in his spine, he kept his head lowered as he glanced around the room. Kamui. _-Baka!- _he screamed at himself, turning his head sharply away. Big mistake. His temples suddenly throbbed with searing pain, and he nearly tumbled to the floor again. This was the one chance the Dragons of Earth had to bring Kamui to their side. If the young man were to recognize him...everything would be for naught.

Suddenly it occurred to him, and he glanced once more around the room when it stopped spinning. It had been Kigai Yuuto's job to contact Kamui and bring him to Kanoe. So where was the suave playboy now? Certainly it must be something very important to miss confronting the infamous Shiro Kamui, now that the opportunity was finally here.

"Where's Kigai?" he questioned casually. "And..." Subaru. Gods of night, what had happened to Subaru? Surely Satsuki would... He glanced toward the closed toward leading to the room where BEAST was housed. "If you'll excuse me," he muttered, trying his best to keep his fragile composure, "I think I'll go clean up. And...don't wait around."

Without awaiting a response, he trudged one gradual, shaky step at a time to the door, shoved it open and passed through.

* * *

Yuzuriha trembled violently. She had never seen so much blood in her life. Could that mangled body of bones and flesh really be Subaru? He was hardly recognizable now...

She forced herself to crawl over to him. She really had no idea what she was going to do, but...

She tried to pull him face-up, only to find that her hands went straight through his flesh. At first, she was confused, and convinced herself that there was no way she could have done that-- that it was merely an illusion she had formed in her head to keep herself from the reality-- that the mangled body WAS Subaru.

She cupped her hand around a hand, only to find that she felt nothing...

Karen snarled angrily and leapt straight into the air to avoid the blasts of water. At the same time, she threw out her hands in front of her to create a fiery wall, shielding her from any stray streams of water.

The fire-caster landed lightly on the roof where she had been standing. She glared fiercely at her opponent and retorted, "That's right. I'm never any good at being angry, but you, sir, just might be the only person who I won't hesitate to hurt."

Flames swirled around Karen's body as she called upon all of her power, enraged as she was at the Dragon of Earth. "How dare you hurt my friends like this? How dare you?!" The flames surrounding Karen grew even stronger; her eyes burned as brightly as her psychic flames. "I swear you'll pay for this!" And without further ado, she sent a huge column of fire blasting towards her adversary.

* * *

Kotori's hands were pushed back, and she gasped. The man that could hardly move now, was pulling on her.

She tried to help him steady himself. "Sir...I don't really think you should move yet..." she whispered in her soft voice.

_"Such a shame," he murmured._

"E-Excuse me?" she asked. She tilted her head; her blonde locks falling in to her face.  
_  
"So much beautiful life...wasted."_

Kotori stiffened as he touched her. She felt the coldness of his hands and the warmth of the blood mixed together. She shivered, closing her eyes tight. She was a bit nervous, and all she could mutter was:

"K-Kamui..."

Kanoe's rambling easily told him that she was hiding something. Kamui's eyes filled with rage as he held out his hand, his energy slowly began to charge. With one simple wave Kanoe would be forever gone from this world, as well as the rest of these people.

"I should have done this from the start," said Kamui with a smirk.

"K-Kamui..."

He suddenly snapped out of his trance as he heard his name called out. "Kotori...?" he questioned. Kamui dropped his hand and turned around.

The man from before seemed to be up on his feet again and walked away after muttering a few words. Kamui rushed to Kotori side. "Are you ok?" he questioned looking her in the eyes with concern. She seemed shaken, but fine nonetheless.

Kamui suspicions began rise further as the battered man had walked away. He then noticed to that the girl with the glasses had disappeared as well. When she did was beyond him.

Every fiber of his being told him to run and get Kotori to get out of there, but he hesitated. That man, his Ki was stronger than from a few moments ago and it seemed all too familiar...

"Kotori..." He said looking down at her. "I'm going to follow him. If anything happens, even the slightest incident, I want you to run. Run as fast as you can back to the shrine without stopping. Understand?"

He placed a hand gently on he cheek and neatly wiped a bit at the blood off her face with his thumb. Without saying another work. Kamui darted off after Seishirou.

Kotori looked at Kamui. She rubbed off the rest of the blood with the back of her hand as he walked off. She had nodded her silent agreement.

Kotori had gotten over the shock, and looked at Kanoe. "Uhm..." she said uncomfortably. She really had no idea what was going on.

* * *

Satsuki sat helplessly on the floor, unable to think of a solution. She had always trusted BEAST to solve any problems that came up, but now the computer itself was the problem. She hated to admit it, but, for the first time in her life, Satsuki was completely lost.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching, and someone entered the chamber. Satsuki immediately leapt up and spun around to face the intruder. To her surprise, the figure in the door was none other than Sakurazuka Seishirou, looking bloodied and ready to collapse but still standing.

"Sakurazuka-san, what on earth are you doing?" Satsuki hissed. She swiftly moved to his side and pulled him into the room, quickly shutting the door behind him. Pushing aside her own predicament for the moment, she said to him in frustration, "You're injured! And did you just leave Kamui with Kanoe like this? What if something happens? He might have followed you here!"

He glared at Satsuki, but before he could get a word out, she grabbed him and yanked him the rest of the way through the door, causing him to stumble and nearly fall flat on his face. Fortunately he caught his balance by leaning on the girl for support; he doubted he would have been able to get up again.

Ignoring her accusation concerning the one with which the world's fate rested, he reached out languidly and grasped her throat, incomprehensible rage driving his purpose. "Where's Subaru?" he demanded, nodding toward the place where his adversary had lain not an hour before.

But before Satsuki had the chance to answer, the door burst open behind them, and he turned his head wearily to see Kamui, equal furor written across his fair complexion. Groaning at the interruption, he shoved the girl aside.

"I don't have time for you!" he shouted ardently, forgetting momentarily that he was still very weak. Suddenly he could no longer control his rage. Was it delirium? Perhaps. All he knew was that Subaru--the only person on this God-forsaken planet whom he cared enough for to love or hate--was missing, and these fools were hindering his progress. Avidly he pitched a hand forward in Kamui's direction, unleashing a barrage of physical illusions--much like the asteroid field he had trapped sent them to in the basement of the DIET building. Unfortunately the effects were minimal, as his psychic energy was far from restored.

Uttering a curse under his breath, he staggered back and reached for Satsuki. "Where is he? Answer me! What has Kigai done?" Yes, Yuuto. Now he remembered. Just before drifting off into the realm of his memories, he had heard the faint utterance of the words "psychic barrier," just shortly after Yuuto had walked past him.

So now, caught between Kamui and his reckless, undefined search, he glared at Satsuki for the answers. They were all fools: Dragons of Heaven, Dragons of Earth. It made no difference. His fight did not concern any of them. This matter concerned the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi clan alone. The rest of them could burn in Hell for all he cared...

* * *

No sooner had his hydro-barrage ceased, when the elegant Seal shielded herself in a wall of flame from an immediate second attack, and then hurled the divine column of fire in his direction. There was no acute target; the thing was huge. Even if Yuuto walled himself with a barrier of ice, he would suffocate in moments from the density and heat of the steamy smoke.

He leaped, but not high enough. The cascade of fire caught his legs and collided with his supple midsection, knocking the breath instantly from his lungs. Each split second became an eternity as the flames bit and tore through his fair flesh. But he knew that forever had not yet passed, because the shrill cry he released on impact did not cease until he hit the solid surface of the roof.

The world was spinning. His entire body was suddenly covered in fervent perspiration. Using his arms to prop himself up, he smirked at the radiant Seal, flinching as his legs continued to sear with pain. He could have sworn they were still on fire. "Not bad," he sputtered, his nose inadvertently twitching upward in an attempt to form a snarl. He stayed the intuitive effort. "But you still can't save your precious Sumeragi." He did not wait to see the perplexed expression mount her exquisite features. "Take a look for yourself," he added, jerking his head in the direction where the young Onmyouji's body had plummeted from the building.

Only then did he turn his head to the side, out of range of the Dragon of Heaven's hearing. "I think I've had enough fun for one day," he muttered with grimace. "All right, BEAST, time to get out of here."

He waited. Nothing happened. New beads of sweat began to dot his knitted brow. "BEAST, this isn't funny. Recall the hologram now." When more silence followed, he clenched his teeth and slammed his fist against the pavement. "Damn it, Satsuki, what the hell is going on?"

Tentatively he glanced back at the Seals, far down on the ground where the youngest girl and her spirit dog had apparently discovered the secret of Sumeragi's hologram. He knew full and well that he would not be able to take on three Dragons of Heaven at once, especially now that he was injured.

_-I don't have time for this...-_

Arashi stared at Sumeragi-san's body. Her eyes began to narrow. "This was a trick." She murmured, looking up at Yuuto and Karen. She set her hand on Yuzuriha's shoulder.

"Come on. This is fake, Yuzuriha-chan. Let's help Karen-san... That man can't handle **three **seals." She said, her sword sprouting from her palm again. She snatched it from the air and then jumped upwards towards the roof.

Karen watched as her handsome nemesis was knocked to the ground, struck by her column of fire. The Angel screamed in pain as the fire licked over his skin.

As she watched, Karen's rage suddenly left her body, leaving her feeling deflated. What had she done? She had never in her anger lost control of her powers like that before. Karen shuddered as she realized that the man could have been killed. A great pang of remorse swept over her. She lowered her hands and let her flames go out. She had done enough damage to this man already; besides, she highly doubted that she would need the protection while her opponent was injured so badly.

Karen had already begun to walk towards the man when she stopped and stiffened at his comment about Subaru. "What are you talking about?" She looked over to where Subaru was, and instead saw Arashi and Yuzuriha coming towards her wearing identical furious expressions. Instantly her guard went up again, and she looked suspiciously towards the Dragon of Earth. "I'll be back to deal with you later," she hissed at him. She turned away and hurried over to her fellow Seals, coming to Arashi first. "Arashi-san, what's going on?" Karen asked in concern. "What's happened to Sumeragi-san?"

Arashi was defiantly angry. "Its a hologram, Karen-san. A fake. This... Man has had us fooled. He's simply trying to stall us!" She said, almost loosing her unfathomable temper.

"He's simply trying to keep us from finding Kamui." She said, her eyes darting towards Yuuto.


	10. Chapter 8: Winter Nights Gone By

**Chapter Eight: Winter Nights Gone By**

Satsuki gasped as Seishirou wrapped his hand around her throat. Before she could try to break free, however, Kamui burst into the room, and Seishirou roughly released her. She clutched at her throat and rubbed it to relieve the pain; even when injured, Seishirou still had an extremely strong grip.

Within seconds, however, Satsuki found herself in a deeper predicament as Seishirou glared fiercely at her, reaching out to grab her again. Satsuki backed away in fright, her eyes wide. "Sumeragi- san is perfectly fine," she said shakily. "San-san is tending to him, so he can't be interrupted. Please, calm down, Sakurazuka-san."

It was partially true; Subaru was perfectly safe, as only a hologram image of him had been transmitted through BEAST. Yuuto, however, was a different story. Satsuki didn't know how to tell Seishirou this with Kamui standing there; if she said anything else, she would give the game away. She continued to back up, praying that BEAST would obey her and bring Yuuto and Subaru back before Seishirou hurt her, or worse.

* * *

Yuzuriha was not as angry as she was shaken up. She tried to look angry; she tried to look intimidating. She tried to hide the fact that she was scared and her arm was hurting a lot more than she thought it probably should.

"Give us the REAL Subaru," Yuzuriha yelled out.

As the feeling began to return to his legs, Yuuto scrambled to his knees to get on his guard. These meek Dragons of Heaven would not catch him defenseless. Straightening his singed trench coat, he slowly made his way to his feet, standing wobbly before them as he threw his shoulders back to catch his balance.

"Give us the real Subaru!"

He turned sharply to the youngest Seal and her spirit beast. The real Sumeragi...yes. His body was still in the bedroom underneath the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building. Only his subconscious was here...which was not the same situation for Yuuto, unfortunately. He was quite literally in two places at once, both in a physical sense.

"You know nothing of this situation," he spat, mind spinning. But just as the words spilled from his lips, he felt a lurch in the timeline...in his own existence. BEAST? Was something happening to the mechanical monster? What if Kamui had seen through their ploy and torn the place to pieces? No...if half his essence died in one  
place, the other part would cease to exist. And what of Sakurazuka? Still too weak to do any real damage. It had to be Kamui.

He had to get out of these kekkai alive, but how? Even if he did, he could not lead the Seals to the Harbinger headquarters. He glanced at the young Seal, the fiery woman, and the warrior with the mystical katana blade. _-So...they want Subaru, do they?-  
_  
"BEAST," he murmured under his breath, out of the girls' hearing range, "I want you to transfer Sumeragi's essence here, on an equal level with my own. We're going to up the stakes a little."

He sensed the shift, and bounded down the side of the building where the Seals had been a moment before. Grasping the young Onmyouji's newly formed limp physical body, he glared up at them. "Can you sense him for yourselves, now? He is real. And I will kill him if you don't take down your barriers."

Yuzuriha blinked up at the man, wide-eyed. That LOOKED like the real Subaru.

She let down her kekkai, and turned her gaze to the ground, downcast. There was no way they'd get Subaru now. At least, alive.

* * *

The mechanized sounds began to grow louder as Kamui followed Seishirou through the building. Despite him getting a head start on Kamui, he was moving rather sluggish and was easily caught up to. Though he wasn't prepared for what lied in the next room...

A massive machine stood in the center of the room. It was nothing like Kamui had ever seen before.

"What is that thing?" said Kamui taking a step back. Though before he could get any answers, the battered man had launched something strange at him from his hands.

The room became black as swarms of meteors flew put at him. Kamui leapt back into the air and fired a powerful blast of Ki, destroying several in the process.

_"(This...I remember this. It was just like at Hinoto's place. Then that must mean...)"_

Kamui landed nimbly on the ground and he began to gather ki around him. The blast exploded in a dome of energy and shattered the remaining meteors as well the illusion.

Cherry petals flew all around him he gazed around the room. Kamui held out his hand trying to grasp a stray, only to have it slip from his grip and fly off.

"Now, I remember you..." he said to Seishirou with a smirk.

Reason grasped his consciousness a moment too late. The illusions had already been cast...and broken. Kamui stood before him, snickering menacingly. What had he done? There was no time for this. And certainly in his current condition, he would not stand a chance against the youth who held the fate of the world on his shoulders.

Clasping his abdomen where a deep gash still festered, he let out a short grunt of acknowledgement at Satsuki's pitiful explanation. The Seven Harbingers were destined to clash with the Seven Seals, in a battle to the death. In his clearer train of thought, he tried to remember why he had brought Subaru to this place. Oh, yes, to negotiate terms with Hinoto's Seals, to make use of him before his heart stopped beating. Why was the thought suddenly so appalling?

He held two poised fingers of one hand direction in front of his face. Mentally summoning the power of Onmyoujitsu, he drew the inverted pentagram of the Sakurazukamori in the air with bloody red light. Without a word he directed it toward Kamui, knowing it was not strong enough to severe a single limb from the lithe body, yet hoping it would give him enough time to get across the room.

Staggering along the wall, he forced his feet to keep moving. Just one more step. And then just one more after that. Never getting ahead of himself, he made it at length to the short hallway that lead out of BEAST's chamber. He called upon his every last sense to tell where Yuuto and Subaru were. Their signals were so faint; even Yuuto appeared to be barely alive. There, in one of the bedrooms.

He reached the door, and was just inching his fingers toward the handle, when...

* * *

Karen almost spat at the Dragon of Earth in her anger. Any remorse that she might had felt before vanished instantly as the Angel declared his threat.

She quickly went through in her mind the options that she and her comrades had, but she found that they indeed had little choice but to comply. Karen, however, wasn't about to give in without a fight. They had already come too far to just give up now.

Yuzuriha had taken down her kekkai already; the poor girl looked extremely scared, even though she was obviously trying to be brave for their sake. Karen didn't blame her, for she was already showing extraordinary bravery by participating in the battle for humanity at her young age. But even though one of the barriers was down, Karen's was still fully in place. There was still room for negotiation.

She approached the handsome Dragon of Earth and smiled at him, willing herself to keep a civil tongue. "I'm sure you realize, sir, that if you were to kill Sumeragi-san, we would never let you leave this kekkai alive. So wouldn't killing him defeat your purpose?"

She motioned to her cross-shaped kekkai, continuing, "I would be more than happy to take down my barrier. I'll even let you go without a fight. But..." Karen paused for emphasis. "You have to release Sumeragi-san. Unharmed. Only then will I take down my kekkai."

* * *

Contrary to Kamui's suspicions, Kanoe had no intention of harming the girl. The dream walker had already seen in her sister's dreams that the girl was fated to die for the sake of the world; the poor thing at least deserved to enjoy the remainder of her short life.  
Besides, it wouldn't do to get on Kamui's bad side. Perhaps if she was friendly to the girl, Kamui might even consider joining the Dragons of Earth.

Kanoe smiled kindly at the teenager. "Don't worry, Monou-san. Things usually aren't like this around here. I'm sorry you had to be involved in this."

She glanced at Kotori's hands, which were still stained with Seishirou's blood. "Why don't we get ourselves cleaned up right now? I'll take you to a bathroom so you can wash up, and then we can have some tea while we wait for Sakurazuka-san and Kamui-san to sort things out."

Kanoe was well aware of how absurd she sounded, but she had to try. Hopefully, Kamui and Seishirou wouldn't kill each other while she tried to come up with a way to convince Kotori to support their side.

Kotori stared at Kanoe a long time. Kanoe looked funny to her- not in the looks, just, something seemed wrong. It was something about her, maybe it was the way she looked at Kamui-chan...

"Don't worry, Monou-san. Things usually aren't like this around here. I'm sorry you had to be involved in this."

Kotori blinked at Kanoe a few times. She didn't remember telling Kanoe her name. Maybe Kamui had mentioned it to her before? That was hoping for far too much, though. Kotori smiled at her. "It's okay. I just hope that man will be alright."

She stood from the ground. Kotori studied her hands, she did want to wash the blood from them. "Hai. Tea sounds nice." She put her groceries on the ground again, and proceeded to follow Kanoe.

Kanoe lead Kotori down a hall and into a bathroom. "Here we are." She said a bit too kindly.

Kotori nodded her thanks, and proceeded to the sinks to wash off her hands. "Oh, Kanoe-san, would you like me to make the tea? I know you must be bearing a lot now, with your friend injured, so I'd hate for you to go out of your way for me." She paused, looking at Kanoe. "If I could just be led to the kitchen, I'd be more than happy to do the job."

Kanoe looked back at Kotori. Such a poor soul, going to waste. And she was going to spend her time with this...

"It's right this way." Kanoe said, extending an arm down another dark hall. She took Kotori over to where she had pointed. "I'll be right in the next room. If you need anything, let me know."

* * *

There was nowhere to turn. No way would he trust that the Seals would give him safe passage through, and they would surely follow him if they did. There was only one way out, but it required something that had been denied him during the past minutes.

"BEAST," he whispered calmly. "I want you to bring me back, but leave Subaru. Let them think they have him." Nothing. "I know you can hear, me," he seethed, his tone growing fiercer. "And if you don't do this now...Satsuki will disable you for good." He felt a slight shift, and his voice grew smug. "That's right, she would. If anything happens to me because of you, you are done for."

Suddenly his body was enveloped in a flood of dark light, and mind- wrenching nausea struck his stomach as he was throw backwards through the air, off the building, toward the ground. Down, down, faster and faster...

...And hit the wall of the bedroom, landing on his spine beside Subaru's motionless body...

Subaru groaned loudly as he felt something fell on top of him. Slowly, his flesh began to meld together, his blood found its place in his body, and his vital organs began to regain their use again.

For a minute, he stared at the ceiling, waiting to fully heal and recover his strength,

Then, he pushed the body off of him. This guy...who was he? And why was he on top of him?

He looked around, contemplating WHERE he could be. Finally, it hit him. Right before he lost consciousness...Seishirou...Kanoe...the other Dragons of Earth.

The man didn't look too dangerous unconscious, so for a minute, he dismissed him from his mind. An idea. How would he get out of here, without being noticed?

He sighed and came up with no ideas. If this was indeed their headquarters, he'd be spotted soon enough anyway.

He put up his Kekkai, and hoped it would be noticed.

* * *

Yuzuriha didn't understand what happened at first. She though the man had ran off, or perhaps HAD really fallen off the building. Nonetheless, she scoured around the building, taking delicate leaps from the top of the building to a flag post, to the ground.

"He's not here!" she called out the obvious. "I don't see Subaru, either."

Karen threw up her arm to shield her eyes as a bright flash of light enveloped Yuuto and Subaru. When the light faded, she looked up again, to find that both Dragons had completely vanished.

"W—What?" Karen was completely dumbfounded. She quickly went through the whole incident in her mind to think of clues for what might have happened. The Dragon of Earth had attacked them… she had struck him to the ground with her flames… Arashi and Yuzuriha had found out that "Subaru" was actually a hologram… so that meant…

"It was a trick!" Karen gasped out loud with sudden realization. "That Dragon of Earth was a hologram, too!"

She bit back her tongue to keep herself from screaming out loud, and instead settled for taking down her kekkai. With the Dragon of Earth gone, there was no need for it anymore. The area that had been destroyed by the water and the flames was restored back to normal as the kekkai surrounding it retreated back into Karen's hands.

"Well, that certainly didn't go well," Karen sighed. She turned to Arashi and Yuzuriha. "So, where do we go from here?"

Yuzuriha wasn't sure what to do from here.

"I don't...know." She gazed upward, and bit her lower lip.

* * *

The pentagram flew at Kamui as he dashed towards Seishirou. There was little time to move and Kamui did his best to leapt to the side of the attack.

A stray corner slight Kamui across the chest tearing his shirt and skin. Landing the best he could in his feet, Kamui flung a energy blast at the pentagram before collapsing to his knees.

As the warm blood began to ooze down his chest, Kamui watched as the pentagram was successfully destroyed. He held a hand to his chest, trying his best to catch his breath and not pass out from the pain.

"Now...I'm going to kill you for sure..." said Kamui in a low tone of voice.

His hand froze over the doorknob as he sensed Kamui's furious presence just behind him. He turned his head with narrowed eyes, already planning where to jump out of the way.

But his chance never came. The energy blast that the young man had released to destroy his inverted pentagram had done more than he most likely intended. -Doesn't even know the extent of his own power,- he thought with a grimace. There was no doubt, however, that this was the true Kamui.

As the boy's kekkai was released about the building, the bolt of energy made its way through the pentagram, hardly dwindling in speed as it shattered the ceiling above them. A few moments passed before everything around them started to shake.

There was no time to vent. Collecting his wits about him, Seishirou knew they needed to get out of the building quickly if they wished to live. The upper floors might hold, but the basement was certainly done for. But as he turned with intentions to stumble to the elevator, he stopped suddenly. He could not leave Subaru behind. They still had unfinished business to attend to.

Shifting directions again ardently, he threw open the door to the bedroom. The young Sumeragi lay on the floor, a dazed Yuuto leaning next to him against the wall. Ignoring his fellow Harbinger, Seishirou stooped to hook his adversary's arm about his shoulders. The young man was half conscious, but Seishirou refused to meet his confounded gaze. They had little time left. He would not die now after making it this far.

* * *

Where was he? Oh, yes. Back in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building...in the secret basement...in the bedroom. Yuuto was certainly far from being totally in his right mind, but when the walls around him began to shake, he suddenly came to himself.

What was happening? Had he missed out on that much? He looked around wearily and was shocked and dismayed as he watched Sakurazuka Seishirou make his way out of the room with the young Sumeragi. The situation must surely be a severe one, if the cold, cruel Sakurazukamori was risking his neck for his principle enemy.

He got to his feet, realizing instantly that his wounds were not nearly as bad as they had seemed in the hologram. Which was a great relief, seeing as how he could run now. And run he did, straight through the door...and almost collided with a not-so-happy Kamui. As he brushed the young man's shoulder, Yuuto instantly sensed the psychic barrier that had surrounded the building. That was not such good news.

Turning abruptly to Kamui, he took hold of the boy's shoulders and shook him avidly. "What's wrong with you? If you don't take down your kekkai, we're all going to die." But it only took a moment to recognize the apathy in those dark hazel eyes. "But...you would like that, wouldn't you?" With a rigorous grunt, he turned away.

"Satsuki!" he called out to the girl, who still stood loyally by her machine. "In case you've failed to notice, we're in a bit of a predicament here..." He cast a glance up the length of BEAST's steel structure, then rested his eyes back on Satsuki. Even though the monster had been a mischievous nuisance tonight, its loss could not be afforded. "Can you download the information or something? We have to get out quickly."

But it was not quickly enough. Yuuto turned around just in time to see her running toward him. "Kanoe!"

"Yuuto, what's going on?" he demanded, dark ire embedded in her sanguineous eyes.

He shrugged helplessly, then looked around. "Where's the girl?"

Kanoe stopped dead in her tracks, her pale brow creased with aggravation. "I left her in..."

Just as she said it, part of the ceiling crumbled, and huge fragments of rubble began to collapse in on the kitchen, where Monou Kotori was still innocently making tea...

* * *

Kamui fell to the floor holding his head. The pain in his chest and the sudden ringing in his ears were almost unbearable. Whoever brought up their Kekkai was causing the building to crumble around him, and Kamui desperately rose to his feet.

Though being blamed for it, the psychic shield wasn't his doing. Kamui should have killed Yuuto right where he stood. All of this was his fault. He should have never followed that man, but Kamui couldn't focus, his mind was too foggy. It was hard for him to concentrate amongst the babbling of the other Dragons of Earth. The only word he could make out at time being was "Kotori".

Just then everything seemed to click. He had to get Kotori out of here no matter the cost. Kamui stumbled back a few steps before darting off again past Yuuto and Kanoe.

"Kotori! Kotori! Where are you!?",he cried out amongst the rumbling of the building.


	11. Chapter 9: Two Buildings Down

**Chapter Nine: Two Buildings Down**

Kotori had been fumbling around in the kitchen, looking for various, tea-making items. She hadn't been in there long, when the building shook.

"What is that? An earthquake?" she asked. She thought that she heard Kamui's voice calling her.

"Kamui-chan!?" She stopped what she was doing, and headed to the door where Kanoe said she would be. Before she got there, crumbling pieces of the structure started to fall towards her.

"Kamui-chan!" she yelled out before the ceiling blocks fell down on her.

* * *

Sweat dribbled down his brow as he caught glimpses of the others hustling about frantically out of the corner of his eye. _-Fools,- _he managed to scoff between his panting. _-Why don't they just save themselves?- _He could have asked himself the same question.

He glanced impartially down at Subaru, still holding the young man's arm steadily around his neck to support him. His rival's vital signs seemed to be fading instead of growing stronger. But the power of Onmyoujitsu should have been healing him. So what was wrong?

While everyone else was trying to save each other and the information that had been stored in the building, Seishirou somehow managed to stagger shakily to the elevator. He might have crawled, he might have sprinted, and for all he knew; his mind was still hazy and refused to fully cooperate. But nonetheless, they were the first ones to make it. Exhaling heavily in partial relief, he all but fell against the button that opened the door. Then, dragging himself as well as his adversary inside, he let Subaru's body slump against the wall, and he sank down to sit beside him as they began to ascend.

Innocently the young Sumeragi's half-conscious body slid against his own, the raven-haired head leaning against his shoulder as he panted haggardly. His startlingly emaciated frame caused Seishirou to shudder. Had Yuuto done this? Or had he?

He grimaced as the long past words of his mother reentered his mind. His mind must have been more muddled than he thought. With idle effort he let an arm wrap around the younger man to support him.

"Don't you dare die on me now," he seethed through clenched teeth, his emotions a melee of anger and frustration and unknown pain. "We haven't finished yet." And as his head drooped to stare grimly at the pallid figure beside him, his brow knitted in an expression of recondite incomprehension. "Subaru-kun..."

* * *

"Kotori!" shouted Kamui as he spotted her from the corner of his eye. He ran as fast as he could, jumping on top of her and acting as a human shield against he falling debris.

Broken pieces of concrete and wood tore through his back and arms as he held his position. Raising his right hand in the air, Kamui blindly launched and energy blast above him, destroying the remainder of the falling ceiling.

Kamui was now in worse shape than before. The strain of fighting and the battle wounds had finally taken its toll on him. It was harder to stay conscious than it was to stand and his legs quickly gave in. Kamui collapsed to his knees, clinging to Kotori for support.

"K-Kotori..." he choked. "Are you ok?"

"Kamui!" Kotori said in surprise. She fell back as he jumped to protect her.

"Kamui-chan!" she yelled to him. She looked up at him, frightened. She scanned his body, noting the cut on his chest from earlier. "How..." she started to question. Kotori helplessly tried to keep Kamui up.

Kamui blindly launched and energy blast above him, destroying the remainder of the falling ceiling.

Kotori bit her lip, grabbing Kamui, and wrapping her arms around him. "Kamui, you're hurt.." she said, stating the obvious. She traced her finger around his wound, and then looked at him. Her eyes were full of tears, and she was fighting to keep them back, but she was loosing.

She breathed heavily for a while, her heart hurt her. She gripped her chest with one hand, holding Kamui close with the other. "Kamui-chan, hold on...I have to get you out of here."

She couldn't understand why no one else would come to help them. She was ready to cry, and brushed one tear away from her eye, before trying to get out of the debris.

As the roof began to crumble, Yuuto was just able to see through the doorway to the kitchen. That foolish girl was getting herself trapped in the rubble, but what was truly worrisome was the face that Kamui had gone in to rescue her. This would not do at all. Kamui had to live.

"Save what memory you can," he snapped in Satsuki's direction, indicating BEAST's hard drive. "Download it all, if possible. And hurry it up," he added with a quick smile. "We wouldn't want to lose you."

Leaving her momentarily alone with her seemingly doomed pet, he raced across the room to the kitchen, where Kotori was struggling to get Kamui to his feet. "What have you gotten yourself into now?" he said with a laugh far too amiable for the present situation. Grabbing a bruised arm, he pulled the young man off the floor, then turned to Kotori. "Come on, let's get him to the elevator."

Another devastating rumble shook the walls, and Yuuto cast a vigilant glance around him and up at the ceiling. This place would be in pieces in minutes. They had to get out now. But Satsuki was still struggling with BEAST. He would not leave her here. But his first obligation was to Kamui. For a moment he fought with himself over which course to take.

Just then Kanoe appeared at his side, hefting the young man's weight from his hands as she hooked his arm over her shoulder and around her neck. "Make sure we get BEAST's memory out of here intact," she said in a reserved voice. "And keep Satsuki alive. Kotori and I will handle things here." She glanced briefly at the girl and nodded, gesticulating for her to take Kamui's other arm.

Yuuto nodded and stepped back. "Count on it." He turned to retreat.

"And Yuuto..."

He glanced over his shoulder. "Hn?"

"Be careful."

A grin spread across his lips. "Of course." Then, jogging back over to Satsuki, he peered over her shoulder to check on her progress. "This place is falling apart," he warned. "How long is this going to take?"

Grimacing as Yuuto grabbed his bruised arm, he scowled under his haggard breath. He would have blasted the damnable Harbinger straight to Hell for dragging Kotori into this...had he the power or the presence of mind to do so. But holding up the ceiling had taken much out of him, so he slumped reluctantly against Kanoe's sturdy frame as she took his arm around her shoulders.

Painstakingly he turned his head to look at Kotori. She appeared to be mostly unharmed, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's get him to the elevator." Kanoe's words rang in his ears as though from a hundred miles away, and numbly he dragged his feet along the ground to take some of the burden of his weight form their shoulders. He would not be caught completely helpless. Never.

A few moments passed before they stopped again. And he could sense the hesitation in the air, in the perspiration he smelled on Kanoe's brow, in the quickened breathing he heard from Kotori's lips.

"It's already in use?" the older woman murmured with perplexity in her tenor. "Someone didn't wait for us. But who would...?"

This was ridiculous. "Stupid woman," he grumbled just above a whisper. "So find another way out."

* * *

Kotori looked up at the man she had met before. What was his name? It didn't matter anymore. She struggled to pull herself up.

"Arigato.." She looked at Kamui. "Kamui, hold on..." Kotori grabbed his arm. "Kanoe-san..." She said softly as she wrapped on hand around Kamui's back. Kotori tried to support him the best she could, but she wasn't feeling so hot.

She looked down at his slumped body as he tried to walk. "Don't do that. You'll only hurt yourself more." she tried to coax him. **_  
_**  
_"Stupid woman," _he grumbled just above a whisper. _"So find another way out."_

Kotori blinked at Kamui. "Kanoe-san, is there another way out? Perhaps some stairs?" she asked, trying to ignore her own pain.

* * *

Subaru felt dizzy his eyes melted into his cheeks. "Sei...-chan..." He swore he heard his voice. But now, he wasn't so sure. Why was the building crumbling. He still wasn't sure...

* * *

Yuzuriha nearly jumped when she felt the vibrations from the earth. She turned around, trying to find where it was coming from, and could only see a crumbling building. And a kekkai!

"Arashi-san! Karen-san! Look!" she pointed to the building.

Karen looked in the direction where Yuzuriha was pointing in alarm. "That's the government building!" she said. "A kekkai...?" She looked closely at its shape. the greenish barrier was in the shape of a star, which meant...

"That kekkai is Sumeragi-san's!" Karen gasped. Thoughts quickly flashed through Karen's mind. Since the kekkai was Subaru's, her comrade was obviously within the barrier. Since Subaru was with the Dragon of Earth, this meant that their headquarters was in the crumbling building. And if that was where the headquarters were...

"Kamui-kun's probably over there, too!" Karen pointed towards the building. "We need to go help Sumeragi-san and Kamui-kun! Let's go!" Without another thought, Karen began leaping towards the building.

* * *

Satsuki watched in consternation as Seishirou stumbled towards the room where Yuuto and the Dragon of Heaven were. Yuuto was still in the hologram, and Satsuki had no idea how to explain this to Seishirou without risking her life. She decided that she would try to stop him; Kamui looked occupied at the moment anyways.

Satsuki had barely taken a step towards the room where Yuuto was when she realized that BEAST had stopped its loud humming. She looked back at her computer in surprise, her eyebrows creasing. "BEAST... you've stopped the hologram?" Satsuki's mind quickly processed this new information. So she wouldn't have to go after Seishirou after all; he would find the Dragon of Heaven perfectly safe in the room, just as she had told him.

Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted as Kamui destroyed Seishirou's inverted pentagram and dashed from the room. Alarmed, Satsuki began to run after him to stop him when she felt the building starting to shake around her. Kamui's blast had destroyed the foundations of the building, and the basement was collapsing around them.

Satsuki almost began to panic, her usual cool lost. Yuuto was there in the other room, most likely unconscious. She had to get him out.  
Satsuki again began to run towards the bedroom when Seishirou stumbled out, hauling along with him the Dragon of Heaven. He quickly disappeared in the direction of the elevator before Satsuki could speak a word. Then Yuuto himself emerged from the bedroom.

"Yuuto!" Satsuki cried out in relief. She was about to say more when Yuuto commanded her to save all of the Dragon of Earth's information. He smiled as he added the end, "Hurry up, we wouldn't want to lose you."

Satsuki blushed at his comment. "Hai," she said, but Yuuto had already gone and hadn't heard her. Shaking herself out of her embarrassment, she turned to her computer and said, "All right, BEAST, are you ready to listen to me now?" the computer beeped in assent, and she said, "Please load all of your information onto a disc, then." The computer started humming as it began its task. Knowing that it would take a while, Satsuki began pacing the room, hoping that the building wouldn't collapse over her before BEAST had  
finished.

BEAST was downloading the last files when Yuuto walked back in the room. "How long is this going to take?" he asked.

Satsuki responded expertly, "It'll be very quick. One minute and forty-two seconds, and counting. BEAST is the best computer in the world, it's very efficient." She looked fondly at her computer. But still, the thought nagged in the back of her mind that even  
though she had built BEAST with her own hands, the computer still hadn't obeyed her when she most needed it to.

BEAST suddenly beeped, signaling the end of its task. "Thank you, BEAST," Satsuki said as she took the disc from the computer. She looked up at Yuuto and said, "I guess we can leave now."

Satsuki took one step towards the door of the room and stopped. It suddenly hit her that the building was collapsing around her, and they were abandoning everything that couldn't be moved, which included BEAST. Common sense told her that that didn't matter right now, but she had practically put her life and soul into creating BEAST. She felt that if she just left, she would be leaving a part of herself behind. Not knowing what to do, she looked towards the one person in the world who she felt might be able to understand her feelings: Yuuto.

"Yuuto, what am I going to do about BEAST? We can't take it with us, but I don't want to just leave it. I don't know what to do." Satsuki's voice faded away. She felt utterly lost and defeated.

* * *

Fuuma stood at the free throw line, bouncing the basketball before putting it through the hoop. He went after the ball when it fell to the ground, bouncing it under his hand. He looked up when he heard someone pass by...a man who was coming home after a tedious day at work. Yes...he hated his job because it ruled his life and he would've much rather died...Yes die and end this tedious existence

Fuuma's eyes widened as the thought jumped into his head, the ball getting away from him. He shook the thought out his head and dismissed it as stress from that test he barely passed...yeah nothing more than that. I mean who was he to decide what people thought...God?

He put the entire thought behind him and went back to the ball.

* * *

How odd. Almost unsettling. The cold, unemotional Yatouji Satsuki was opening up to him. His hurried expression fell from his face, and a new sentiment began to swell within his breast. Compassion. The girl had, after all, spent much of her life perfecting the machine she called her pet. To lose it all now...unthinkable.

Tilting his head as he looked at her with melancholy in his eyes, he tried to think of a response. He most certainly did not possess the genius she did in the field. Slowly he said, "Is there any way you could...transfer its personality to one of those pocket computer things?" No, certainly not a master in the field of technology. "You have a saved copy of the blueprints somewhere, don't you? As long as you can keep its consciousness saved somewhere, you might be able to rebuild it someday. Is that possible?"

* * *

It seemed like eternity came and went before the elevator reached its destination. The door slid open, and Seishirou gazed into the hall. There were no people about. Had they all escaped? Were they trapped? But that made no sense.

There was no time to worry about such trivialities. Grasping Subaru's limp body, he pulled himself to his feet and worked his way out of the elevator. The door was just fifteen paces away. He leaned against the wall as he walked, trying his best not to let the young Sumeragi's weight drag him down. He would not leave the man here to die. That privilege belonged to him alone. Ten paces. Five.

He shoved his way through the front door, down the steps...and instantly understood why there were no people running for their lives. Around the building was a magnificent kekkai, which meant they were all presently within an alternate dimension. And he did not even need to see its shape to figure out to whom it belonged. He knew this essence as he knew his own soul.

Exhausted he sank to his knees and shook the young Onmyouji's shoulders rigorously. "Wake up, Subaru-kun," he grunted through clenched teeth. "You have to take down your psychic shield. We're all going to die if you don't." And he had not gotten them both this far just to perish on the threshold of freedom.

* * *

_Today is going to be special…_

That's what Shimako had sang at breakfast, winking affectionately at him.

And he had agreed, had felt it in the moment of waking... Beginning with the brilliant sun that had filtered in through the curtains... and the presence of his wife next to him... her slow, steady breathing and the warmth of her body... For a half an hour, he had just laid there with drowsy eyes, taking it in. All of it so laughingly simple. Yet, so precious and wonderful at the same time…

Aoki Seiichirou wasn't a holy man in the literal sense, but he knew when to thank god for giving him happiness.

Now, as he raced toward the kekkai, he prayed for strength.

_A special day, his daughter had echoed with a smile although she had no idea why… _

And to be honest, a part of him had been confused as well. Even as he bathed in the presence of his family, a disturbing feeling had begun in the pit of his stomach. The feeling that something was going to happen… That today was special in more ways than one and not just because it was his anniversary…

But getting Shimako her actual anniversary gift had been the top priority on his mind the minute he had stepped outside the door. For the first time in his life, he shirked work, reassuring himself that one day wouldn't make a difference. That his wife's smile when he presented her with the perfect gift would more than compensate for any rebuttals from his boss. And he had seen the perfect thing only yesterday. A ruby ring located in a nearby jewelry district with a miniature nadeshiko flower somehow trapped within the red crystal. Nadeshiko was her middle name and her favorite flower. He would buy it and engrave it with the words that had been on his heart for the past five years…

_…I love you… more than the world… _He had murmured before the dawn had the chance to wake her…

He was more convinced than ever that there were no coincidences in this world. That fate had arranged it so that he would be nearby when the green, almost emerald kekkai appeared. And if that were the case, then he was going to find out why.

The wind whistled its encouragement in his ears as Aoki ran. The foreboding instinct grew stronger with every step. Today is going to be special… The thought haunted, even frightened him a bit. But he pushed forward until he was only a few meters from the front of the building surrounded by the kekkai.

To his surprise, it was some kind of government building. Not one of the best either, judging from the way its walls were cracked and collapsing. The star-shaped barrier looked steady but its aura felt faint, wavering slightly. Aoki frowned and wondered at the condition of its owner. If the kekkai was like this, then whoever put it up was probably dangerously hurt or weak as well.

He had to help. But how? Was he strong enough to somehow break through?

Slipping the ring he had just recently purchased securely into his pocket, Aoki closed his eyes and cast the wind forcefully at the barrier that separated him from the building. It didn't work. Even after repeated tries. No matter how weak the kekkai "felt", reality proved that the magic holding it up was quite strong.

But he couldn't just give up. His determination flared and he was just about to try again when he heard frantic footsteps approach and then abruptly stop.

Time itself seemed to stop as well. And Aoki Seiichirou knew that this was the moment he had been waiting forever since the day he had learned the meaning of destiny and the fate that came with being a Seal.

He didn't know whether to be frightened or relieved.

_The memory of the morning sounded once again in his ears… Today is going to be a special day indeed… He could hear his own words, watched them make his daughter and wife smile, feel the burning dread in his stomach dissipate… I will protect you… _

He turned with a feeling of anticipation…and found himself staring at faces that were a mixture of confusion and suspicion.

A woman of flaming, red hair and equally bright eyes. She seemed faintly bewildered. Beside her, stood a raven-haired girl. Solemn. Less surprised than wary. Her left hand clenched in a manner that suggested alertness.

And then there was another young girl with an innocently confused expression; at her side, a tense, intelligent-looking dog.

Introductions could wait? Perhaps these people could help without asking questions?

Aoki met the bewildered gaze of what he estimated to be a high school student around the age of eighteen, whose gaping caused his mouth to resemble the Grand Canyon.

The dog growled lightly.

Maybe not.

"My name is Aoki Seiichirou," he said quickly, "And I'm one of the Seven Seals."

He saw recognition dawn on their faces. The dog became instantly quiet, more relaxed. So they were involved, too. He had known it instinctively, but now it was confirmed. The suspicion and hostility on their faces slowly faded to be replaced with faint acceptance and relief. The youngest girl even smiled at him and he was briefly reminded of his own daughter.

"About the kekkai around this building…" he continued. An idea came to him as he spoke, "I think someone inside may be hurt. I can't force my way alone, but maybe if we combined our strength…"

* * *

Kanoe glanced around the crumbling building. They had always relied on the elevator... But there had to be another way...

"There!" she pointed a long finger across the room. "There are stairs there, let's go." she commanded. Kanoe pulled Kamui's body around, pulling him the other way.

Kotori tried her best to keep up. Her breath quickened, and her brow furrowed. Kanoe was so much stronger than her...but she had to keep Kamui safe, she had too.

"Fuuma...Onii-chan..." Kotori whispered. She hadn't seen Fuuma this morning, and now it looked as if she never would again. If only she could reach him somehow...

Kanoe lead the two down the stairs. She stumbled a few times on Kamui's weight, before they finally made their way out of the building. She tried to pull them down the stairs, when Kotori fell, nearly dragging Kamui down with her.


	12. Chapter 10: Time To Join The Fun

**Chapter Ten: Time To Join The Fun**

He felt himself falling in-and-out of consciousness. For a moment, he thought he could hear Sei-chan pleading with him as he held his body.

**-flash-**  
"Oto-chan! Oto-chan! I want you to read this book for me!" Hokuto tugged at his sleeves as he studied at his table.

"Okay, Hokuto," he smiled, closing the book he was reading and taking a seat on the sofa next to his older sister. He always had to be the mature one. Sometimes, he almost forgot that he was the YOUNGER brother.

He glanced at the title as Hokuto anxiously handed him the book and looked up with excited eyes. Sleeping Beauty.

Subaru started, "Once upon a time, there lived a King and Queen who had no children, and who longed for a little daughter more than anything in the world. The Queen grew sadder and sadder, and could think of nothing else, until one day she went to bathe in the cool water of the palace fountain, when a frog suddenly jumped out and sat at the edge gazing at her."

"'You shall have your wish,' he croaked," Subaru said, making an attempt to imitate the voice of the frog, much to the delight of Hokuto. "This very time next year, when the briar-rose begins to flower, a living rosebud shall blossom for you."

Subaru turned the page, and an apprehensive Hokuto looked up at him wide-eyed. He cleared his voice and began again, "And the next year, just at the time of the roses, the Queen had a little baby-daughter, just as the frog had promised.

"No words can describe the delight of the King and Queen. Joy bells were rung, and bonfires were lighted, and the whole land rejoiced. Of course, they had the grandest christening possible, to which all the fairies were invited. At least they were all invited except one, because it happened that unfortunately there were thirteen fairies, and the King had only twelve gold plates for the feast. So he was obliged to pretend he had forgotten the thirteenth fairy."

"Why didn't they invite the thirteenth fairy?" Hokuto interrupted as Subaru turned the page.

Subaru shrugged. "Maybe they just didn't like her..."

"If I wasn't invited to a big party, I'd be hurt. It's not fair they didn't invite her!" Hokuto sulked.

Subaru continued, "The twelve fairies came to the christening in their very best dresses made of woven moonbeams edged with rose- leaves, and they each brought a magic gift to the infant Princess.

"One gave her beauty, another health and happiness, another cleverness, another sweet temper and a kind heart, and so on until it came to the twelfth fairy.

"But before she could speak the door flew open and in there swept the thirteenth fairy, who had not been invited. She had an ugly frown on her face, and looked so angry that every one drew back to let her pass. Straight up to the baby's(Bs cradle she went, and pulling back the rose-colored curtains, she looked crossly at the little sleeping face."

Subaru turned the page.

"See! I toldja she'd be mad!" Hokuto said pointedly.

Subaru nodded and continued, "'You shall have my gift, though I was not invited to the christening," she said with a spiteful smile. "When you are fifteen years old, you shall prick your finger with a spindle and fall down dead."

"Well, that's not very nice," Hokuto commented.

"Then she cast an evil look all round, and flew out of the window.

"Every one stood quite silent with grief and horror, until the twelfth fairy stepped forward and waved her wand.

"'I have still a gift to bestow," she said, "And though I may not change the wicked fairy's prophecy, I can at least make it less evil. The Princess shall not die when she pricks her finger with the spindle, but she shall fall into a deep sleep, which will last a hundred years.'"

"That's a long time to sleep," Hokuto added as Subaru flicked the page.

"Then all the fairies left the palace, and the King and Queen began to think that perhaps the wicked fairy had been only a bad dream. But in case any harm should really come to the little Princess Briar- Rose, it was ordered that every spinning wheel in the kingdom should be destroyed. And very soon not a spindle was to be found throughout all the length and breadth of the land.

"Now the fairy gifts which had been given to the Princess when she was in her cradle were seen more and more clearly by mortal eyes as she grew older. She was as beautiful as a flower, and as clever as she was good, and as happy as the day was long. The King and Queen thought no more of the evil prophecy, and so the years slipped by until Briar-Rose was fifteen."

Hokuto looked at the beautiful illustrations admiringly, and for the first time, remained silence for an entire reading.

"It happened that on her fifteenth birthday the King and Queen went out together, and the Princess was left all alone in the palace and began to feel very dull. She played battledore and shuttlecock and all the one-person games she could think of, and when she grew tired of them she.. thought she would go through all the rooms in the palace and look for adventures."

"Well, I would too!" Hokuto announced. "What else are you supposed to do when your family isn't entertaining you on your birthday?!" Subaru smiled. He knew his sister's temporary silence would not last for long.

"After a while she came to a little turret-stair which she never remembered having seen before, and when she climbed to the top she came to a curious little door. The Princess knocked, for she had always been taught to be polite, and an old cracked voice cried out "Come in." Once again, Subaru imitated the character's voice.

Hokuto giggled.

Subaru turned the page.

"And when Briar-Rose opened the door she saw a little old woman sitting there with a spinning-wheel, spinning soft white yarn.

"'Oh, what a funny thing that is!" said Briar-Rose," Subaru made a successful attempt to imitate a young female voice. "...looking at the spinning-wheel, for she had never seen such a thing before. How I should love to make it go whirling round and round!

"And she put out her hand to touch the soft wool, but the spindle pricked her finger and a tiny drop of blood sprang out. Before she had even time to cry out, part of the fairy's evil prophecy came true, for she sank down on the stone bench and fell fast asleep."

Hokuto winced at the graphic illustration.

"At that very moment everybody and everything in the palace stopped what they were doing, and fell fast asleep too.

"The King and Queen, who had just returned and were walking through the hall, sank down in two royal chairs; the cook in the kitchen, who was just going to box the scullion's ears, went fast asleep with her hand still in the air. The scullion, with his mouth wide open, ready to roar with the pain, left it open and went fast asleep too. The horses in the stable went to sleep in the middle of eating their corn; the pigeons on the stable roof hadn't even time to tuck their heads under their wings, but fell asleep as they were strutting around with their tails still spread out. The flies slept on the ceiling; the canary did not want to have the green cover put over its cage, but slept in broad daylight. The only person to whom the fairy's prophecy made no difference was the cat, but then she was already fast asleep, as usual, by the kitchen fire. But the fire stopped crackling and burning, the pots stopped boiling, nothing stirred, nothing moved, not a sound was heard. Only round the palace there sprung up a hedge of briar-roses which grew taller and taller, as time went on, until the palace was quite hidden, and not even the top of the flagstaff could be seen." Subaru turned the page.

"And as the years went by people began to forget about the palace. Only the old people would tell the children sometimes about the beautiful Princess who once lived in a palace where the briar-roses grew. But the children thought it was a make-believe story, for the hedge was so thick and so high that no one could see what was inside."

"Why did they forget about the castle?" Hokuto asked. "I mean, didn't anyone want to do anything about it? After all, it WAS their king and queen and princess!"

"I'm sure they did, but that was a powerful spell. I'm sure they knew that the curse would eventually come true, and there was nothing they could do about it. They probably just accepted it."

"That's still no reason to give up!" Hokuto protested confidentially. "You should never give up, even when you know that anything you do may not make a difference."

Subaru smiled. Sometimes his older sister showed such noble qualities. He turned the page again and continued.

"Sometimes a Prince would come riding by and listen to the tale, and then try and cut his way through the thick hedge, to see if there was really a beautiful Princess on the other side. But the thorns tore every one who tried to force his way through, and sometimes put out his eyes, so the Princes grew tired of trying, and each year the hedge grew taller and thicker."

"Those aren't REAL princes," Hokuto argued. "A REAL prince wouldn't give up so easily!"

"Now it happened that on the very day when the Princess had been asleep for a hundred years, there chanced to come to that country a Prince who was braver and handsomer than any of the Princes who had come before. He had never known what it meant to be beaten or to give in, and when he heard the story of the Princess Briar-Rose he made up his mind to find her."

Subaru could have sworn he saw his sister swoon.

"The thorns in the hedge will tear you to pieces," all the people said.

"The last Prince came back quite blind," added some one else.

"I shall never come back at all, unless I can win my way through, answered the Prince, and set off bravely."

"Now THAT'S a prince!" Hokuto commented.

"But when he got to the great hedge, he found it covered with pale pink roses, and the branches parted in front of him to make a passage, and all the thorns looked the other way. On he walked through the cool, green path, while the roses nodded and smiled on him all the way. And when he came to the other side he saw a stately palace, just as the old people had described it. Not a sound broke the solemn stillness, not a leaf whispered in the breeze. He saw the pigeons fast asleep on the stable roof, and the watchdog lying in front of his kennel.

"Then, when he entered the great hall, he saw the King and Queen fast asleep on their royal chairs, and everything and everybody were exactly the same as when they had fallen asleep a hundred years ago.

"Presently the Prince noticed the turret steps that led to the tower, and he climbed them, just as the Princess had done. And when he opened the door and stepped on to the balcony, he stood still in wonder and delight.

"The Princess lay there fast asleep, her fair face turned towards him, just as she had sunk down to rest a hundred years ago. Everything was unchanged except that now around the couch was a canopy of briar-roses protecting her as she slept. The flowers breathed their beauty around her, and the sharp thorns guarded her from all harm."

Hokuto "Oooh"-ed at the beautiful illustration. Subaru allowed her a few moment's admiration before turning the page.

"So beautiful did the Princess look lying there, like a pale rose herself, that the Prince was drawn to her side, and bending over her he kissed her cheek.

"The Princess's eyelids quivered, and the next moment her eyes opened. She looked up and saw the Prince bending over her, and when their eyes met she gave a little cry of joy.

"Oh," she cried," Subaru imitating the princess' voice, "You have come at last. I have been dreaming and dreaming of you, and I thought you were never coming to wake me."

"Now the moment the Princess opened her eyes every one and everything in the palace began to awake too. The King and Queen walked with stately tread through the hail, the cook gave the scullion a sounding box on his ear. The scullion roared with his mouth wide open, the horses went on eating their corn, the pigeons strutted about on the roof, the flies walked busily up and down the ceiling, and the canary piped the end of his song and said to himself, 'Dear me, I dreamed I went to sleep without my covering'."

"And the great hedge of briar-roses sank down and down till it vanished in the earth, and not even a bud was left.

"'But what does it matter if the roses are gone ?$B!G(B said the Prince, since I have got my own Briar-Rose, who is fairest of them all."

"And so they were married and lived happily ever after. The End." Subaru closed the book.

"I want a prince now," Hokuto squealed, giddy from the book. "Oto-chan, will you be MY prince?"

Subaru blushed. "I suppose so."

"Then who will be YOUR prince?" Hokuto asked.

"I guess if I'm a prince, I really don't need anyone to be MY prince."

"Oh yes, you do!" Hokuto protested. "Even princes need someone to protect them, when they don't think they can make it."

**-flashback-**

Subaru groaned. A dream? He opened his eyes to find Seishirou looking down at him.

"Sei-chan..."

* * *

Yuzuriha turned to the man. "You're...one of us, too?" she smiled. "I'm so glad!"

"Our friend Subaru is in there. We've got to get him out, any way we can."

Yuzuriha agreed. "Let's try it."

* * *

Fuuma tied his shoe and put the ball under his arm, finishing his daily basketball practice. He walked casually over to his bike, content with the world as it was...even if he heard it crying.

Crying in pain as it slowly decayed into oblivion? The thought jumped to him from a far corner of his mind. He immediately checked his forehead, nothing... His mind was wondering to places he didn't like, maybe because he was up late studying for a test. Yeah there was a rational explanation for these odd feelings.

Mounting his bike, Fuuma caught glimpse of a odd light downtown.

"Hmmm...That wasn't there before." He stated to himself as he shrugged it off and pushed off. _I should check it out... _The thought caused him to stop and looked back.

_It's not going to hurt anyone...is it?_ The answer "no" echoed in the back of his mind.

_ So what's the harm? It could be something big... _Fuuma stood in thought before turning around, making haste to find out what was up so he could get home.

* * *

He felt Kotori slip under his arm, and instinctively he grappled for the banister next to him, swinging his other arm away from Kanoe's shoulder. With intuitive swiftness he grasped Kotori's hand and kept her from falling. However, the force necessary to exert in the effort pulled him to his knees, and he began to breathe in gasps again.

"Kotori...are you all right?"

Kotori sighed. "Kamui-chan..." she mumbled. Kotori grabbed at him as he went to his knees.

"Gomen...I'm so sorry...you're hurt..."

She wasn't feeling good at all. Had she even taken her medication this morning? She couldn't remember. But it hurt. Kotori struggled to pull Kamui back to his feet.

* * *

The bike came to a stop with a slight skid as it reached the building. Fuuma breathed heavily as he stared into the crystal clear light. After examining the phenomena, Fuuma felt uneasy about it's presence...no one else seemed to even notice it, not even the people entering through it like it wasn't there...like it was all in Fuuma's head. He couldn't help but feel disappointment, sighing in frustration...This trek was for nothing.

He decided to try to touch it in a bold attempt to set reality straight. As he reached into the light, Fuuma wasn't surprised to see it go through the barrier...until someone walked past and his hand went through him or her like some specter. It was like they were on some alternate plane...some other existence that he could no longer touch within the barrier's glow. He stepped forward, absorbed into the barrier's light and coming out in a very different point of view.

Funny...despite the fear he felt surge down his spine, he couldn't help feel that somewhere deep inside of him, far from his conscious psyche, a smile appear ever so slightly over the carnage he saw within the barrier.

"Come on, get up...we have to get out of here..." Kotori heaved. As she was pulling Kamui to his feet, weakly, her eye caught a familiar figure.

"Onii-chan!!" she yelled at Fuuma before falling back to the ground, closing her eyes.

Fuuma eyed his surroundings. So much destruction...was anything even alive? At that moment he heard a familiar voice nearby. Was it? He answered to find out "Kotori?..."

Fuuma froze as he caught sight of his sister clutching onto a downed Kamui. "KOTORI!!!" It was her, and she looked hurt. He took off running toward his sister as she began to fell, stopping in front of them. He kneeled and immediately began his role as brother. "Kotori, are you hurt? Who did this?" He looked to Kamui. "Kamui, are you ok?"

Shoving himself to his feet to brush himself off, Kamui nodded skeptically in Fuuma's direction. "As good as can be expected."

He had to get them out of here. This was his fight, and they were the ones he had sworn to protect. "You shouldn't have come," he said shortly, giving the older boy the cold shoulder. "Get Kotori out of here. I still have business to attend to." He was not about to allow these strange people threaten the only two true friends he had in the world...

Kotori looked at her brother. "Fuuma..." she whispered. She coughed, and pulled herself to her feet. Fine...no...she wasn't fine at all. "I don't think I..."

She turned to Kamui as he stood. "Kamui-chan! You're hurt though!" she exclaimed.

"Kamui-chan!!" Kotori grabbed his arm. "I put myself in this mess. I'm the one who insisted I come along." Kotori sniffed, and bent her head down; her hair covering her face. She tugged on his sleeve. "Come with us, Kamui-chan."

"I'm sorry, Kamui." She looked up at Fuuma. "Onii-chan...isn't there anything we can do?"

Fuuma stared oddly at Kamui. "You honestly can't think you can stay here in your condition. Come on." He attempted to put Kamui's arm around him in order to lift him, taking a second to look over at his sister.

"Kotori can you walk? We need to get Kamui out of here." He owed Kamui, the boy who had protected his sister, this much. He felt that if had to fight to protect this sacred promise, he would.

Glancing momentarily behind him at the crumbling building, he knew Kotori was right. He had no friends here; this was none of his business. Slowly he turned and nodded. "All right. If it'll get you out of here, I'll come."

But as they began to take their leave of the place, he had the strangest feeling this would not be the last he saw of them.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw several prominent figures springing atop the roofs of distant buildings. Two of them he recognized: Kasha Arashi, the priestess girl from Ise, and Nekoi Yuzuriha, her spirit dog right beside her. No doubt they had come seeking him out. At least they had made it out of the DIET building.

But he had no time to waste on their frivolous purposes. His life was his own, and all he wanted was to keep these two precious people safe. That was all that mattered.

So he turned his back on the Seals and stumbled his way across the pavement. "Come on, then," he said, ignoring Fuuma's offered shoulder.

Suddenly it hit him. Or rather...he hit it. The kekkai. He had all but forgotten about it in his temporary state of delirium. He was able to pass through without more than a sudden awareness of its presence. But when he looked beside him, he saw Fuuma had been stopped in his tracks...

"I think so. I've made it this far, right?" Kotori answered. She tried to sound cheerful. She had just been crying into Kamui's chest, but they needed to get out. Now.

Kotori ran feebly, following after Kamui. "Kamui-chan!" She exited the barrier, unaware of it's presence to begin with. She turned to look at her brother, noticing that Kamui had also stopped.

"What is it?" she asked. Kotori's eyes widened, watching the male behind Fuuma call for the creatures. "Fuuma! What are those things?!" she shouted, pointing behind him.

* * *

"Yes, I did..." Satsuki said softly. But even if she had the blueprints, had the memory, the information, it still wouldn't be the same. She didn't know how to explain it, and she didn't expect Yuuto to understand.

But then again, Yuuto was at least trying to understand. It was still more than anyone else had ever done for her. For much of Satsuki's life, people had always praised her and told her how much they admired her. But they never saw her as anything besides the smart girl who was good at sports and with computers. Yuuto was the first person that had ever looked beyond that, the first person who had ever seen her as a person with emotions. Satsuki felt a warmth rising in her heart as she looked at the man next to her, feeling immensely grateful for his compassion and friendship.

"I suppose you're right, San-san. When we get out of here, I'll rebuild BEAST." Satsuki said, feeling renewed. "Yes, I'll rebuild my computer, even better than before." And she said quietly to herself, "Thank you, San-san..."

He saw the defeated sadness in her eyes, even as she tried to offer a hopeful smile. Then he glanced up at BEAST, the source of her utmost affection. The machine was not only her life's work, but also her life itself. To give it up would be like forfeiting her soul. It was more than a piece of machinery to her; it was her pet, her best friend. And the pain was written all over her somber face.

At first the notion seemed ludicrous, but as he considered it more acutely, he realized it was true. He had never been so attached to an object that he would give almost anything for it, but his powers of empathy were among his greatest gifts. Even if she could salvage its memory and personality, she would still never again feel the touch of its cool metal against her skin, or hear the soft murmurs of its mechanical voice in her ear.

Suddenly the walls let off a great rumble, and the ceiling above them all at once cracked and collapsed. Debris the size of tennis courts came plunging down toward them, threatening to end their existence before another breath could be taken.

In his abrupt fit of terror, Yuuto barely recognized the intuitive action his body took in that moment. Thrusting both arms into the air about him, he shouted out the words to a water summons, and bowed his head with satisfaction when the sodden hydrosphere materialized in his grasp like a blue flame. Instantly he released the torrents in a multitude of sheets, traveling up to the ceiling and wrapping around BEAST, enveloping them in a translucent hydro-barrier. Not the strongest or most durable shield, but it would have to do.

Glancing at Satsuki out of the corner of his eyes, he managed a painstaking smile as the strain of the technique began to take its effect on him. "Maybe we won't have to abandon it after all," he said forcibly. "If I can just hold out until the ceiling is done collapsing, I think BEAST might survive." But he knew he could not hold out forever. "I just hope this avalanche doesn't last too long...or bury us too deep..."

* * *

The younger man was failing to respond. At least he was still breathing. But that would do Seishirou no good if the kekkai could not be taken down. Until then, they were trapped.

Suddenly the life forces of several new beings flooded his senses, and he lifted his head to see at least four figures darting toward the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, leaping from rooftop to rooftop along the way. Dragons of Heaven. They would ruin  
everything. He was determined not to lose track of Subaru again. Their battle was not yet decided, and he was not about to allow those meddling Seals to interrupt the inevitable outcome.

Raising his hand high into the air, he forced enough energy to surge through his veins to call forth his summons. The faint glow of the inverted pentagram began to glow with crimson light before him, and he uttered a stream of curses and enchantment to bring forth the beings of his own creation.

Curse zombies. They flew from the five-pointed star symbol in the form of vicious falcons, wings outspread as they screeched their terrible cries.

"Go," he commanded in a rugged breath, "stop them at any cost." Of course, he knew they would be too weak to kill the Dragons of Heaven, especially in his current condition, but at least they would slow them down.

Glancing back down at the insensible Onmyouji at his side, he closed his eyes with clenched teeth. _-I won't let them take you from me,- _he thought with a low exhale. _-I'll die before I let them take you.-  
_

Subaru's eyes fluttered open after a minute. His vision was blurred, his eyes covered in dust and debris, so it took him a minute to re- adjust.

"Seishirou..." he tried to struggle, to get away from him, but he hadn't fully gotten his strength back. He gave up for a second. "...what's going on?!"

A slight tug at his side caused him to look down. Subaru gazed up at him wearily with a mixture of fear and anger in his eyes. And with Seishirou exerting a tremendous amount of effort just to keep his curse zombies in existence, this was not the best time for the young Onmyouji to awaken.

"What's going on here?!" he demanded in a raspy voice, struggling for a futile instant to get away.

Quickly Seishirou stayed the attempt by clenching the young man tightly to himself in a constricting manner, exhibiting the fact that he had already made a substantial recovery. "We're not done yet," he spat in cold, cruel tenor. "Now take down your kekkai, Subaru-kun, or I will kill your precious comrades." He nodded toward the illusory falcons that were soaring toward the still distant Seals. "Or would you prefer to involve them in our personal affairs?"

Letting out a wry chuckle through his scratchy throat, Seishirou smiled wickedly down at Subaru. -How ironic,- he thought to himself, caught for a moment staring into those beautiful dark eyes. The young man was finally helpless in his grasp, susceptible to any torture Seishirou could concoct. All it would take was a meager energy bolt to cut through his chest...a flick of the wrist to snap his lithe neck. Then the barrier would dissipate, and Seishirou would be free to make his escape.

But that was not the way he wanted it to end. "Did you hear me, Subaru-kun?" he whispered in a tone of imitated tenderness. "Take it down, and we will settle this elsewhere. Otherwise...your friends will die." Gingerly he lifted his free hand to the young man's ashen face and brushed a callous finger against his cold bloodstained cheek. "You wouldn't want that...would you?"

"No."

Subaru's voice was firm. He wouldn't allow him to leave this place alive. He couldn't. After all he had done to him. After he killed his beloved older sister. There was no way he would give in to him. He couldn't!

"You couldn't kill Kamui. You know this. And he wouldn't let you harm his friends."

"If you can't escape the kekkai, you can't hurt the other seals. We'll die together." Subaru let a mocking laugh escape his lips. "Isn't that what you wanted, Seiichirou-kun? ISN'T it!?"

Seishirou glared down at the younger Onmyouji, still struggling to keep his curse zombies under his control. He was no fool; of course he knew he would not be able to kill Kamui or the other Dragons of Heaven. But for Subaru to refuse to take down the kekkai...to come so far only to die here...this would not end well.

"Don't be a fool," he snarled, shaking the young man brutally by the shoulders. "If Kamui's so powerful, then what threat am I? You're forgetting that all I have to do is kill you--which would be all too easy in your present state--and I would be as free as if you had done it by your own will. What scenario sounds more promising, Subaru-kun? I don't want to end your life in such a degrading fashion, but don't think for a minute that I won't, if need comes to desperation."

Suddenly a peculiar presence pricked at his senses, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a subtle movement. Turning his head, his eyes widened as his sight fell on Kamui himself. And the girl...and one other. Why did their auras feel so similar? Was he still suffering severe delusions? But as he looked closer, he saw that it was truth.

_-Could it be?- _he breathed in low, forcible gasps.

He reverted his cold gaze to Subaru's ashen face, smiling wickedly, never relenting his fierce hold on the young Onmyouji's lithe body. "It seems we have an unexpected guest. I wonder how he would react to my demonic creations..." With that he held up his free hand and summoned half his flock of spirit-falcons back to him, past him, then straight into the faces of Kamui and his two dear friends...

* * *

Fuuma froze as the barrier, bewildered by its solidness, stopped him. He allowed Kamui to pass through it and looked back to see what looked like something out of a bad horror movie...they moved toward him with eerie posture...He looked back to Kotori, keeping his calm despite his situation. "Kotori, get Kamui home...my Bike is out there. I'll be there soon." He turned forward reaching for the  
nearest blunt object, sensing hesitation from his sister. "Go NOW! I'll be home soon!"

_...I have to Protect them...that's all that matters now. _He suddenly felt that feeling again...a smile from somewhere in his psyche. _They wish to die...is this my purpose? To grant their wish...To grant the wishes of a doomed kind _

A smile curled to his lips...He shook his head to free himself from these thoughts _No I just have to stop them so Kotori and Kamui can get away. That's all that matters now. _He raised the stone piece of rubble in his hand and prepared to fight.

"Onii-chan!!" Kotori yelled. She started to run back to her brother when she fell. So running wasn't the best idea...

"No! Fuuma I can't!" she reached her hand out to Fuuma. "Onii-chan, come back! Come with us..." Kotori looked as if she could cry.

"Fuuma...please..." Kotori turned and looked up at Kamui.

"Kamui...make him come with us..."

"No, Fuuma!" called Kamui.

He limped over to Fuuma's side and reached out for his arm, tugging back with whatever strength he had left.

"I can't let you die here. Please, take Kotori and get out of here..." he begged.

The crows and curse zombies began to close in as Kamui stood in front of Fuuma now, ready to defend his dear friends. "Run! Now!" he shouted.

Fuuma sighed, he didn't want to do what he was about to do. He sent a quick chop to Kamui's head...and then attempted to violently toss him outside the barrier. "You're in no condition for this Kamui...I'm sorry." He smiled sadly as he felt the hands of the zombies seize him. He turned back to his opponent, sending a swift punch into the Zombie's gut in attempt to knock him off.

"Kotori GET HIM OUT OF HERE!!! Don't worry about me!" He felt another hand on his shoulder, he reached behind him and threw the body over him just as the Curse Crows began to descend upon him.

Darkness. It surrounded Kamui from all ends as he fell to the floor with a thud. The chop to the back of his head was more than Kamui's battered, weakened body could bare.

Why had Fuuma done this? Why was he being so foolish? There was no way he could defend himself against these creatures...

The promise. It was then that Kamui had remembered what Fuuma said to him so many years ago. He couldn't let him do that. Not if it meant sacrificing his life for something so stupid. Desperately, Kamui attempted to rise to his feet again, but his body wouldn't respond. He could only watch helplessly as Fuuma tossed him out of the kekkai.

Darkness. I swept over him faster and faster than before as he laid still on the floor. There was no way for Kamui to fight it. He could feel his eyes grow heavier by the second and his body numbing from the pain.

"Fuuma...Kotori...no..." he whispered before finally succumbing to the dark.

* * *

Subaru's eyes widened in horror as the zombies and crows flew forward to attack Kamui and his companions. He heard the young girl scream pleadingly at her brother and her frightened cry of 'Onii-chan' shook him. The young man was fighting hard, but how long would it be before he was overwhelmed?

His mind screamed at him to help them. He could not let innocent people die. But the moment Seishirou's iron grasp loosened, he stumbled, barely able to stand. He tried to cast a spell, but the words were interrupted by a fit of coughing. He wiped at his lips and stared at his fingers. Blood.

There was always blood.

Staining innocence, tainting it and then taking it.

It had been that way with Hokuto. Would it be that way with Kamui and them as well?

...It was not the beginnings of defeat. But the admittance of something that had long been established. In the end, the Sakurazamori always got what he wanted. Blood, innocence, and even this.

Subaru gritted his teeth in frustration. If he let down the kekkai, Seishirou would surely flee and the whole cycle of tracking, finding, losing... It would start all over again.

But there was no other way.

The young Sumeragi closed his eyes and withdrew his barrier. Where the kekkai actually went--a place where love and hate melted into one--not a soul could ever know.

When he was done, Subaru turned to face Seishirou, "I've taken down my kekkai," bitterly, "I've done what you wanted."

His voice turned forceful, "Now it's your turn. Call back your creations. Leave Kamui and his companions out of this."

Subaru shoved his fingers inside his coat until they touched the familiar tips of paper. It was an empty threat. He could not win against Seishirou. Not in this condition, not ever. But deep down, he knew winning was not really the point. Green eyes looked meaningfully at the Sakurazamori.

"Your business is with me. Leave them out of this."

* * *

What a nice twist of events.

Kanoe smiled at the scenes that were going on before her. The unending face-off between the Sakurazukamori and his prey. And the Seals fighting for their lives, defending a future she considered not worth saving.

"You fools..." she murmured softly as she watched their battles. Her voice was half-mocking, half-pitying, "You can't change the future..."

But her words were lost on the wind and Kanoe focused her attention instead on the lone figure that was fighting furiously. The other Kamui. Her eyes brightened. At last. He was here.

A chuckle bubbled to her lips.

In a short span of time, she had gone from being trapped in a falling building to watching things play to her favor.

A nice twist, indeed.

"Onee-chan," Kanoe purred amusedly, "You must be throwing a fit about now. The Promised Day is coming and there's nothing you can do about it..."

She headed toward the other Kamui almost predatorily. At the same moment, the star-shaped kekkai disappeared, its green light vanishing and restoring everything with its disappearance.

Kanoe smirked. Even more perfect. That wretched barrier was finally gone.

...or wasn't it?

The dream gazer stopped in her tracks and stared. Or rather, felt. Surrounding the outer edges of what had been the Sumeragi kekkai-- now no longer in place--were traces of another barrier spell. Kanoe neared cautiously, letting senses that were not physical lead her. The magic of this second barrier felt distinctly different from the one it had enclosed. Different, yet strangely familiar...

Kanoe frowned. This was not a kekkai but some sort of curse cast to keep people out. And a strong one at that, if it could keep four Seals from assisting a weakened comrade.

"But who?" she wondered out loud, eyes narrowing suspiciously, "And why?"

The curse was collapsing, the second barrier was falling. Cracking like glass. It must have been somehow linked to Sumeragi's kekkai, Kanoe concluded, But now that his kekkai has been taken down...

The dark-haired dream gazer stepped away from the cascading "pieces". They seemed to echo to her before disappearing into nothing. For some reason, Kanoe was reminded of snow. Hesitantly, she caught one descending fragment with a tentative hand and gasped.

She knew this aura. By instinct, by feeling, by blood. She knew its owner. But it made no sense. Why would she, of all people, be trying to keep out the Seals? Prevent them from saving one of their own?

"...Onee-chan?" Kanoe whispered, her eyes darkening in confusion.

It... made no sense.

The "piece" faded away, leaving nothing but questions.

* * *

Fuuma felt his heart beat faster. Something awakened in him as the crow began to scratch at him. He felt the smile over take him as he jerked his hand upward, catching the crow by its wretched neck. "Well well...The barrier's down but you're still alive. Oh, you're such a poor birdie. Want me to make it all better? It all end?" His voice was genuine, yet it wasn't Fuuma for that moment. It was something darker in his tone. He pressed his thumb upward toward the bird's beck, the force broke its neck.

As he felt a zombie place its hand on his shoulder, Fuuma smiled and placed his hand on it's face, closing the jaw and continuing to press upward until bones cracked. He looked to Seishirou, with a friendly smile. "With so many of your creations dying, is the creator trying to drop a hint as to what his wish is?"

_NO! This isn't me... _He shook his head violently, feeling the zombies draw in closer. The smile was again gone from his exterior. He backed up to avoid being attacked by a horde.

Kotori stared at her brother. No...this man before her was not her brother. What the heck was that? She looked on in disbelief.

"Fuuma...onii-chan?!" She was in almost pure shock. Kotori watched as her brother nearly attacked Kamui.

"Kamui-chan!!" Kotori ran to his side. She grabbed Kamui, pulling him close. "Kamui-chan...are you okay?!" Kotori leaned against him, looking down at his face.

"Onii-chan, what's wrong with you?!" Kotori asked in between choked sobs. "Onii..."

* * *

As the psychic barrier dissipated around the Metropolitan Government building, Seishirou stood back with a guileful simper. He watched as his battered adversary stumbled back and struggled to gain some semblance of balance, shoving a hand into the pocket of his tattered, bloody white trench coat.

"This is between you and me," the young Sumeragi said with a haggard cough. "Leave them out of it."

At this Seishirou could not help but laugh. "Oh, yes, this is most certainly between you and me. But there will be time enough for that. Right now...I'm having too much fun." Though he had not yet regained enough strength to jump to the rooftop, he had recovered enough to sprint a short distance. And when he heard that cold voice behind him, that was exactly what he did.

"So many of your creations are dying...one might think this is your wish?"

The voice belonged to the friend of Kamui...the one who possessed such a similar aura about him. But his eyes were like ice, dead with subtle antipathy.

In an instant he was at the man's back, treading casual steps to a position behind him. Hands in his pockets, a twisted smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. "Death is an interesting concept," he murmured wickedly. "But it's only frightening if you don't know who you are. And it looks to me"--he turned to study the young man's suddenly hesitant profile--"that you aren't quite sure."

Without giving him another look, Seishirou walked away, back toward Subaru. "I've had enough of this place," he said casually. "Let the cursed Seals come. If they are worthy, they will defeat my creations." But as he made as to exit the area that the kekkai had surrounded, an invisible shard of energy suddenly slit a long incision across his left shoulder, and another into his cheek.

Furiously he turned on his young adversary, glaring into those lovely dark eyes. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, gesticulating at his fresh wounds. "Is this a new trick you learned?" Then he straightened his back with a chuckle. "You're stealthier than I thought, Subaru-kun. Fine, then." He nodded, holding up a hand in preparation to return his curse zombies to ashes and paper scraps. "We will finish this elsewhere."

But inwardly he held his cunning smile. He had no intention of recalling his illusory beasts...or allowing Subaru to claim any control over his actions...

* * *

Karen jumped aside as the psychic crows came flying at her and her fellow Seals. "Watch out!" she shouted as she ducked the oncoming attack. She threw a blast of fire at the birds, and they disintegrated in the heat of her flames. :: Why couldn't that man get through Sumeragi-san's barrier:: she thought in frustration. :: He's a Dragon of Heaven, like the rest of us! If he can't get through, then we won't be able to either::

Quite suddenly, Subaru's barrier shrank and disappeared. For one reason or another, he had taken down his barrier; maybe he had somehow realized that they couldn't get through it. But there was no time to be thinking about the reasons for this; they could worry about it later when they were safely out of their predicament.

"Alright, everybody, we have a job to do!" Karen said with resolve, looking at her fellow Seals. "Let's get Sumeragi-san and Kamui-kun out of here!"

* * *

Satsuki looked at Yuuto with surprise as he cast his water around them and BEAST. "San-san…" she whispered, not knowing what else she could possible say. Her computer was an object that must have seemed completely unimportant to Yuuto, especially in their current predicament. Yet here he was, making his best effort to rescue BEAST, just for her. Satsuki was sincerely touched. Yuuto was indeed a true gentleman.

Within seconds after Yuuto had cast his watery shield around them, Satsuki shook herself out of her momentary daze. This was no time to be musing over such things; their very lives were in danger at the moment. They had to somehow get out of the building, or at least hold off the debris until Kanoe one of the other Angels came for them. Yuuto was too injured to hold out for long, but Satsuki wasn't completely helpless. After all, she wasn't an Angel for nothing.

"Don't bother, San-san," Satsuki said. "BEAST still has a copy of all of the information I downloaded. It still functions perfectly." _::Because I couldn't just leave it empty like that::_ Satsuki thought, an ache wrenching at her heart.

She ignored the momentary stab of pain in her chest and stepped over to her supercomputer. "BEAST, block off the ceiling before it caves in," she commanded. Instantly, wires shot from every direction, forming a solid mass above and around them that blocked off the debris falling from the ceiling. For some reason that she didn't quite understand, BEAST was obeying her perfectly again. She was grateful for it, whatever the reason might be.

"San-san, you can stop using your powers now," Satsuki said, looking over at the exhausted man, who was still nobly holding up his barrier of water. "Get some rest. I think we'll be fine for now."


	13. Chapter 11: You’d Better Be Out There

**Chapter Eleven: Fuuma, You'd Better Be Out There!**

Fuuma froze as he felt the presence behind him. "Death is an interesting concept, But it's only frightening if you don't know who you are. And it looks to me...that you aren't quite sure." He felt the shiver go down his spine...This man was powerful, most likely too  
powerful for him to handle...It was then it answer the man back, as Fuuma heard the footsteps walk away.

"I'm only unsure because this boy hasn't made his choice yet...but in a way he has." Fuuma smiled at Kamui outside the barrier. "So eager to protect the one who wants to die most of all...I can't let you deny my sister her truest of wishes. Yet if he didn't choose to  
protect so many he would be me and I would be him."

"Onii-chan, what's wrong with you?! Onii..." Fuuma heard her choked sobs and grinned. He felt it in her heart...she wanted to die...She NEEDED to die. "Your destiny has been decided...only Kamui has to choose now. For we are the only variable in this saga...Which will it be, The tragic end by a brother or one by a true love...That is what I see in your heart...The longing to die by one of our hands."

_NO! I don't want this...I don't want to kill Kotori. _He looked over to Kotori with a evil smile. "Yet if I don't..." He saw what was to be...it would be Kamui. _Kamui...Surely you can stop me if I choose this...You could kill me if I tried to kill Kotori.. Please Kamui, protect her because I'm weak...I wouldn't be able to protect her if I had to fight you. _Fuuma felt a tear roll down his face, beginning a series of others. "I know what must be done..." He smiled even more cheerfully, despite his tears. "I must make this choice for him..."

_Let them go please... _The voice of reason was becoming gradually more weak. Fuuma looked to the zombies and then to Kotori and Kamui. "You have to choose first...then I'll see if you are still willing to deny her the gift which will bring her the happiness she longs for." _Ple..please don't...Koto..ri...run. I can't protect you.  
_

* * *

His arm froze in midair as the words brushed against his ears like a stale gust of wind. "I'm only unsure because he hasn't made his choice yet..."

Withdrawing his hand hesitantly to his side, Seishirou turned again to face the young friend of Kamui. But this time he looked deeper into the man's eyes...into his soul. And he saw it. Yes, it was so utterly obvious now. How had he missed it before? The fated Twin Star. Hinoto's prophecy had come true after all.

He knew he did not stand a chance against this strange creature of unwillfull wicked powers. The man's aura was practically alight with flame, and his eyes... -Gods of night, his eyes...-- They were completely bereft of emotion...hollow. Dying...dead. Seishirou  
still had not regained most of his power, and even if he had been at full strength, he was still unsure of whether he would have been able to defeat him.

At the edges of his senses, he could feel his curse zombies being annihilated by the dozens. The Seals were hardly being slowed down. But now it mattered nothing if they found Kamui and took him back to their precious Yume-mi Hinoto. The Dragons of Earth now had a "Kamui" of their own. All that remained was for the foreordained day to arrive.

As the hesitation returned to the young man's fair countenance, Seishirou turned his back again and advanced toward Subaru. It was time to leave. The Seals knew of their whereabouts; they would find Kamui and retrieve him. But they would not get everything they wanted. The younger Onmyouji had recovered far less than even himself, so subduing him would be no challenge. It was no longer just about the two of them. It was about strategy...and the End of the World.

Hands in his pockets, Seishirou stopped no more than a pace in front of Subaru, and a wry simper formed at the edges of his lips. "You're coming with me," he said plainly, then added, "Or would you like to experience the excruciating pain of your beloved sister's death...?" His useless right eye flashed golden for a moment under the twilight, as he glanced menacingly into his adversary's frowning eyes with the last two words...

* * *

The weight was lifted from his exhausted psyche in an instant, and at first he thought he might have already collapsed and died under the pressure. But the Satsuki's words registered in his mind, and at last he began to relax. His hydro-barrier receded into the essence of his aura, and wearily he sank to the floor in the middle of the already fallen debris.

"It's about time you had BEAST do something," he muttered in a good- humored tone, glancing up while keeping his head lowered, still breathing hard. "I should have thought of that myself, but apparently your pet doesn't listen to me." He paused and quickly recounted the events of the past hours. The hologram. He lifted his head to stare at her peculiarly. "Did you know it wouldn't let me out of that stupid projection when I told it to bring me back? I had to threaten the insolent contraption with promises of your wrath in order for it to listen. What do you suppose caused it?"

* * *

Kamui hadn't responded to her. Kotori kept looking down at him, waiting for a response. "Kamui-chan..."

"Kamui..." she whispered.

Unsure of what to do, she looked him over again. Her eyes narrowed at the site of blood trailing down from his body. Was he...?

"Kamui...are you dead...?"

Kotori caught her breath. That line was far too familiar. But it was true. He was loosing more blood than should be happening. She pulled him close, and tried to push herself up with her free hand.

The last thing she wanted to do was leave Fuuma, but he was not Fuuma. He was just the one who looked like Fuuma; another image, a twin; but NOT Fuuma. Kotori had to get Kamui out now.

"Kamui-chan, please wake up..."

* * *

Just as he was leaning forward to seize Subaru by the arm without awaiting the young Sumeragi's response, a chilling whisper pricked at the hairs on the back of Seishirou's neck, causing him to turn.

"You have to choose first...then I'll see if you are still willing to deny her the gift which will bring her the happiness she longs for."

The Twin Star was speaking to Kamui, but his voice had changed. Nauseatingly unsettling. Was this truly the same man who had spoken so desperately to him a moment before? The same man who had come to rescue his friends? He had turned so cold so suddenly.

Their eyes met and locked. Seishirou could not break his gaze as the mind-numbing shiver ran down his spine. He direly wished he had a cigarette; he needed a smoke. But at that moment, all he knew were those stone cold eyes...the eyes of the Angel "Kamui." Something in the pit of his bowels told him that this man...this creature...was thirsting for more than just the blood of the Dragons of Heaven.

He gave Subaru a harsh shove to force the younger man behind him, knowing what had to be done. Stepping forward with forced steadiness, he shoved his privately nervous hands deep into the pockets of his tattered black dress pants.

"So...who are you...really?" He kept his voice tranquil, even allowing his usual sardonic smirk to curl the edges of his lips. "What have you come for?" Throwing a glance at the unconscious youth at the young girl, his snicker became more confident. "To save them? ...Or kill them..."

_-It seems the conclusion to our battle will have to wait a little longer, Subaru-kun,- _he breathed silently into the wind. The Seals were advancing steadily; his curse zombies could not stay them long. His personal agenda would have to be postponed. If this man was truly the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth, then it was his duty to help him liberate this wasted planet. _-Forgive me...-  
_

* * *

Fuuma stood silent, smiling at Kotori and Kamui. He turned as he heard Seishirou approach, receiving him with a kind smile...he didn't seem the least bit fearful of this figure yet Fuuma could smell Seishirou's.

"So...who are you...really? What have you come for? To save them? ...Or kill them..." Fuuma stood silent until he was sure Seishirou was finished.

"You know who I am...yet you bother to ask me? I am Kamui." Fuuma spoke with a friendly tone, looking back at his sister. "As for your second question, the answer is also obvious...To fulfill the desire that burns in her heart...That which burns in all hearts. To die...To taste salvation from this mundane existence which humanity dwells in. That salvation only lies in death. I must grant these desires for a pitiful kind whose time is about to come to a blissful end."

He completely turned away from Seishirou. "Naturally I am but one and those who wish are in countless numbers...I can't answer so many voices so soon...yet this one..." He met eyes with Kotori. "She was my sister...the one I love most of all. This is why I must personally answer her prayers."

_Kotori...run...This is what you want right? _The voice of reason grew dimmer as it slowly grew more into the voice of Kamui.

* * *

Subaru turned to Seishirou and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"I...I will come with you." He tried to make his voice sound forced, to make it sound as though he was hesitant, although he was secretly not. Seishirou's words only reminded him more and more than he needed to find out the truth of his sister's death.

He followed Seishirou's lead.

* * *

Seishirou's curse zombies finally started to take their toll on the party. The town was already in an uproar from the collapsing building, and now zombies. Great. Yuzuriha hoped she wouldn't have to explain this to anyone.

"We've got to get in there!" Yuzuriha shouted loud enough to get her voice through the roaring uproar. She turned towards the building and started running, fighting the crowd that was running in the opposite direction she was.

"Inuki!" She looked at her spirit-dog, and then at the curse zombies that were approaching them. The dog seemed to read her mind, and Yuzuriha almost though she saw her Inuki nod. Yuzuriha hopped onto Inuki's back and darted through the zombies. After sifting past the debris, Yuzuriha cleared her eyes of dirt.

"KAMUI?!"

* * *

Peace. Kamui hadn't felt this way in ages. How long ago was it? About 6 years if memory serves right. Back during the days when he was just a child. Having fun, playing at the shrine with Fuuma and Kotori. Not a care in the world. Those were indeed better times...

Now as it would seem, his life had changed for the worse. Who was to blame for all this? Fate? God? Or these people...

Mother would have said that this was all fate, that it was destined to be this way. Kamui never liked that idea much. It angered him more than anything. How could anyone give in to an idea like that? How could they be so weak? Why wouldn't they fight it?

But then again, what made it seem like they weren't? Was all this the reason why they fought? To fight for their future, their destiny?

There didn't seem to be any kind of answer to his questions as he drifted through the darkness. Nothing but cold, black silence. It seemed like he drifted endlessly until a faint voice seem to echo off in the distance.

"Kotori?" he thought. He wanted to call out to her, to be able to see her face again and know that she was alright. But nothing came out of his mouth. He couldn't move. Then came another voice.

It sounded like Fuuma, but it also wasn't. It was cold, heartless and cruel. Nothing like the Fuuma he knew. How he wanted to open his eyes and see for himself that it wasn't Fuuma after all. All he could do was drift further and further helplessly.

"Fuuma..." he whispered.

Kotori looked at Kamui.

"Fuuma..." she head him whisper.

"Fuuma?" she asked. "What about him, Kamui-chan?" She mentally smacked herself. Of course she knew what about him. How could she even ask?

"Kamui-chan, please, hold on a little longer." she begged of him, unsure if he even heard her. She placed him back on the ground. It was obvious that Kamui wanted Fuuma to come with them. Or, at least, it seemed that way.

Kotori sucked in a breath. She wasn't used to this- this standing up  
thing she was about to do. But she walked over to her brother, standing as straight as she could, without collapsing again.

"Onii-chan!" Kotori shouted. She marched over to Fuuma, and pushed her way between him and Seishirou. "Come with us. Now. Remember, that you promised to protect us, and protect Kamui? I can't save him alone. You have to come with us, Fuuma. Please, come. Onii-chan, I love you, and I don't want to see you get hurt."

She pleaded with her brother, hoping that something might get through to this stranger that had over taken his body. She looked at Seishirou, then at Fuuma. She paused, and looked back at Seishirou again.

"H-Hey! I know you!!" she yelled at him.

Her vision blurred suddenly, and she fell against her brother, fainted.

As the girl stumbled and fell against the man she called "brother," her words struck Seishirou with a vengeance.

"I...I know you!"

He chuckled flatly as she fell insensible. "I doubt that. No one 'knows' me..."


	14. Chapter 12: Dreams

**Chapter Twelve: Dreams**

As the tremors of whatever had been going on outside subsided a bit, the two maids who were in charge of cleaning the fourth floor of the Four Seasons hotel glanced at each other in relief and sighed gratefully. Things in Tokyo the last few days had been getting  
weirder and weirder.

For instance, the first maid; young, blond and new to the job of cleaning hotel rooms, could have sworn that as she was making her way to work she saw people on top of buildings, jumping from rooftop to rooftop with the ease of something learned from birth. She had stared at them for a few moments and then shaking her head in disbelief, had continued on her way, trying to convince herself that she was just seeing things.

The second maid; a bit rotund with gray hair apparent at her temples, had seen nothing out of the ordinary, but these mini 'earthquakes', she concluded, were definitely not normal. Coming from the ground now was a pleasant little buzz, and both the women decided to continue on with their rounds. It was a policy to have every room done dusk and sunset was fast approaching. Walking toward the next set of rooms on slightly wobbly legs, they both clutched the handles of their huge cleaning carts a bit harder then necessary, just in case another tremor struck. Stopping at the next set of doors, the blond suddenly had a momentary relapse and forgetting to check the door number, instead just rang the bell and began to slowly turn the knob.

Suddenly a hand entered her view and clamped down on top of hers, effectively stopping the motion of the handle. The blond maid gave the other a look of surprise as the gray haired one hissed, "Not that room."

Startled, the blond one looked up at the room number, and almost instantly her cheeks flamed a bright red. "Oh..oh. Gomen Nasai! I.. I.. forgot to check the room number." she whispered, cheeks going a shade redder then they already were. Her eyes fell to the ground with shame as she started to moved the knob back into its original position. The older maid nodded curtly and let her continue, didn't let go until the knob was firmly back in place. She then let go and gave the girl an encouraging smile. "It's alright. Nothing bad happened. We are both on edge and when that's true mistakes get made. Come along, the room across the hall isn't occupied." So saying the older woman walked over to her cart and began to push it toward the next set of doors a little way off.

The blond maid, took one more look at the numbered door, wondering for a moment what was in there, but then sighed and hurrying to her cart, pushed it forward quickly to catch up with her partner.

* * *

The room the blond maid had almost opened was almost identical to other hotel rooms of the day. An eerie silence engulfed it, making it seem a bit haunted even though the blinds were open and the midmorning sun made pools of bright light on the carpeted floor and the furniture that was scattered about the room. There was, however, a fine film of dust on most of the furniture, but the person who occupied the room surely wouldn't have noticed. But as one listened closer, the silence was suddenly shattered by the whirl, hum and occasional beep of machines. They were all located around the huge bed. White hangings had been strung from the ceiling and fell all the way to the floor, completely obscuring the bed and it's occupant, for indeed there was a person residing in this room. Lying under a few blankets, and covered with the small round life monitor patches and a few tubes, lay the inert body of dream seer and Dragon of Earth, Kakyou Kuzuki. His eyes were closed, his heart gone, and his mind.. well his mind was lost in his dreams….

…A light ocean breeze blew at his hair, lifting it off his neck and whipping it about his face. His white trench coat fluttered as well, then settled back around his ankles as the breeze died out. Gulls soared above him, their flapping wings and harsh songs his only music. Kakyou was standing on a rock ledge, the only one to be seen for miles. Everywhere else, as far as the eye could see was the vast blue-green ocean. He was surrounded by ocean, sky, rock and birds and he minded not at all. Anything to be at least a bit closer to the one that he had cared for…

Suddenly he looked up into the sky as feathers began to ran down and the sky darkened. The sky faded and gears became visible, each slowly revolving a constant cycle, but one that never went backwards.  
_  
Always the gears of time move forward. For the past cannot be erased  
and the future is already set.  
_  
The ocean and ledge disappeared, replaced by a floor that looked to be like opaque glass. It was deceiving however, for the feathers that fell upon it made it ripple. With each new feather, a new ripple, until one never knew where to begin and where to end. Kakyou held out his hand and a feather fell into his palm. He regarded it for a moment and then let it float away on some unfelt breeze. He continued to stand as he had before, as if waiting for something. A large ripple suddenly appeared on the ground a few feet away and as Kakyou watched a figure emerged from under the floor. The person was wrapped in a large tan cloak, part of it used as a hood that obscured his face. Fully above ground now, the boy removed the hood. He didn't look at Kakyou however, but something…or perhaps someone.

_ So this the Kamui. _Kakyou regarded the boy with interest, but what interested him more was as he looked at the reflection, it was not that of Kamui. It was that of another. Taller, and with a more fiery look in his eyes.

_ Two Kamui's. Twin stars, one for Heaven and one for Earth. _Kakyou looked at the real Kamui now. _ Kamui chooses. The twin star fills the void. That is the reason for two scared swords.  
_  
Kakyou looks out beyond Kamui now, and many images of the future run through his mind's eye. His dreams play out to the end and as it stopped he sighed.

_ In my dreams the fate of the Earth is already decided. The wishes of all will rest in the strength of each, even if to gain that wish it means death.  
_  
The image begins to fade and is replaced once again by the ocean, sky, rocks and birds. Another breeze plays at his coat as he looks out across the never-ending sea. Placing his hands in his pockets, he suddenly turns to his right and sees a young girl wandering toward him. She looked lost and a bit bewildered. Kakyou smiled and turned toward her, watching her with golden eyes.

"You seem lost little one." he called out over the space that separated them and smiled at her again.

Kotori walked toward the man in front of her. Her eyes crossed over the ocean scene a few dozen times. It was as if she didn't quite believe it.

_"You seem lost little one."_

Kotori stopped, looking the way the voice came. Her eyes fell on Kakyou. Softly, she smiled at his kindness, if only for a brief moment.

"A bit..." she replied, choosing her words carefully. She started walking again, reaching Kakyou.

"It seems so lonely out here..." she started.

* * *

Fuuma stared down at Kotori as she talked to him. His exterior heard her soul crying for a blissful end while the still retreating voice heard her words. _Sister...Run! I can't stop myself from answering your wish. _The voices were almost in unison now, it wouldn't be long before the choice was made. He would be Kamui then and would bring the world to its peaceful origin.

Suddenly Fuuma saw her fall against him. What was wrong? He felt that transformation cease for one moment. _He's not ready to protect her...I can't just yet. I want to see the happiness in her eyes when I end her suffering _Fuuma gently sat, and lay his sister on the ground, near Kamui...near the one he would kill to protect the world from Humanity's corruptive touch. _Sister...I must make this choice _He touched Kamui's face, feeling it's warmth against his cold hand. "You will join her in death...then you both will be happy...I promise to protect your happiness."

Fuuma rose to his feet, turning his back to the couple. "The stars are not right for their wish...I must wait." He spoke to Seishirou, eyeing him from the corner of his eyes. "If you wish to follow me, come."

_In this moment, I know what must be done. I must kill them to truly protect them...to protect their bond...To protect this world from the cancer that slowly kills it. Sister, next time we meet, I shall make you happy. I understand it all now  
_  
He smiled cheerfully as he walked in the opposite direction from Kamui. It would seem for now on they would always be on the opposite side.

The choice was made.

* * *

Satsuki frowned at Yuuto's words, narrowing her eyes as she tried to take in the full meaning of this new fact. "It wasn't just you, San-san," Satsuki said slowly.

She looked up at the supercomputer, which sat innocently humming away as it performed its task of blocking the falling debris. She had built BEAST with her own hands, a device meant to superior to humans in every way: intelligent, entertaining, companionable, and above all, loyal. Why, then, wouldn't her own creation listen to her? It couldn't be a defect; Satsuki knew that no technological creation of hers could ever be less than perfect. Besides, she ran system checks on the computer dozens of times a day, just to be sure, and it was always in perfect condition. What could have caused the problem?

Satsuki looked at her blond companion, her eyebrows furrowing. "While you were still in the projection, I commanded BEAST to recall the hologram. And it wouldn't listen to me. It wouldn't even acknowledge my presence. It was as if it was completely ignoring me."

This was a riveting shock. Yuuto stared at her. "It didn't obey you? You?" He repeated the last word with dramatic emphasis, raising his eyebrows in wonderment. "Sou desu ne... Hontou ni, doshitan desu ka..."

The trembling of the ceiling stopped, and abruptly Yuuto got the urge to stand. He hated sitting still. Glancing around, his gaze finally rested back on the brilliant young technological genius. "Think we should try the elevator?" he mused out loud. "That is...if you imagine BEAST can hold his own for now."

* * *

Seishirou turned his back on Subaru to follow Fuuma. Subaru was caught by surprise. "San-san, where are you going?"

Seishirou stopped without glancing over his shoulder. "Stay out of this." He did not want to leave the man behind--to let those blasted Seals have him back--but this was his destiny.

Subaru quickened his pace and blocked Seishirou's path. "Stay out of what?" he asked, trying to look intimidating.

Scowling, Seishirou finally met Subaru's stern glare. "I asked you once not to turn your back on me. Well, now I'm demanding that you do it. Get out of my way." He attempted to brush past the younger Onmyouji.

"Noubou, Akyasha, Kyrarabaya on arikya..." Subaru started chanting, touching his index fingers together. Seishirou scowled, recognizing instantly the familiar chant of the Onmyoujitsu curse. Subaru's voice increased in intensity and in volume, "...maribori sowaka!!"

The power flared, and Seishirou was forced to take a step back, surprised at the sudden recovery of the younger spiritualist's power. He shielded his face from the flare and snickered sardonically. "So, you wish to die now, after all?"

Subaru jumped back reflexively, expecting Seishirou to take a swipe at him, but he didn't. "I'll die only if I can take you with me."

Seishirou watched out of the corner of his single useful eye as Fuuma walked away into the night. Grumbling under his breath, he held out his hands in the shape of a triangle and uttered his own stream of curses. "On asanmagini unhatta...Onbazalatoshikoku!" His notorious inverted pentagram flew up before him like a shield, blocking the force of Subaru's power.

Subaru sighed. "You know, it didn't have to be like this..."

Seishirou snickered from behind the streaks of red light. "Are you still so naive? Of course it had to be like this. It was destined to be like this. You really are very cute, Subaru-kun, but you were always a fool."

"Every action we take changes our 'destiny'. Your destiny is how it is because you don't WANT to change it, Seishirou-san."

He shrugged. "Maybe that's true. But you said it yourself...that I am a heartless monster. So make up your mind!" He laughed out loud mockingly. "Do you hate me or love me?"

Subaru felt conflicted. Now that the words were being laid out in front of him, he was forced to confront the situation. He was sure that he loved Seishirou at one point in his life. He remembered those days after Seishirou lost his right eye while in conflict with Yuya's mother, how much he cried, how much he was worried about what Seishirou thought about him. If Seishirou hated him... He wouldn't feel that way if he didn't love Seishirou. But even so, he killed his sister. His beloved Elder Sister, who did no wrong. How could...how could he love SUCH a thing? There was no way he could love such...such...

"I'm...not sure," Subaru avoided his answer.

The hesitation was almost tangible in the younger man's face. Seishirou took advantage of his falter with a snicker and lunged forward, cutting Subaru across the face with a blade of energy and landing easily behind him an instant later. "Have you learned anything?" he scoffed. "That could have been your head. You're nothing but a toy to me, Subaru-kun. Surely you've realized that by now."

Subaru felt the teas well up in his eyes. It wasn't from the pain in his leg, either. It was the pain of betrayal. He turned around and started to walk away. "Do as you wish, Seishirou- san." There was no way he would let this man-- no--this monster see him cry.

But Seishirou heard the trembling in his voice...knew its familiar connotations. He had seen Subaru cry before. "What's wrong?" he taunted, folding his arms over his chest. "Afraid to show me your tears? After all we've been through together." He grinned, though the slightest pang of emotion pricked at the pit of his throat.

Subaru reflexively turned around. He looked at Seishirou with piercing eyes, taking a moment to wipe his tears away. "I'm not afraid of you," Subaru said simply.

Seishirou stared on expectantly, tilting his head to the side with a twisted smile. "Oh, but I think you are."

"Why would I be afraid of you? our powers are equally matched," Subaru reminded him.

For a moment Seishirou's expression turned somber, and he strode forward placidly until he stood no more than a pace from Subaru. Smiling gently down at him, he lifted a hand and gingerly stroked a callous finger across the younger man's pale cheek. "Yes, evenly matched in power. I would never deny that you are the only one I've ever had so much trouble with killing. But..." He traced his finger to Subaru's lower lip, brushing it softly with tender care. "...There are other ways I think you fear me..."

Subaru pulled away. "Why would I fear you?" he asked, not needing a clarification. He knew. He knew.

Seishirou chuckled, still wearing a gentle face. "Now you're being repetitive, Subaru-kun. I know you better than you know yourself. And you...hardly know me at all." He cocked his head with a pleasant smile. "It's almost ironic, don't you think?"

"I..I know you," Subaru said, insecurely. "...I know you love animals. I know that...I know that..." he tried to stutter for something to support his retort, but he came up empty handed.

And for a moment--only for a moment--Seishirou's eyes filled with genuine sympathy. -Subaru-kun...- But quickly he shook himself and hardened his expression. "You know nothing. That's why your beloved sister died, and that's why you will die."

"Kill me then..." Subaru's words were low but suddenly, he felt his voice become stronger. "KILL ME THEN. IF THAT'LL SAVE YOU, KILL ME."

The snicker returned to Seishirou's lips and again he met Subaru face-to-face where the younger man had backed up to. "So, after all this...after the sacrifice your dear Hokuto made...you are just giving up now?" He chuckled and rotated his head in a sadistic movement. "How utterly...delicious." Before the wide-eyed Subaru could respond, Seishirou bent his knees and planted his powerful fist solidly into the lovely Onmyouji's midsection. As Subaru curled over his arm, he brought his other fist soaring into the man's jaw in a brutal uppercut, sending Subaru violently to the ground. He laughed all the while. "So is it as enjoyable as you'd hoped?" he shouted. "Is this the end you want?!"

Blood spurted upward from Subaru's lips as he stumbled backwards. He found himself nearly falling, but waved his arms to regain his balance. He brushed his arm across his bloodied lips. "Is this the end you wanted for me?" Subaru asked. "ANSWER ME. I thought you were a Sakurazukamori."

Again Seishirou laughed. "And so you want to die like the victim of the Sakurazukamori, is that it? As...the victim of the Sakurazukamori...?" The taunting laughter fell from his face. "So...you're foolish enough to still believe that I have feelings for you...?"

Subaru smiled. "You said it yourself-- you said you had the most trouble killing me. Those words speak the loudest."

At this Seishirou was stunned. It was true...those words did speak the loudest in his eyes. Frowning with a little less composure, he forced a chuckle. "Don't get so arrogant. We...will finish this later."

Seishirou turned to leave, still feeling wary of his own unexpected emotions.

Subaru grew angry. "I don't want to finish this later. I want to finish this now!" He sent a fist lunging at Seishirou's neck. Subaru blinked at his sudden outburst. He...he didn't mean to...

The warning came too late. His senses were still sluggish. And before he knew what hit him...everything went black...

* * *

"Yuzuriha-chan, wait!" Karen called out in alarm as the young girl jumped away towards the building. Before she could do anything, however, the girl had disappeared into the cloud of dust. Karen gritted her teeth angrily as she threw another blast of fire at the oncoming crows and curse zombies. She had to follow Yuzuriha, but with these creatures in her way she wouldn't be able to move anywhere.

Quite suddenly, all of the attacking creatures vanished in the middle of their attacks. Karen blinked in surprise and slowly lowered her hands, looking around. "They're… gone?" she said slowly, completely bewildered. Why had whoever was controlling the spirits stopped the attacks?

In any case, their path was now clear, and they could go after Yuzuriha now. Karen would think about what had just happened later. "Come on, we've got to follow Yuzuriha-chan! We can't let her go in there alone!" Karen shouted to her companions. Without waiting for a response, she leaped from the building top and hurtled off in the direction that the girl had gone. _::Please, don't let anything have happened to her:: _Karen thought anxiously as she approached the government building. She saw several figures up ahead of her, obscured by the flying dust, and she increased her speed to reach them.

Unexpectedly, the dust cleared, and Karen's eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the figures. "Yuzuriha-chan! Sumeragi-san!" Karen exclaimed, hurrying up to them. "Are you all right? What's going on?"

She looked bewildered over at the figures slumped on the floor. "Kamui-kun!" Karen cried out, kneeling down on the floor next to the teenager. "He's injured! What happened?" She looked over at Kotori's still unconscious next to Kamui. "His friend's here, too? How did she get here? What's going on?"

As she looked up, a third figure caught her eye. Karen's eyes widened as she recognized the man slumped over on the floor. "That man's aura… he's the one who attacked us with his spirit zombies a little while ago! What's he doing here?"

Karen's head was spinning; she was completely taken aback by this sudden turn of events. There were so many unanswered questions, and she had no idea where to start. She looked up at Subaru, hoping he would have some answers.

Subaru tried to ignore the eyes looking down at him expectantly.

He stared at Seishirou's body, trying to make sense of the last few minutes. What was he going to do?

If he wanted to, he could kill him right now. End all this madness. He could avenge his elder sister.

Instead, he felt nostalgia overcome him. Seishirou had done so much for him. This couldn't be the Seishirou he knew. Something had possessed him, like a ghost.

Seishirou was not like this. Not the Seishirou Subaru knew for so long.

Subaru cocked his head downward and brushed a few stray hairs out of Seishirou's face and brought Seishirou's face to his lips.

Yuzuriha turned to Kotori. "Is he all right?" she asked, nodding her head towards Kamui.

The zombies vanished before his eyes. Aoki watched them disappear with relief. However, he tensed nervously as the youngest girl and her dog suddenly leapt off in the direction of the building. Hesitating, he wondered if he should go after her or to remain behind in case more zombies turned up.

"C'mon, we have to follow Yuzuriha-chan! We can let her go in there alone!" the red-haired woman cried before rushing after her companion.

His moment of decision abruptly ended, Aoki followed her lead. As he raced through the air, he grimly noted that the kekkai had been taken down, which usually meant the owner was either dead or badly wounded. He hoped neither was the case.

Within seconds, the government building had come into view. The dust in the air swirled briefly before dying down. Pausing behind the red-haired woman, Aoki strained to see what she was anxiously staring at--two teenagers and a figure dressed in black.

His eyes widened in alarm when he realized that all three of them were unconscious.

"Yuzuriha-chan! Sumeragi-san! Are you alright? What's going on?" the woman with the red hair asked worriedly, "Kamui-kun! He's injured! What happened?"

Aoki jerked on reflex. It was the name of the boy whose life he would have to protect at all costs.

"Kamui? This is Kamui?" he echoed dumbly before realizing he had even opened his mouth. As if being directed by some invisible force, his gaze traveled to the dark-haired boy that was lying immobile on the ground.

There was a girl next to him as well. And nearby, a man dressed in dark clothes being watched by another man with an unreadable expression.

The manga editor frowned in concern and looked at the red-haired woman, hoping for some explanation.

"His friend's here, too? How did she get here? What's going on?" Unfortunately, she seemed just as lost as he was.

Tentatively, he walked forward to get a better look at the two unmoving figures. Thankfully, they were both alive. But the girl seemed rather fragile, her breaths more gentle and shallow...

Aoki became uneasy watching her irregular breathing. On an impulse, he knelt and checked her pulse. It was weak. Did she need a doctor?

"Are you ok?" he asked, placing a delicate hand on her forehead, "Can you hear me?"

Without waiting for a response, he checked her pulse again. Finding it faint, he lifted her into his arms and called to the other Seals, "Her pulse is weak. We should find a hospital."

He looked at the girl with the spirit dog, "Yuzuriha-san... that's your name, right? Please take Kamui and follow my lead."

"That man's aura… he's the one who attacked us with his spirit zombies a little while ago!" the red-haired woman said suddenly. She sounded distinctly dismayed, "What's he doing here?"

Tensing, Aoki turned to see the comrade that had needed aid. Sumeragi-san, was that what they had called him? He was bent over a darkly dressed man.

Aoki narrowed his eyes. Was that the one that had been attacking them?

To his astonishment, the Seal ignored her and leaned over to kiss the unconscious figure. Aoki blinked, now beyond baffled. Really now... what was going on?

But the weight in his arms reminded him of what he needed to do. He had to find a hospital. Anxiously, he called to the red-haired woman, "Miss! This girl has a weak pulse! We need to get both her and Kamui to the hospital!"

* * *

"The elevator...?" Satsuki said doubtfully, looking in the direction where it was located. "We could try, but I don't think it would be working right now. The power might have been cut off, with so much of the basement falling apart right now."

Satsuki looked around at her surroundings, trying to formulate a plan for getting them out of the building. "I'll use BEAST to check the elevator to see if it's working. If it's not, then I'll try to reconnect the electricity long enough for use to use the elevator to get out."

Satsuki took her cell phone out of her pocket and handed it to her handsome comrade. "Try to see if you can reach Kanoe-san. If BEAST doesn't cooperate, we may need help some getting out of here."

This being said, Satsuki walked over to the side of the supercomputer and swiftly leaped up its side to the control center at the top. She took off her yellow jacket and settled into the seat as the wires automatically attached to her skin. Satsuki placed the goggles over her eyes and spoke, "BEAST, please run a check on the elevator's power system and display its data." Satsuki held her breath as she waited, praying that the computer would listen to her command...

* * *

Kakyou watched the girl as she approached him. So young and full of life. She had great potential, this one.

_ Yet she will not live for much longer. _ Kakyou sighed. _ And there is nothing I can do to save her.  
_  
_"It seems so lonely out here.." the girl said.  
_  
Kakyou waited for a moment to see if she would continue, but when she didn't he gave her a smile tinged with sadness. "Yes it is lonely here. To be a dream seer is to be alone. It is the price we pay to see the future."

He looked down at her now, and studied her heart-shaped face, golden eyes hidden some by the bangs that fell over his face. Fragments of a scene suddenly came to him and now he looked at her without really seeing her.

His voice was soft as he said, "The chosen ones have decided. The final day approaches. Wishes are all that matter now." He shook his head, the blond hair flying around his face and really looked at her again. Removing his right hand from his pocket, he brought it up to cup Kotori's cheek gently.

"Your wish will save one…but there can only be one future. Only one side will win."

"Dream seer, huh?" Kotori asked. "That sounds so familiar."   
_  
"Wishes are all that matter now." the man replied._

Kotori blinked, her big eyes showing a bit of confusion. "Wishes? Can everyone's wishes really come true?" she asked. She gasped a bit, pulling in her breath at Kakyou's sudden movement to cup her cheek.

_"Your wish will save one.."  
_  
"My wish?" Kotori asked him again. "Why my wish?" She stared at the man, unsure of everything that he was saying, but more than anything, she trusted everything that he was saying. She didn't know why though... It wasn't anything like the trust she had in Kamui-chan, but it was strong..  
_  
'Kamui-chan...that's right...is he okay?' _she wondered.

Kakyou smiled and dropped his hand. Turning back toward the sea, he gazed out over the ocean. "Of course it is familiar, you have the capabilities. You wouldn't have been drawn to me otherwise."

He glanced over at her. "Not everyone's wishes will come true. Most yes, but others.." He trailed off, not wanting to reveal anything more to this fragile girl.

He continued to gaze at her and heard the question she asked herself. "You see. You know your wish already. But there can still only be one future. You love both Kamui and your brother, but I have seen death...there can be only one fate, one destiny." He looked out to the blue-green sea again, moving his eyes heavenward to watch the gulls soar above.

* * *

Kanoe frowned to herself. What exactly was her sister up to? Onee-chan was the last person she'd expect to cause problems for the Seals. The whole thing was a riddle.

And a time-consuming one at that, she noted with disgust. While she had been muddling around in her confusion, the Seals had reached the fallen Kamui and the girl. One of her best warriors, the Sakurazukamori, had been taken out of action. And, to top it all off, the other Kamui was nowhere to be found.

Kanoe cursed her luck.

"Onee-chan..." she muttered bitterly, "Why is it that you always seem to put a stop to my plans..."

She had to reassemble her forces. And that meant rescuing Yuuto and Satsuki, who were probably still stuck under the building. She COULD take the long way. Go back the way she had come out via the stairs. But that could take hours, especially since debris might be blocking the way. The dream gazer wasn't particularly fond of sweat.

Or she could take the short way.

Kanoe walked steadily towards a small grove of sakura blossom trees in the nearby distance. The trees had been grown in a circle and hid a secret, one-way underground entrance. Assassinations in the government building were common for a reason, after all. You couldn't get out from the inside, but that didn't mean you couldn't get in.

The dream gazer cast a lingering look back towards the Sakurazukamori. It was a pity she would have to leave him in the hands of the enemy. She watched in surprise as the young Sumeragi bestowed a tender kiss and then smirked. Then again, maybe the Sakurazukamori would be fine where he was.

"Perhaps we should do you a favor and not rescue you later..." Kanoe commented to no one in particular, witnessing the scene.

But back to Yuuto and Satsuki. The poor girl was probably going insane with boredom.

Kanoe neared the entrance to the passage. It was a metal door cleverly disguised as part of the ground. She entered the electronic code--stolen from the dreams of corrupt politicians--on the panel hidden on the bark of one of the trees and slipped easily into the secret passage.

With quick steps, she soon reached her destination: the electronic metal door that separated her from the basement.

The door itself, though, was a mess as a result of the earthquake. Entering codes wouldn't work. The buttons on the panel were jammed. Kanoe banged on the door but it wouldn't budge.

Wait, were the Dragons even alive?

"BEAST, please run a check on the elevator's power system and display its data."

Kanoe sighed with relief before smiling amusedly to herself. _Dear little Satsuki-chan, always hard at work solving problems. Well, time to give her some help._

The dream gazer banged on the door--it would appear a normal wall to those on the other side--and shouted with all her might, "Satsuki! Yuuto!! I'm going to get you out of there! If you can hear me, I want you to hurry up and blast the place where my voice is coming from! In other words, blast this wall down!"

* * *

"I don't think she can hear you, Yuzuriha-chan, that girl is too injured," Karen said gently to the young Seal. She looked up at the man dressed in the brown suit –Aoki, his name was? He seemed familiar somehow– and nodded silently in agreement. Kamui and his friend obviously needed medical treatment right away; there was no time to worry about anything else at the moment. But what to do about the man in black who had attacked them? Karen wasn't eager to help him, but after all, he was a fellow human being like the rest of them.

Karen looked up in the direction of their attacker. "About that man, Aoki-san, do you think we should…" she gradually stopped speaking and her eyes widened in surprise. After a few moments, she realized that her eyes were not lying, and that Subaru was indeed kissing the man on the lips.

"…Oh, my." Karen was at a loss for words. She stared silently at the pair for a few moments, and then said, "I think both of them will be fine for now. Neither of them are in any condition to be attacking each other again, and it will be safe enough to leave them here." Karen nodded at her own logic. Subaru obviously cared about that man enough to take care of him; there was no need for the rest of them to take the man to the hospital and help out their enemies.

Karen put her arms under Kamui's body and tried to lift him up, but she found that the most she could do was lift up his shoulders. The teenager was surprisingly heavy for his small frame; she supposed it was natural, as he was a growing boy. "Aoki-san, I think we might need some help moving Kamui-kun…"

A solution suddenly occurred to her, and she looked over at Yuzuriha, still faithfully standing by. "Yuzuriha-chan, do you think you could ask Inuki to change into a cot, or something of the sort? It would make it easier to move Kamui-kun to the hospital."


	15. Chapter 13: From the Heart

**Chapter Thirteen: From the Heart of the Shadows**

His thoughts were a muddled mess; his mind was cold and numb. His head throbbed, and a dull pain insisted on embedding itself in the back of his neck. What had happened? Oh, yes...he would have cackled at his stupidity, had he possessed the strength and presence of mind. He had turned his back on the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi clan, and he had paid the price.

Time escaped him; he had no idea how long he had been lying senseless and vulnerable. Surely Subaru would kill him on the spot, exacting his long sought-after revenge for his beloved sister Hokuto. Ritual had nothing to do with the younger man's hunt; death this way would be just as satisfying as death by any other method.

And that was when he felt it. He was still a prisoner in the murky realms of his semi-conscious mind, but the touch was unmistakable. A soft warmth came over his lips, and a sudden peace washed over his soul. What was this new sensation? Never had he experienced such hypnotic powers. Was this all a part of some twisted dream?

Then his eyes squinted open the breadth of a thumbnail. The light stung at first, but he forced himself to focus. And what he found was so profoundly shocking, he might have fallen from a cliff and crashed onto the jagged rocks below and never known it, his senses  
were so completely mesmerized. His eyes stared narrowly into the gentle face of his enemy, as the long soft lashes brushed against his cheek. Lips like finest silk were pressed lightly against his own, the very image of innocent affection.

For a moment Seishirou's breath was gone...but only for a moment. Subaru had obviously suffered some sort of severe injury as well, to have sunk to such pitiful delusions. And now that Seishirou's wits were returning, he would use this sudden state of weakness to his advantage. This was his chance to finally crush the young Sumeragi utterly and completely.

Tipping his head back, a cold simper flickered across Seishirou's lips as he thrust his tongue lasciviously into Subaru's mouth, returning the sweet gesture with brutal, vulgar passion. At Subaru's inevitable flinch, he drew away almost as quickly, reaching up to  
stay the man with a harsh hand as he brushed his lips sensuously across his cheek.

Then, breathing into the young Sumeragi's pale ear, he whispered with dark undertones, "So...this is what you want, ne?"

* * *

Yuuto jumped to his feet at the sound of Kanoe's voice. "God, I've never been happier to hear your beautiful voice!" he shouted through the door, then winced as he remembered he was still in the presence of Satsuki.

_"...I want you to blast through this wall!"_

Inadvertently he nodded, forgetting momentarily that she could not see his gesture. "Ha...hai! Of course. Stand back!" Falling into an offensive stance, he held his hand out in front of him and called upon his supreme powers of hydro-energy. With an ardent cry, he  
blasted a mighty torrent of water at the wall, until the mortar cracked, and then finally broke through.

He grinned as Kanoe's tall slender appeared in the opening. "Boy, am I glad to see you! We might have been stuck down here forever." He turned to look at Satsuki with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Though...I'm sure we would have thought of something to do to prevent us from getting...bored."

Kanoe smiled in amusement at the blonde's comment. She was mildly surprised that he had directed it towards Satsuki, who had never been one for flirting or talk in general. But apparently, spending time trapped in a basement for god-knows-how-long could work wonders for a relationship.

After all, it certainly had done nothing to weaken Yuuto's charm. From what she could tell, he was still as smooth as ever. She supposed nothing could ever change that. She hoped nothing ever would.

"Well, Yuuto-san," she drawled with her own brand of suggestive innuendo, "I'm certainly glad you've enjoyed yourself in my absence. As for you, Satsuki-chan, I hope you've had fun, too, neh? I know being stuck down here must've seemed an eternity, especially since there's nothing here to amuse you..."

She paused and winked slyly in the computer girl's direction, "Then again, Yuuto can be a wonderful amusement."

She shot a knowing look at the blonde and smirked. It faded quickly, however, as Kanoe remembered the situation aboveground. Her expression darkened, "Yuuto-san... Satsuki-chan... I'm afraid I have some bad news. The Seals have taken back Kamui and Kotori."

"As for the Sakurazukamori, he's been taken as well. But since he's being well taken care of," the smirk resurfaced briefly, "I'm not too inclined to worry about his situation."

Her black eyes narrowed, "In fact, I'm not worried at all. I don't plan on rescuing any of them. Our goal is something else. Or rather, someone else."

Their surroundings suddenly struck her as inappropriate. She began to walk back toward the entrance of the secret passage, motioning for Yuuto and Satsuki to follow.

Then she stopped and her gaze shot toward Beast. The dream gazer stared at it critically and concluded that it seemed non operational. At the least, it wasn't making its normal whirling noises. Pity. Kanoe glanced apologetically at Satsuki, "Satsuki-chan, I'm afraid you'll have to leave Beast."

Without giving her a chance to protest, she continued further into the passage and called over her shoulder, "Hurry. I have a mission for the both of you, but let's get out of here first. I'm going to lead you back to the surface. The passage is rather dark so watch your step."

She added as an afterthought, "Oh, and feel free to ask any questions along the way although I must warn you," here, Kanoe frowned to herself in the darkness, "even I don't know all the answers."

Raising an inquisitive eyebrow, Yuuto smirked at Kanoe's comment. "Not going to help them? What's the Sakurazukamori gotten himself into this time?" He knew well enough that he had been lucky to escape with his head after playing with the powerful Angel's archrival.

As the slender dream gazer turned to head back through the passage, Yuuto jogged after her to catch up, beckoning to Satsuki to follow.

"Our purpose is rather something else," she said, a hint of secretive teasing in her tone. "Or should I say...someone else."

Yuuto struggled to grasp the concept she was dangling just out of reach before his eyes. "I'm afraid I don't understand," he stammered, sincerely giving it his best effort. "What could be more important than getting Kamui to our side? And how could you just leave our comrades in danger after all the trouble we've gone through to organize them here?" He let out a heaving sigh. This was hopeless. He trailed after Kanoe through the dark tunnel, careful not to collide with her in the dark. "Hey, could you at least clue us in? It's hard to believe you would just drop your ambitions for meeting Kamui so easily." He cocked his head, glancing briskly over his shoulder in search of Satsuki. "What's being going on up there?"

* * *

Aoki glanced at the young girl he was holding and wondered at her connection to the Kamui. She seemed important. Her yellow hair flowed over his arms in a stream of gold. Her face was petite, like a bird. She was fairly light and he had no trouble carrying her.

"Aoki-san, I think we might need some help moving Kamui-kun…" the red-haired Seal said, her own efforts unable to lift the unconscious boy.

"Hai," he replied, stepping forward. Then he remembered that he only had two arms and that both of them were currently being put to us in supporting the sleeping girl.

He looked helplessly at her, "Gomen, Miss... My arms are full..."

There was a pang of guilt at not being able to help. He gazed apologetically both at her and at Kamui's still form.

Fortunately, the older woman seemed to understand, "Yuzuriha-chan, do you think you could ask Inuki to change into a cot, or something of the sort? It would make it easier to move Kamui-kun to the hospital."

"Inuki can't do those sort of things," Yuzuriha smiled softly. "But I'm sure Inuki wouldn't mind carrying your burden...Inuki's strong."

Inuki looked up at Aoki with big eyes and nudged against his legs.

Aoki felt himself grin at her resourcefulness. His fellow Seal was proving to be quite apt at assessing a situation and then setting about to solving it. And there was an air of bravery and determination about her that he found admirable. Not to mention, her red hair was quite distinctive. Perhaps... this was inspiration for a new manga heroine?

The writers were thinking about starting a new storyline, after all. He could always set up an interview, although the idea gave him an odd deja vu feeling...

Aoki shook himself out of his thoughts, appalled at his own mental wandering. That could wait for later. Right now, the important thing was getting Kamui and his companion to the nearest hospital.

...But where would that be?

Aoki frowned. He wasn't quite familiar with this district. The only reason he had been nearby was to purchase that ring as an anniversary gift for Shimako.

He turned to his fellow Seals, apology creeping once more into his voice, "Miss... Yuzuriha-san... Gomen again... but I don't know this area very well. I'm afraid I don't know where a hospital might be. Would you mind leading the way?"

* * *

A tall dark figure stood just beyond the doorway to Kuzuki Kakyou's dreams, a heavy crimson cloak draping across his broad virile shoulders and just barely brushing the illusory ground. A slack hood shadowed his naturally ashen face, but the faint gleam of his deep scarlet eyes shown through the night like fading fearsome sunsets.

The young girl whom the lovely Yume-mi confronted was the picturesque image of hopeful sorrow. He knew her well enough; he had watched over her since her birth. Monou Kotori was her name. He also knew her fate, not from his own visions--he was not a but--but from what the mystic Lady Hinoto had revealed to him. He knew them all-- each Dragon he had watched carefully over the years. But Kakyou...he knew Kakyou best of all.

He hated watching the lonely dream seer sitting by the seashore, unable to help those he loved so dearly. Briefly he averted his eyes, knowing all too well the thoughts that must have been going through the younger man's mind at the image of the sweet Kotori. And, like the fading crimson sunset, he let his mind wander off into the realms beyond the forgotten horizon...into the world of his memory...

**-FLASH-**

His lithe nine-year-old body stood poised on a high bough of the flourishing sakura tree, its soft peddles brushing his face as he stared watching the events of that day unfold before his eyes.

Kuzuki Kakyou's frail six-year-old frame was huddled at the trunk of the tree, knees drawn to his chest as he tried to keep himself warm. A group of school children came running toward him, anger in some faces, tears in others. The little boy looked up at them in puzzlement, only to be taken fiercely by the collar by one of his classmates.

"You killed him!" the aggressor shouted furiously in his face.

With wide eyes Kakyou tried to pull away. "I tried to warn him. He wouldn't listen." His voice was feeble and afraid.

The bigger boy sneered with hatred flaring in his eyes. "Liar! You made Taki get hit by that car. Why don't you tell me when I'm going to die? Or haven't you planned that out yet?"

Watching high from the limbs of the tree, young Tamashii Yuurei winced and glanced away as the elder child proceeded to slug Kakyou across the jaw with an iron fist. Traces of blood began to seep from the little boy's nose, and he cringed and closed his eyes in wait for the second blow.

"Now let's see how you like it!" the cruel child yelled, raising his knotted fist into the air in preparation to strike again.

But Yuurei had seen enough. He was sick of watching, sick of waiting. With effortless ease he bounded from the tree and landed lightly on the ground, grasping the elder boy's shoulder and slinging him violently into the dirt, away from the young dream seer.

"He killed somebody!" the boy shouted, scrambling to his feet.

Yuurei held his ground, straightening his back as his raven locks fell about his shoulders, his crimson eyes glaring with evident contempt at the ignorant children before him. "If his blood is so important to you," he spat dryly at the boy's feet, "then take him. But...you'll have to go through me first."

After much hesitation, the boy backed away, and the crowd quickly dispersed. Such a vivid dream. It would likely come to pass within the next few days, and Yuurei clenched his fists in aggravation that he would be unable to stop them when the real event occurred.

"A...ano..."

He turned to look down at the shaken young Yume-mi, and his fearsome glower transformed to a gentle expression of compassion. "Konban wa, Kakyou-kun," he whispered softly.

The child's eyes widened as tendrils of stark ivory fell into his face. "How...how can you be here?" he said in a whimpering voice. "How do you know my name?"

Yuurei smiled. A logical reaction. "I've been watching you for some time now, Kakyou-kun. What you tried to do for Taki was very noble, but some people just don't understand your gifts."

"Are you...real?"

Kneeling before the boy, he nodded compliantly. "As real as you...though I've never seen you outside your dreams. I'd like so much to be able to help you..." He had never felt this way about any of the others. Lady Hinoto had warned him to never let his emotions cloud his judgment, but he had not thought such a thing a threat until now.

Kakyou tilted his head, his fair complexion filled with hopeless confusion, as though he were having the most difficult time understanding Yuurei's kind words. A tear slipped down his cheek, and he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to blind away the intrusive water.

Sadness bit at the edges of Yuurei's soul, and he ducked his head to meet the young dream seer's frightened gaze. "I wish I could help you outside your dreams," he repeated hesitantly, this time his voice lower and far less stable. "I...I can't stand to see you cry." He lifted a gentle hand to Kakyou's face, and the boy flinched in evident fear as he brushed the stray wisps of silvery hair out of his lovely face.

And then, as though just realizing that Yuurei was not going to strike him, Kakyou began to lean inadvertently into his touch. A sudden flow of tears burst from his glassy golden eyes, and he lowered his head in visible shame to bury his face in his hands.

Yuurei's lungs were suddenly caught in his throat, as the cold cruel fingers of agony made a fist about his palpitating heart. It was too much to watch. Slowly, gently, he drew the younger boy into his arms, into a loving embrace. He said nothing; no more words were needed. At the mere touch, he felt Kakyou's pain and fear begin to melt into his being, and for only that precise instant, he knew that Lady Hinoto had been wrong about his fate...  
**  
-FLASH-**

He shook himself out of the painful reminiscence. Everything was different now. It had been sixteen years since that day, and now a twenty-five-year-old Tamashii Yuurei stood watching the lovely Angel, just as he had always done. But they had not spoken in over a decade, as a command from Hinoto.

But the pain did not subside. He wanted more than anything to emerge from the shadows and prove that he had never abandoned the forlorn dream seer. But the chains of Fate held him back. And in a gentle whisper that was swallowed instantly by the wind, he whispered with every ounce of his soul, "Gomen nasai. Itsumo miru, Kakyou-kun..."

* * *

Kotori looked at Kakyou. Her?

"I have the capabilities?" she asked. It seemed almost unreal. Turning the question over in her mind, she thought of when she dreamed of Kamui coming back to Tokyo, and he did...

"I do love them both. But, what do they have to do with fate and destiny?" she asked. Kotori walked over, standing next to Kakyou. She followed his gaze upwards to the sky.

"Fate...fate cannot be decided already." she said softly.

* * *

Its seemed like he had been falling forever. So cold and black. Was it ever going to end?

It was then that Kamui seemed to float in place. His body could freely move once again and he immediately jump to his feet.

Where was he? It was nothing like the void he had been falling through. Somehow, it felt different...

"Fuuma!? Kotori!?" called out Kamui. "Are you there!?"

There was no answer. Nor did there seem to be any kind of direction to follow. Was there a way out of this place?

In the distance a small beacon of light began to shine. What was it? Kamui couldn't help but run towards it. The light grew brighter as he came closer till suddenly the light exploded around him. Kamui shielded his eyes as he was blinded.

Darkness seemed to overlap the fading light, but it was different this time. Stars seemed to flicker in the distance and beneath him...was the earth?

It was then a small sphere flew towards him. Kamui jumped back surprised to see that there was a girl inside.

"Hinoto?" he questioned.

* * *

Lips of salt, breath of sugar.

That's what Seishirou tasted like.

Subaru didn't think that Seishirou would taste like that.

Suddenly, his breath was usurped by an unlikely source. His gentle kiss quickly became a violent display of affection.

Subaru wasn't expecting such a reaction from that kiss. In fact, he wasn't expecting a reaction at all.

For a moment, he choked. It was a combination of Seishirou's tongue wading down his throat and a lack of air. He pulled back reflexively, although his heart was telling him to hold on. He could live without a few seconds of air...But could he live without Seishirou's affections?

"So...this is what you want, ne?" He felt Seishirou's breath on his ear as he whispered it softly. His voice seemed beckoning...as if...

Subaru didn't think he could resist.

"Yes."

* * *

Karen was suddenly broken out of her concentration in trying to lift Kamui when Aoki spoke. "Miss, Yuzuriha-san, gomen again, but I don't know this area very well. I'm afraid I don't know where a hospital might be. Would you mind leading the way?"

Karen suddenly realized that the brown-haired gentleman still didn't know her name; the whole time he had been speaking, he had been addressing her as "Miss." Karen smiled to herself; it was so rare to find such a gentleman these days. She paused briefly from her task of trying to lift the teenager and smiled up at him. "No need for such formalities, Aoki-san. This isn't a very appropriate time for introductions, but my name is Karen Kasumi. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Inuki can't do those sort of things," Yuzuriha then said, in response to Karen's earlier question. "But I'm sure Inuki wouldn't mind carrying your burden. Inuki's strong."

Karen smiled in relief as the spirit dog approached Aoki. "That's excellent," she said, her voice reflecting her gratitude. "Then we can carry Kamui ourselves." She paused briefly to look over towards the street. "I'm afraid I'm not that familiar with this area myself, Aoki-san, so I don't know where the hospital is either. I think the best thing to do would be to find a taxi and ask the driver to take us to the nearest hospital."

Karen looked up at Yuzuriha from her position on the floor next to Kamui. "Yuzuriha-chan, do you think you could carry Kamui-kun's legs while I carry…"

She trailed off as a movement behind Yuzuriha caught her eye. While they had been distracted with the task of moving the two unconscious teenagers, the man in black who had attacked them had awakened. And, Karen noted with some consternation, he and Subaru were progressing to stages of affection best left inside the bedroom. Apparently, the two men were completely oblivious to the presence of other people; namely, herself, Aoki, and Yuzuriha.

Fortunately, because of her training at work as a soap land hostess, Karen had the presence of mind not to make a fuss and to simply leave them be. On the other hand, she realized suddenly, Yuzuriha needed to get out of the area before she saw what was going on. Yuzuriha was still an innocent junior high school student; Karen felt that the girl was still too young to be watching such things.

"On second thought, Yuzuriha-chan, could you run over to the street and see if you can flag down a taxi?" Karen said hurriedly. She pointed in the direction ahead of Yuzuriha – and away from Subaru and Seishirou. "Aoki-san and I will follow you with Kamui-kun and his friend. We can carry them easily between the two of us and Inuki."

The red-haired woman quickly glanced again behind Yuzuriha to see if it was safe for her to stay; no such luck, the two men were still going at it. Karen grimaced. "Yuzuriha-chan, please go now," Karen said, laying heavy emphasis on the last word. "And when you find a taxi, stay there and don't come back to look for us. We'll be right behind you."

Yuzuriha was a bit distraught by the urgency in Karen-san's voice. Why was she so intent on getting her away from the scene? Was something going on?

Oh well. No use worrying. She had more important things to worry about. Namely, Kotori and Kamui.

Because of the devastation in the area, Yuzuriha was forced to run a couple of blocks away before she could even FIND a taxi.

She leaped in front of the vehicle. "Taxi! I need a taxi!" she said urgently.

The taxi driver looked at her skeptically. "Well, why dontcha get in if you so urgently need a taxi?"

Yuzuriha turned around, but didn't see Aoki or Karen or anyone. She blinked in confusion. Were they just lagging behind? After all, carrying two people wasn't an easy feat, even with Inuki by there side.

Footsteps were heard behind Yuzuriha as Fuuma approached the dog. He smiled at it, hearing it growl furiously at him. "Such a nice doggie" Fuuma smiled eerily at the invisible Dog as he reached out to pet it. The fur was warm, as if the dog was real. The dog started to wince as Fuuma's touched it. "Her wish shall be granted if you just wait here...I have important things to handle." Fuuma purposely ignored the girl, sensing the mere act of acknowledging the Dog would cause her to come to him. He continued walking toward his goal, Seishirou , a man who had interested him.

Fuuma kept walking, not bothering to walk stealthily or in the shadows toward his goal.

* * *

Satsuki lifted her head up in surprise as she heard Kanoe's voice coming through what she had thought was a nonfunctional door in the wall. So there was no need to get out using the elevator after all.

Before she could do anything else, Yuuto had quite efficiently torn down the wall with a torrent of water, leaving a gaping hole that they could leave the building by. Satsuki listened as Yuuto and Kanoe exchanged flirtatious comments, some of them directed towards her. She flushed at their suggestive remarks, but remained silent in her usual emotionless manner. For once she was grateful for the cover that BEAST's shadows provided for her, which would hide her burning cheeks.

Satsuki felt a slight pang in her heart as she listened Yuuto and Kanoe's playful banter. She had to admit that the two did indeed make a handsome couple. She wouldn't have minded them being together, either, as they were the two people who knew her best. But she couldn't help feeling envious every time she saw Yuuto bestowing his attentions on Kanoe, as he did so often. Yuuto was always kind to her, though, no matter how he treated anyone else. Was there really anything special in his kindness? Or was he simply treating her politely as a fellow Dragon of Earth?

The computer girl was suddenly startled out of her reverie as Yuuto called up to her, "What's been going on up there?" It was time for her to leave BEAST for now. Satsuki let her usual cool expression slide onto her face again as she removed her goggles; after all, there was no need to waste her emotions, and the others didn't need to see them. Kanoe knew her well enough to understand. The dream walker was by no means close to Satsuki; nobody was. But at least Kanoe understood her, and for that Satsuki was grateful.

Satsuki leapt down from the computer's control panel and shrugged her yellow jacket on as she jogged over to where Kanoe and Yuuto were waiting for her in the dark passageway. "BEAST is still functioning perfectly," she informed Kanoe. "It's just been a bit temperamental lately. I suppose it would be best to leave it for now." She looked over at Yuuto and said, "I had just started searching through the data of the power system, so I hadn't come up with anything yet. But obviously we don't need to know whether the elevator works or not anymore."

Satsuki looked again towards Kanoe, frowning slightly. There were so many unanswered questions, but she would let them go for now. As the dream walker never questioned Satsuki, she too would do the same for her. She decided to focus on the immediate problem at hand. "What is the task that you wish for us to perform, Kanoe-san?"

They finally reached the surface, still with no answers from Kanoe-- her usually expression of mischievous furtiveness spread across her slim face--and Yuuto gaped at the catastrophe before them. The world could have already come to an end, for all the debris that was lying everywhere. Bodies, both standing and on the ground, fragments of the fallen building, dust and smoke still clearing...it was an utter mess.

With a nervous chuckle, Yuuto raised an eyebrow as he scratched the back of his head. "Geez, did we really miss that much? Looks like there was a war out here." And taking the suggestions of the fallen forms of his comrades and enemies, that had been exactly the case.

"What's this new task you have for us, Kanoe-san?"

Yuuto turned to glance at Satsuki. She did not even seem to be interested in the least in what had changed the dream gazer's objectives so suddenly. The computer genius never displayed any sort of emotion, so it seemed. But at the moment, she was right. They had work to do.

"Well?" he added, addressing Kanoe. "What do you want us to do? By the looks of things, we'd better get started on whatever it is now."


	16. Chapter 14: Of Love and Hate

**Chapter Fourteen: Of Love and Hate**

Yuzuriha turned around to the young man. Who was this guy? Why did he gaze into her eyes like that.

"Could you stay right here?" she asked the taxi driver.

"Whatever. It's your time, lady."

Yuzuriha ran after the young man, and blocked his pathway.

"Just who are you?!"

Fuuma stared at the girl in front of him. She was young, about his age or was she younger? Was she afraid of him? Possibly.

He smiled and then replied. "KAMUI." He spoke with a eerie tone, his eyes scanning her as if she was a mere insect to him. His eyes then met hers again, as if he was now reading her soul. "What do you wish for? I can grant your wish if you tell me what it is you want." It was then his eyes grew cold, still peering into hers as they produced a sort of beautiful yet frightening feeling...like a poisonous snake coiled to strike.

"Kamui...You can't be Kamui..."

It took a moment for Yuzuriha to read into what he meant.

"KAMUI. The one who hunts those who uses God's power..." She whispered. She spoke up, "My wish...is to protect this earth, anyway I can!" She brought her fist to her breast, trying to look as determined and brave as she could possibly try without Inuki by her side.

Fuuma smiled brightly as he finally understood exactly what she meant " I see...Then you understand you the Earth's pleas...You will not interfere in the coming revolution...Excellent" Fuuma's eyes began to glow as he raised his hand and sent a swift spear hand strike at her chest. "You understand that your wish is to die...as all humans secretly wish. This acceptance allows you to protect the world from that cancer that slowly will kill it..." Fuuma smiled brightly. "In short, you understand Humanity **IS** that Cancer. That is why you must die."

* * *

Sorata covered himself in his black cloak, giving a low growl as he saw Fuuma's attack on that cute girl...He had to save her, such was his purpose. As his purpose was also to get her number, he had double the reason to come out of hiding from the ledge near a rather nice display of Gargoyles. "Heh...I have one shot before he notices me." He said as the orb of electricity grew in his hand. "So I've got to make this one count..."

* * *

Yuzuriha fell over backwards, her head bounced off the cement. Blood ran down her left temple. She sat up and brought her hand to her head reflexively. She stared down at the blood in her hand, before looking up at Fuuma. She didn't take notice of the blood that was drenching her shirt. The pain seemed to flow throughout her body, and she couldn't distinguish the source. No, that didn't matter. Not now.

"You're wrong..." She took this moment to struggle to stand on her wobbly legs. "...if I die for this earth...if I die as a Dragon of Heaven, it will not be in vain." Towards the end of her speech, her voice began to crack. Was it true? Would she give her life up for her purpose? Now that she said it, she wasn't really sure.

Inuki's ear twitched as he gazed in the direction of Yuzuriha. He knew something was wrong. He nudged at Aoki and Karen's legs anxiously...

Fuuma smiled down at the girl, glad her wish was granted. "You are correct...but if you live, this all will be in vain. That is why you must accept what destiny has given you here." It was then he heard something rushing toward him. Fuuma turned as he was struck by a large electrical orb, striking him hard enough in the chest to knock him back. Fuuma simply smiled.

Sorata hit the ground in a crouch. "Heh...Why'd you have to hit your girlfriend. Now I'm gonna have to steal her from you and send you home crying about her dumping you." He laughed as he rose to his feet, his face still hidden under the cloak. "Now what's your next move little man?"

Fuuma couldn't help but smirk at the boy playing dress up. "You are mistaken hero...I'm the one who granted her wish, her wish to protect the world. But seeing as my duty is done here...I shall leave toward my true goal." He turned away from the man, not caring if he did his little light trick again.

"HEY! Get back over here you coward." Sorata got ready to charge up another strike.

Fuuma turned his head as he heard the crackle. "Come now...a idiot like you isn't going to waste his time killing me when there's a dying woman to save...Go ahead and waste your time with her because I really must be going."

Sorata froze with wide eyes, lowering his hands. _Damn it...That bastard's right...DAMN IT!_ Sorata moved backwards toward the downed girl, not taking his eyes off Fuuma.

"Your wish will be granted later, boy...possibly with your friend's eyes on you." Fuuma began to walk away, heading again toward Seishirou. He felt a little annoyed with all these people wanting death so early...Ah well such was his divine duty.

Yuzuriha turned to Sorata, blood running down her legs.

"Don't worry about me," she said, forcing a smile. "You should chase after him..." She stumbled over her feet, trying to approach Sorata to thank him, but collapsed in his arms.  
Sorata caught her and held her up in his arms. A faint smile could be seen under his cloak. "I can't leave you here to die...you're way to pretty for me to leave you alone." He laid her across the ground. "Now lets patch you up so I can get you to a hospital." Sorata removed his cloak, revealing his more casual clothing and youthful exterior. He began to rip the cloak into bandages, looking over to her. "You need something to make the pain go down? I stole some sake from the Shrine I'm from if that will help."

_Heh...She's a little young but I'm not that much older...You see the way she fell into my arms...Yeah she likes me...  
_

* * *

At first all meaningful comprehension seemed to have failed his consciousness. Or perhaps his ears were just clogged. Had he heard correctly? It was absurd. But when he met Sumeragi Subaru's pleading eyes, he knew it to be truth. However, unlike the young Onmyouji, the mighty Sakurazukamori was not about to show even the slightest moment of weakness. He almost had to suppress his laughter. Subaru was practically begging to be destroyed.

But as the master of illusion and disguise, he veiled his face with an expression of tender affection, never moving his muscular frame as he lay on the sooty ground under Subaru's trembling gaze. His single working eye became soft, and he lifted a hand to hook the younger man's chin in the crook of a callous index finger, bringing him down closer.

When their lips were no more than a millimeter apart, and Seishirou would feel the young Sumeragi's hot shallow breaths beating against each individual pore in his chin, only then did he let out the faintest smirk. "You've always wanted me, haven't you, Subaru-kun?"

Suddenly his gaze turned back to ice, and he grasped the young man's collar until he was practically choking for air. As a twisted smile made nestled into one corner of his mouth, he spat out in crisp, low syllables, "And what of revenge? What of your oath to your sweet dead sister?" He snickered and relished the pain that darted through his adversary's dark eyes. "Would you like to forget about that, too, Subaru-kun? Would you sooner take me to your bed than avenge your dear Hokuto?" His voice remained a cold murmur, though his words were biting and cruel.

His soul wrenched with dire ecstasy as he watched Subaru's reaction. It was almost a painful sensation, as though by hurting this innocent young man, he was killing himself. And eager to further that sentiment, he pressed a coarse hand against Subaru's supple chest and whispered the remnants of the beginning of an Onmyoujitsu curse.

Then he smirked up into the young man's eyes again. "I'll kill you like I killed her. You should be appreciative of that." He finished the enchantment under his breath, and grinned obscurely as the razor-like scarlet threads of his inverted pentagram began to cut through Subaru's tattered white trench coat and into his pale, tender flesh...

Subaru wasn't prepared for this.

So when Seishirou's spell hit him, his body jolted and hit the ground. His body convulsed for a second and his back arched upwards. He groaned as the convulsions stopped. But now, all he could do was open his eyes, and even that proved difficult with his own, thick, scarlet blood running down his face and burning itself into his eyes.

He looked up to a smugly smiling Seishirou.

"K…kill me, then," he managed to mutter through a coarse, raspy voice.

Seishirou's snicker shifted to a snarl as the meaning of Subaru's words hit him hard. "I always knew you were weak, Subaru-kun, but this is pathetic. Don't you have purpose? Do you care nothing about your promise to your beloved onee-san?"

Subaru bit his lip and his eyes narrowed on Seishirou. "Don't you care that you KILLED her?"

Sitting up and leaning over himself in a cross-legged position, Seishirou let off a nonchalant shrug. "Does it matter? What's important is that YOU care." After a brief pause, he added, "I never expected you to give in so easily, Subaru-kun. I was hoping for a better fight." Then the snicker returned to his lips.

Subaru couldn't stand this anymore. This...this self- righteous guy...he wasn't the Seishirou he fell in love with. There was no way they could be the same person. He pressed the palm of his hand against the jagged ground and pushed himself up so he was crouching on his feet. "I want to know...I want to know the truth before I kill you."

Seishirou tilted his head, amused that Subaru was finally starting to act a bit more determined to live. "The truth about what?" As though he did not already know.

"The real reason why you killed my sister," Subaru growled.

"Oh, that." Getting to his feet, Seishirou shoved his hands down into the pockets of his black dress coat and smiled with mock compassion. "She was in the way." At Subaru's silence, he glanced away, still smiling faintly. "I never actually intended to kill her. She brought it on herself."

"You still didn't have to kill her," Subaru uttered in protest. He stumbled to his feet. "You didn't have to kill my sister!" he shouted. His palm faced Seishirou and sent his shikigami towards his chest.

Subaru was still weak, as was obvious to Seishirou by the power of the younger man's ki. Without too much effort, he stepped back and slapped the back of his hand against the energy attack, sending it hurtling off into the atmosphere. "Come, now, Subaru-kun," he taunted guilefully. "I do wish you'd at least take me seriously."

Subaru felt so frustrated. Was there nothing he could do? Nothing? He was sick of this man fiddling with his emotions. He shouldn't have to deal with this! Why was he the one that had to be hurt? It wasn't fair. "This game of yours is OVER," Subaru said, leaping onto a nearby building, then another, and another...

Seishirou watched him leave without even attempting to follow. Maybe after the younger man had recovered some of his strength--and dignity--they would finish their destined battle...

* * *

Kakyou looked back down at the young girl. "You could be a dream seer if you wish it." As she continued his golden eyes began to cloud over with a pain that had always and would always be there. "I only hope that what you say is true. But in my dreams destiny is already decided. I can believe neither you nor even those that I cherished once long ago.." his voice trailed off, as he became lost in thought.

_ Hokuto, you said the same thing to me as you died. And yet I can believe neither of you...There is also him...Yuurei…he is another reason why I cannot believe…promises that were never kept, dreams that were never realized..  
_  
As if in answer to his thoughts, a voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts. It carried over the wide expanse of the ocean dreamscape, to reach Kakyou's ears in a whisper. There was no voice, but the aura was what Kakyou recognized.

It was an aura he hadn't felt in many years…almost too many to count. Golden eyes widened and he whispered, "Yuurei.." Turning his head, he scanned the edges of the dreamscape, trying to locate the one person that Kakyou would forever remember...

His breath caught in the back of his throat as the gentle sea breezes tugged at the hemming of his draping hood. Wisps of raven hair whipped across his naturally ashen face, and his eyes grew large in surprise. Had he emitted his aura too strongly with his last thoughts? Quickly he checked himself.

_-Cursed fool,- _he scolded himself. Hinoto had warned him to keep his emotions under lock and chain, but it was only now that he saw the threat come to pass that she had predicted.

As the lovely dream seer turned in his direction with wide golden eyes, Yuurei could not bring himself to look away. He stood perfectly still, but the shadows suddenly vanished about him. This was not his doing; he could not manipulate dreams as Hinoto could. He was in Kakyou's playing field now, and without warning his cloak of night had been severed clean.

Their eyes met. He watched the younger man mouth his name in utter disbelief, but he said nothing in return. What could he say? It had been fifteen years...

Then his eyes suddenly shifted to Kotori. That was right, she was still there. For a moment his surroundings had seemed to disappear, leaving only Kakyou at the center of his vision, but now everything came back to him. They were standing on the rocky bank by a tumultuous blue sea, and Yuurei had done the unthinkable. He had defied Fate.

* * *

Fuuma watched the battle's conclusion...pity one of them didn't end the others suffering. The way he ended that girl's. He took a seat on a rock located behind Seishirou, smiling as he watched the man's beloved flee after a tortuous lover's quarrel. He allowed the shadows of the area to surround him, keeping just enough out of them so Seishirou would have a clear vision of Fuuma's face, particularly his eyes. Those eyes which drove the bravest men weeping wrecks. He made sure to meet Seishirou's eyes with those very eyes.

"I see you finally ended your fun for the evening...Care to have a leisurely stroll?" Fuuma looked to the sky and then back at Seishirou's eyes. "Such a lovely night to know who you are wouldn't you say...you did say I was confused didn't you?"

He smiled very cheerfully, proud of his accomplishment, his awakening. "I just wasn't out of this shell. The shell that blinded me to what will be the world's revolution...A revolution I shall lead. For I am, KAMUI."

* * *

Subaru barely made it a few buildings away before he collapsed in a pile of torn leather, blood, and tears. This wasn't Seishirou. Surely, his beloved sister mattered more to him than this...monster.

Still, he felt confused.

Did Seishirou have feelings for him?

He wasn't quite sure, but Seishirou had many opportunities to kill him, and yet, he didn't.

Subaru pulled himself to the ledge and watched the chaos unfold below him. He felt himself recovering rather quickly. Being a Dragon of the Heaven really did have its redeeming qualities sometimes.


	17. Chapter 15: The Aftermath

**Chapter Fifteen: The Aftermath**

Yuzuriha felt warm arms curl around her thin body and for a minute, she thought her heart was palpitating a bit faster.

She smiled up at Sorata, forcing her eyes open just a bit. "Thank you..."

* * *

_"A lovely night to know who you are, wouldn't you say?"  
_  
Seishirou tore his eyes from the sky where Subaru had disappeared, and turned around to see a familiar figure perched on a large boulder behind him. Their eyes met, and for an instant Seishirou froze at the sight of those murderous pupils. But his apprehension faded in the next moment; he had no reason fear this man; he was not afraid of death. "You certainly are persistent," he said after a moment, a smirk lighting his shadowy features. "So you know who are you, do you?"

_The man's features spread into a cheerful smile as he answered without hesitation, "I just wasn't out of my shell. The shell that blinded me from what will be the world's revolution...a revolution that I will lead. For I am...KAMUI."_

An interested simper pulled at the corners of Seishirou's mouth. So he had been correct...Kanoe had been correct...and Hinoto. The prediction of the second "Kamui" had come to pass. This man...this "Kamui"...was the promised leader of the Dragons of Earth. Seishirou smiled and turned in full to face the man, hands shoved deeply in his pockets. "It's good to see you've awakened at last," he murmured barely above a whisper. "We've been waiting for you." Then, with a slight sideward nod, he indicated for Fuuma to lead the way. "We have much to talk about..."

* * *

Sorata smiled back at the girl. "You don't need to thank me...I couldn't let a beautiful girl like you die. I would never forgive myself!" He finished bandaging her wounds, still applying pressure to them. "I'm gonna need to get you to a hospital...You scared of heights?"

Yuzuriha shook her head weakly. "When you're a Dragon of the Heaven, you really can't be afraid of much."

Sorata froze then smiled. "Then I definitely can't let you die. So you're protecting the world too I take it." He crotched down beside her. "Ok this might be hard...but climb on my back ok? I'm gonna take you to that place I saw on my way here."

"Okay," Yuzuriha smiled. "I'll try my best, but it might be hard." She pulled herself onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Sorata placed his arms under her knees, securing her to him. "Ok...You need a second to prepare or you ready for the fastest ride you'll ever have."

She clung tightly to him, wrapping her legs around his waist in the same fashion she did with her arms around her neck. She didn't want to risk falling, especially in the state she was currently in. "I'm ready..." she said softly.

Sorata grinned, speaking in broken Engrish to impress the girl further. "OK...Ret's GO!" Sorata took off running toward the taxi with amazing speed, leaping onto it and pushing off straight into the air. He spun as he shot upward, pushing off the side of the building to launch him to the top of another.

"How...far is this place?" Yuzuriha's breathing became staccato and light.

Sorata continued running and jumping building to building. "Only a few minutes...Just hold on...I'm not gonna let you die!"

Yuzuriha felt a smile fall across her lips. Why was this guy so nice to her?

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind-- Inuki and the others! "Ano...-" she started, "...there are others that are also hurt..."

Sorata smiled. "I can't carry them all...but I'll go back and check after you're taken care of. See I didn't want to scare you but you're bleeding pretty badly...some of it stopped but you need help."

"Okay," Yuzuriha responded. "Thanks, again." Yuzuriha blushed. Why was this guy being so nice to her? She couldn't figure it out...

Sorata shrugged and landed in front of the hospital. "You don't need to thank me...I have to help anyone in trouble, particularly lovely ladies like you."

Yuzuriha blushed. "I never got your name..."

"You can call me Sorata...That's what the Old man calls me."

He walked up to the front desk and told a story on why he had a girl bleeding on his back...Something about random gang violence and how he beat the tar out of the guys who did this to her.

"Sorata-sama..." Yuzuriha coughed a bit.

"Hai?" Sorata looked back at her until a stretcher was wheeled in. He laid her down softly.

"Yuzuriha desu." She looked up at him with blood-filled eyes. "Please check on my friends for me."

"Pretty name..." He nodded at the request. "I promise I'll check to see if they're ok...But promise me you'll be ok so we can go catch a movie sometime."

"Sure. It's a promise," she said, as they wheeled her out.

Sorata watched as they wheeled her out. He was still until he was sure she was out of hearing range. He clenched his fist and let out a cry of joy. "HEH! That was perfect Sorata…man I totally came off all cool and heroic."

* * *

_"No need for such formalities, Aoki-san. This isn't a very appropriate time for introductions, but my name is Karen Kasumi. It's a pleasure to meet you," the red-haired woman told him with a pleasant smile._

"Likewise. I'm happy to have finally met others in this business," Seiichirou found himself smiling back. Despite the current circumstances, he really was glad to have found these people. Somehow, it made him feel less alone.

And Kasumi-san... he was starting to think that she really might be the kind of inspiration his writers were looking for. Bravery, leadership abilities, charm, brains, beauty... Wait--beauty?

As he wondered at his own thoughts, Seiichirou suddenly felt a tug at his knees. It was the spirit dog that belonged with Yuzuriha-san.

_"...I'm sure Inuki wouldn't mind carrying your burden. Inuki's strong," the young girl said._  
_  
"H-hai," Seiichirou nodded, carefully lowering Kotori's sleeping form so that it rested comfortably on the dog's back. He gazed at Inuki in appreciation, "Arigatou... Be careful with her..."_

With that said, he focused his attention on Kamui. The young boy was still lying on the ground, unmoving and eerily still. Hastily, Seiichirou bent near him and attempted to lift him up as he had done with the blonde girl. But Kamui was far heavier than he had imagined. The editor grunted with effort.

In the last magazine edition his company had printed, they had done a survey on the yearly amount of junk food consumed by teenagers. Needless to say, the results had been astounding. Now somewhat sweating, Seiichirou wondered exactly how much Pocky the boy ate.

"Kasumi-san, if it isn't too much trouble..." he said, straining to lift the unconscious teenager without causing further injury. He panted in between breaths, "I'm afraid... Kamui-san... Is surprisingly heavy... for his size..."

But she was busy staring at something in the distance. Her eyes widened in sudden alarm. In a firm yet somewhat panicked voice, she hurriedly ordered Yuzuriha to find a taxi. Seiichirou became nervous. Did Kasumi-san sense something coming? Perhaps another enemy or earthquake?

With great effort, he finally managed to stand. He held Kamui protectively in his arms and felt a sudden sense of strength. Of purpose. As long as he was around, nothing would harm this boy. And anything that tried would have to go through him first.

With determination, he turned to the red-haired Seal and asked seriously, "Kasumi-san, is everything ok? Why did you send Yuzuriha- san off so abruptly? Is there something coming? Have you sensed..."

His voice trailed off as he suddenly caught a glimpse of Sumeragi- san and the man in black as they... enjoyed each other.

"Oh," the manga editor said simply, "I see."

So that's why Kasumi-san had been so urgent to get Yuzuriha-san away. He looked down at Kamui, who was still knocked out, and then back at the ongoing yaoi scene. Perhaps knocked out wasn't so bad.

Temporarily unsure of what to do, Seiichirou gazed at the ground and studied the grass for a bit. After a while, he glanced up at the two men and then quickly back down at the interesting grass.

There was an awfully large yaoi section at the Clamp manga headquarters. So it was a good thing he was used to this sort of thing, Seiichirou noted to himself, still keeping his eyes firmly on the ground.

Finally, he asked, "Ano... Kasumi-san, is it alright if we leave them like that?"

Inuki nudged his knees. As the dog gazed at him with worry in its eyes, Seiichirou suddenly experienced real foreboding. This time, something really was wrong.

"Inuki-san seems bothered by something," he observed, rather unsettled, "Perhaps we should go and look for Yuzuriha-san in case something has happened."

To Inuki, he requested, "If Yuzuriha-san's in danger, please hurry and lead us to her. Oh, but that might be hard since you're carrying that girl, won't it?"

He paused, gazing fretfully at Kotori's unconscious form on the spirit dog's back. Turning to Karen, he asked, "Kasumi-san, would you mind carrying her? She's light so I don't think you'll have a problem."

* * *

Humans. Like so many ants scurrying to and fro the myriad of activities they purposely clutter their lives with. So absorbed in their own reality that they're oblivious to everything else.

Like someone perched on top of a telephone poll, observing them from just a short distance away. His hair as shockingly white as the cloths that floated about his slender form. Even at that height, they might be able to make out the marks on his forehead, forming what appeared to be a lotus design.

It would be hard to miss something, or someone like that, right? Apparently not. Oh, maybe there was the rare individual who might glance up, blink at the sight and wonder if their eyes weren't playing tricks on them. But for the most part, they continued on in a rush that bordered on reckless.

Nataku could almost read their minds by the expressions on their faces, expressions that were always inspired by emotions. A middle aged man, with anxiety clearly etched onto his features. An upcoming divorce, possibly a late mortgage payment. A teenage girl, with a dreamy expression on her face. A new boyfriend, without a doubt. Those were just two of the masses, each as predictable as the next.

Still, Nataku held no real animosity towards them. He didn't hate them. He was, in theory, one of them. And at the same time...he wasn't. He was the creation of neither God nor nature. He was the blasphemy and intentions of man.

Did he want to feel emotions? The elation of freedom. The pain of heartbreak and the sting of rage over this thing that others created, this empty shell that was him. Would he be happy that he was powerful and deadly?

Nataku would never know. He wasn't meant to be a part of humanity. He was meant to destroy it.

Gracefully, he stood straight atop the telephone poll once more, perching there a moment longer before hopping to the roof of the nearest building.

Subaru turned to see a man on the other side of building. He automatically grew defensive. Not many people could leap from building to building without having powers.

He observed him for a minute, considering whether he should approach the man or just watch him quietly.

The weight of another's gaze. If things were different, Nataku might feel a natural curiosity as to who was watching him, especially in light of being unnoticed by the humans on the street below. And yet Nataku couldn't keep from glancing around, even turning his head in an attempt to find whoever it was that now observed him as closely as he had observed others. The irony was lost to Nataku though.

His eyes eventually found, and locked on the other man. Nataku tilted his head gently, a few of the snow-white strands obscuring one eye as he also wondered if he should approach, or just...stare back at him. Nataku's expression never changed though. It wasn't even clear if he knew exactly who Subaru was. Or -what- he was, as a Dragon of Heaven.

"Are you going to attack me?" The question was asked in a voice that bordered on monotone. The other's body language, his subtle yet defensive stance told Nataku that he just might. For once, observing humans had paid off.

Subaru wasn't sure how to respond. He had no intentions of fighting, but...

"No," he answered simply. Even if he wanted to, there was no way he could fend off anyone in this condition.

"Alright." It was a simple reply, followed by a nod of Nataku's head. He didn't have the bloodlust that others might have. Battle was merely a means to an end, nothing more. For a moment, he wonders if fighting would be more...enjoyable, if one hated their opponent.

Nataku turns his body more towards Subaru, taking silent steps closer. He glances up and down him, taking note of his condition. The cloth that hovered around him even seemed to relax, its angles softening.

"You're a very focused person. You noticed me."

Subaru nodded at the compliment. "What brings you out here?" he nodded towards the disaster area below them.

"I'm not sure..." Nataku murmured softly, stepping towards the edge of the building to peer down again. It was an honest response, and a little surprising. Could it have possibly been boredom that brought him out today? No, of course not. He wasn't capable of feeling such a trivial thing. Still, -something- had caused him to venture out of the lab today.

"Tell me why you're here." Nataku glanced back over his shoulder at Subaru. Maybe the other's response would give him some clues about his own reasons for being there.

Subaru cocked an eyebrow at Nataku's question before reluctantly answering, "My past."

Judging from Nataku's blank expression, he felt the pressure to elaborate more. "...a person from my past. A person who haunts my most fantastic dreams and my worst nightmares." He adjusted his trench coat on his shoulders and stepped out from the shadows. His arm was a bit better, but nevertheless, his white trench coat was still covered in thick, sticky blood.

Subaru tried to ignore the sirens and the cries of the people below and gazed up at the sky.

Nothing was said for a few moments, and Subaru felt the need to fill the unbearable silence between them. "If it wasn't for everything going on, I'd say it was a beautiful night."

* * *

_  
"What is the task that you wish for us to perform, Kanoe-san?" Satsuki asked once they had reached the surface._

Sakura blossoms wafted about unceremoniously. They had finally made it out and were standing in the ring of sakura trees above the secret entrance.

The dream gazer allowed a calculating smile to take over her face. She supposed she had neglected their questions long enough although it had been fun to tease Yuuto's curiosity with silence.

Still, the time for playing with secrets was over. They were all on the same side, after all.

Kanoe paused and took in a breath of fresh air before beginning, "I know it must seem odd for our goals to change so suddenly. But there have been certain... developments that must be taken into account. Or should I say, one particular development."

"The other Kamui has appeared at last," she looked meaningfully at her two allies, "And now that he is here, we have no further need the real Kamui." She wrinkled her nose slightly in disdain, "After all, that brat's caused us nothing but trouble."

She continued with a confident smile at Satsuki and Yuuto, "Your task is this... I want you two to find the other Kamui. Do whatever it takes to convert him to our side. With his aid, the Seals will fall one by one and the world will end exactly the way it's supposed to."

She paused, not knowing whether to be sad or happy at her own words. She thought briefly of her sister and her dark eyes found themselves lingering on the blossoms that were still drifting by.

Kanoe shook herself a little. Not that it mattered. To Fate, her feelings were nothing.

She looked at her companions. There was only one more thing to tell them, "I suppose you're both wondering who the other Kamui is... His name, I believe, is Fuuma Monou."

A chuckle rose out of her pale throat, "Can you believe how ironic life can be sometimes? We captured the wrong sibling by accident. Who would've guessed? That the dear Onii-chan of that sweet little bird would be destined to bring about the end of the world."

* * *

Karen's attention was suddenly diverted by Inuki's apprehensive whine. There was something very wrong; they had to find Yuzuriha right away. Seiichirou seemed to realize this as well; upon observing Inuki's odd behavior, he suggested, "Perhaps we should go look for Yuzuriha-san in case something has happened."

Before Karen could respond, everything was thrown into further chaos as, at virtually the same moment, a fight erupted between Subaru and the clad-clad Dragon of Earth. Karen watched the two men in alarm, wanting to help Subaru, yet not wanting to involve herself in what seemed to be a personal quarrel. It would be best to stay to make sure that nothing serious happened to Subaru. But they couldn't just leave Yuzuriha to fend for herself, either. And, on top of that, somebody still had to watch over Kamui and his friend.

Karen looked at Seiichirou, her worry clearly reflected in her expression. "We can't just leave Kamui-kun and his friend alone. But we can't let Yuzuriha-chan be in danger, either. Sumeragi-san, too. But there's only two of us, and we can't be in three places at once."

She looked over at Yuzuriha's spirit dog still standing by and waiting for the humans to act. "Inuki's the best protection that Yuzuriha-chan has," Karen said suddenly. Of course, the answer was obvious: they could send Inuki to protect Yuzuriha. After all, Inuki had been protecting her for their whole lives together. Why didn't she think of this earlier?

Karen stepped over to the spirit dog's side and carefully lifted the blonde girl from his back as best as she could. The teenager felt very heavy in her arms, and Karen cautiously lowered her burden to the floor before she collapsed from the weight. She then looked at the spirit dog and spoke to him, hoping that he could understand her words. "Inuki, go to your mistress and protect her. Don't come back to us unless she's safe." Not needing any further encouragement, Inuki immediately bolted off in the direction that Yuzuriha had gone. The red-haired woman sighed in relief; Inuki had understood her command after all. So that was one less thing to worry about.

Karen now focused her attention on the battle that was going on between Subaru and the black-clad man. She listened in alarm as the two men hurled insults at each other, the battle escalating rapidly when Subaru attacked the other man with his shikigami. Afraid that the Dragon of Earth would retaliate, Karen nearly jumped into the fight to defend Subaru from any oncoming attacks. But before she could do so, Subaru leaped away and quickly vanished from sight. "Sumeragi-san, wait!" Karen called out in alarm; but it was too late, he had already gone. Luckily, his opponent did not follow him, instead watching the place where Subaru had disappeared.

The battle over, it seemed like Yuzuriha and Subaru were out of danger at the current moment. She would have to go find them later to make sure that they were all right. For now, they had to move Kamui and his friend to the hospital. Karen noted that dusk had already fallen. The streets were already quite dark due to the fact that the electricity had been disrupted and the streetlights were nonfunctional. This meant that they would have to hurry before there was no light to see by.

However, the Dragon of Earth who had fought her comrade still remained, some distance away from Karen and Seiichirou but still too close for comfort. Karen looked warily at the man; luckily, he seemed unaware of their presence.

Before she could do anything else, another person – a young man clad in black – appeared before the Dragon of Earth. Karen felt herself shiver involuntarily; there was something sinister about this newcomer. The two men were two far away for her to hear most of their conversation, but Karen could make out one phrase, spoken by the younger man: "I am KAMUI."

"Kamui?" Karen repeated to herself, puzzled. And suddenly realization struck her with horrifying swiftness. "He's the Twin Star… he's the one destined to be Kamui's opposite," Karen whispered, Yuzuriha and Subaru immediately forgotten. "We have to get Kamui out of here right now."

Karen looked anxiously at Seiichirou, not knowing what to do. They had to move Kamui right away; not only did he and his friend need to be hospitalized immediately, but there was now an even greater threat posed by the Twin Star. But if they tried to move the teenagers now, they would surely attract the attention of the Dragons of Earth. And with two unconscious people, Karen was unsure of how well they would be able to defend themselves, and more importantly, defend Kamui.

Karen crouched next to the two teenagers and motioned for Seiichirou to do the same, never letting the two Angels out of her sight. Their main priority now was to make sure that Kamui and the girl were safe, and to do that they had to keep the Dragons of Earth away from them.

* * *

"Kamui." Hinoto's voice was soft and sweet, a mixture of innocence from knowing nothing of the outside world and of knowledge that came with dream-seeing. The clear globe that surrounded her floated toward him and she pointed to the ground below them. The symbol on her forehead glowed and her robes were spread about her.

"The day of destiny is coming. Your twin star has chosen, so you now must defend the Earth, as the leader of the Dragons of Heaven. If you refuse then the earth will perish and the human race with it. Do you see? That is earth. Watch."

Slowly, ever so slowly cracks began to appear on the surface and the pieces began to separate, until there was nothing left.

Hinoto looked at Kamui and said softly again, "You must choose to fight Kamui for if you do not then.." She did not finish her sentence because as she spoke a new scene surrounded them. Tokyo, covered by greenery and water, all the building bent and broken except for one. The government building. The home of the Dragons of Earth. It was a sad sight. Roads toppled, Tokyo Tower snapped in half like it was nothing but a play toy, buildings crushed and pieces missing.

"There can be only one fate for earth Kamui. You must be the one to save it. Please.." The scene faded as she looked at him, her dreaming eyes pleading..

* * *

"Find the other Kamui…" Satsuki repeated thoughtfully. "So the Twin Star has finally appeared."

So, the battle for the end of the world was really going to happen after all. This would definitely be quite interesting to take part in; at the very least it would not be as boring as all the testing that those researchers did on her in her youth. Satsuki smiled slightly to herself. She was definitely going to enjoy this, whatever happened next.

She did raise an eyebrow, though, when Kanoe said, "I suppose you're both wondering who the other Kamui is… His name, I believe, is Monou Fuuma."

"Monou Fuuma…" Satsuki said thoughtfully. "According to the information that BEAST gave me, he is one of the only friends that Shiro Kamui has. So the two best friends are destined to fight each other for the fate of the Earth."

Satsuki looked up at Kanoe impassively. "Then the real Kamui was never destined to be on our side after all." She had to admit to herself that she was confused. If Kanoe had known this already – which she surely must have – then there was no good reason why the Dragons of Earth had been trying to bring Kamui to their side all this time. But whatever the reason, Satsuki found it quite intriguing.

"You know as well as I do that I'm not interested in the fate of the Earth, Kanoe-san," Satsuki said darkly. "But…" Satsuki's lips curved into a very slight, barely noticeable smile. "It sounds like an interesting task. I'll find your Kamui for you."

* * *

Fuuma stood up and walked to Seishirou's side. "I'm supposing there are others...or are we the only ones who see the oncoming revolution?"

Seishirou nodded and straightened his back to meet Fuuma's gaze at eye level. "Yes, there are others. Both those who support you and who will try to stop you. I'm not sure if they've all awakened yet, however."

He added as a sardonic side note, "My comrades have been searching for the wrong Kamui all this time, and here you've been all along."

Fuuma smiled. "I know well of the ones who are against me." He raised his hand, it was stained with blood. "There was a girl and some simpleton..."

Seishirou chuckled huskily. "It seems you and I have much in common." He spread his arms to either side to reveal the tatters in his black cloak and the darker stains that marked splatters of blood. "I've had my own mishap recently as well." Then his tone darkened. "Unfortunately, I may not have been as successful as you seem to have been."

"No the one I handled got away because of the simpleton...I want to watch what that one will do next...Perhaps he can repay me by being a source of entertainment a little longer." Fuuma kept a straight posture, confident of his place in the events about to occur. "We must retrieve the sword before the other Kamui wakes...and then I shall end all his suffering."

Seishirou tilted his head and raised a cocky eyebrow at this comment. This "Kamui" seemed very bent on his mission...almost as though he were...possessed. "The time is drawing close, as is evident by your appearance." He looked around and nodded in the direction of a nearby park and pulled out a cigarette. Lighting it, he said casually, "Do you smoke?"

"No, bad for your health they say." Fuuma smiled cheerfully as he though were still the innocent boy who protected his sister.

Seishirou shrugged and lit the end, putting the front to his lips. "True, but they also say it's addicting." His voice turned whimsical. "Not that it'll matter much soon, however..." Suddenly his expression changed and became more light-hearted, and he turned to Fuuma with a smile. "Do you mind if we walk while talking? My legs are still a bit cramped from my little skirmish, and I'd like to walk it off."

Fuuma smiled even brighter. "Not at all...Come on I know this great Ramen shop we can go to." He began to walk with a very casual step, not at all seeming like a Dragon of Earth...But then again who did? "Tell me...Why are you on this side as opposed to clinging to your lot in life."

Stepping into stride beside the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth, Seishirou could not help but let out a low chuckle. "I suppose you could say the Angels chose me, not the other way around." He shrugged nonchalantly, letting out a stream of smoke through his nostrils, then gazed up at the murky sky. "I also have a 'twin star'...a fated opposite. And like you, we are destined to clash in one last battle...to fulfill each other's final wish, if you will." He then turned to stare pleasantly into Fuuma's smiling face. "And you...you took this position because of that girl, am I right?"

"Yes, my sister means a lot to me. And it pains me so that she must endure suffering...That is why I know she wishes to escape...That is why I must be the one who opens the gate for her." Fuuma looked to the sky, eyeing the depressing color. " And after this is all through, it is my wish that the sky never has to be this color again...never has to contain the poisons people attempt to end their lives with...it will all reset and be free once more." He looked back to Seishirou, his eyes still cold despite his pleasant expression. "My sister's destiny was to die either by my hand or Kamui's so I took the duty because it will come easier by family."

Seishirou nodded compliantly, sensing the weight of tension in the man's dark, cold eyes. "It's a beautiful wish...for Earth...for the ones you love so dearly." Removing the cigarette from his mouth momentarily, his single eye turned toward the ground and watched as his feet kicked up the idle dust beneath him. "I almost wish I knew what it was to know...love. What it must feel like..." But he shrugged the uneasiness from his shoulders and gave off an apprehensive chuckle. "But love is a waste of time, ne? So painful and irreparable." He paused to collect himself. "So where is this Ramen shop you were talking about?" he inquired, a little more than anxious to change the subject.

"It's this nice one owned by a friend of the family...one of the best in Tokyo." Fuuma smiled and noted the change in the subject but didn't respond to it. " Fresh Ingredients too."

Seishirou grinned, inwardly grateful to Fuuma for not pressing the matter. "Sounds great. It's been ages since I've had a real meal, it seems."

"Oh? Maybe I'll cook you something sometime...I've been told my Chicken Katsu is to die for." He looked to some people as they passed.

For a moment an image from seven years ago flew into Seishirou's mind...of Subaru and Hokuto in their little kitchen, making a mess of every ingredient in the house somehow turn into an exquisite supper. He stopped in his tracks at the sudden ache in his chest. Glaring at the ground, he tried to put the picture out of his mind. "Is that...so?" he said in a low voice, carefully controlled. "I'll have to keep that in mind."

Fuuma stopped beside him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder." I know you must hate that you and your beloved must fight...but you can't change your destiny...despite all that happens, it will be either you or him." Fuuma sighed softly and continued. " You two will be reunited when it's over however...just like my sister and me."

The words were of little comfort, but he did appreciate the attempt. "You're mistaken," he said, more curtly than he had intended. "He's not my beloved. I love no one." He took a few steps forward, then glanced over his shoulder and smiled brightly at Fuuma. "Well, are you coming?"  
Fuuma smiled again and nodded. "Yeah!" He started walking again beside Seishirou. "So tell me...are the others as interesting as you?"

At this Seishirou laughed out loud and unrestrained. How this man could go from cold-hearted destroyer of Earth to a seemingly innocent little high school kid was beyond his comprehension. "Honestly I couldn't tell you. I usually don't waste my time finding out. A few of my cohorts are fairly interesting, but they still never fail to get on my nerves." He looked down at a street of little shops, then gesticulated to a sign above one of them. "Is that the place?"

"Indeed!" Fuuma smiled and opened the door. "After you."

_-Such the gentleman,- _thought Seishirou, nodding politely and walking in ahead of Fuuma. _-Hard to believe this is the Kamui who will resurrect the world...-  
_

* * *

The past, dreams, nightmares. Such abstract concepts to him. Nataku had heard others speak of the wonder of their dreams, and the horror that could be nightmares. But he couldn't imagine any images of his own forming from the darkness of his 'sleep', the downtime that any mortal thing must have.

"Oh? What would make it so beautiful?" Nataku's voice wasn't bitter, wasn't challenging. Beauty was just another abstract concept. What is that saying...it's in the eye of the beholder. Different things were beautiful to different people. So... "What equals beauty for a man whose coat is covered in blood?" Nataku's gaze returned to the other man, just watching him. After all, who was he to pass judgment on anyone?

* * *

Kamui's heart began to race as he witnessed the destruction around him. What was all this? Some kind of horrible nightmare?

"My twin star...do you mean Fuuma?" he asked remembering that frightening voice.


	18. Chapter 16: Just a Walk in the Park

**Chapter Sixteen: Just a Walk in the Park**

Sorata landed softly on the sidewalk, walking casually to where he had found the girl. He grinned to himself, pleased with the way he handled the situation.

"I soooo rock...Who's the man with all the moves?!" He mimicked a woman's voice to answer. "Sorata!" He chuckled cheerfully as he marched in circles, waiting for a sign of the girl's friends.

"Now I actually have a date sometime in the near future..." He froze as the smell of blood brought him back to his senses. It was her blood, just now realizing his back was covered in it. It was growing cold now...reminding him of what could've happened.

"No...I have to find Kamui right now...It's imperative he gets my message before it's too late." His mind went to that man who hurt that girl, causing him to clench his fist. "Damn it...I gotta make sure that man won't have the last laugh in the end."

* * *

Subaru smiled a bit. This man was quite the enigma.

"The stars are beautiful, don't you think? I think the way they reflect off the dark blanket of the sky makes it...beautiful."

His mind wandered to when Hokuto would beg Seishirou and him to join her on the roof for some stargazing. Instead, he and Seishirou would sit on the balcony, while Hokuto would complain and talk of how, "the view is so much better up here!" although she was only a few feet above them.

He turned to the man. There was no use making small talk any longer.

"Are you involved with the end of the world?"

"There is something most humans don't realize about stars. They're so far away, and the speed of light so slow in comparison to that distance. What I'm saying is that some of the stars that appear so beautiful in the night sky may not even exist anymore. In reality, they might've burned out hundreds of years ago. Or something might have destroyed them."

Having finished, Nataku lowered his eyes from the sky, and once more looked to Subaru. The cloth around him began to hover, the end of one slithering over Nataku's shoulder like a white snake.

"But then, everything is eventually destroyed, beautiful or not. Whether one thinks that this planet is beautiful is of no real consequence in the end. It will be destroyed." He paused, before tilting his head gently. "It must be."

"So, you're a Dragon of the Earth?" Subaru tsked and shook his head.

"I don't really understand why someone would want to destroy something so beautiful with so many people worth caring about on it," Subaru began. "What about your family? Do you realize by being a Dragon of the Earth, you will destroy all those you love?"

* * *

Inuki knew something was wrong, but was insistent on staying where he was most needed. So when Karen requested that he find Yuzuriha, he had all intention of finding her.

A few blocks away, he found blood. Yuzuriha's.

He followed the trail as best as he could and came to a man.

Covered in her blood.

Reflexively, he growled at the yellow-jacketed man, ready to attack.

Sorata looked as he heard the growl. _Crap...it's a wild dog and I smell like fresh blood. _He was still, not showing fear because this animal obviously wanted intimidate him...His leg began to shake slightly. _Damn it it knows...Man what do I do? I promised her I would look here but I don't want to hurt dog..._

A idea snapped to him as he slowly bent over, getting a stick. "Hey there! Get the stick! Get the Stick...!" He tosses the stick away from him in hopes it would get rid of this annoyance.

Inuki looked at Sorata like he was an idiot.

But it was then that he sensed Sorata's greater power. Had he hurt Yuzuriha?

Inuki was unsure of what to do, so he kept his guard up, eyeing the young man as he continued to follow the blood trail.

Sorata cringed as the dog didn't leave. _Why is it here...wait a second _

He just then saw that this Dog wasn't a normal dog...it was a spirit, invisible to the untrained eye. He smirked and got into a defensive posture. "Hey...Doggie, I got a date tonight so nothing you can do is gonna bring me down from my high." He stared at the Dog, ready to fight back if the Dog jumped him.

The dog looked behind him as the boy begun to talk yet again.

_Idiot_, the dog thought, as he followed the blood trail.

He recognized this place. Yuzuriha had been here once when she had broken her leg when she was little. Yuzuriha wasn't OK?

He darted past Sorata, and over to the others, where he nudged Karen and Seiichirou and Arashi with his nose to get their attention.

* * *

_"I'll find your Kamui for you."_

Yuuto turned to Satsuki and frowned. "Don't you need BEAST for that?" he asked tentatively, trying to be careful not to upset the girl after having just lost her best friend.

And suddenly there was the scent of fresh blood on the air. He turned his head in its direction and saw the shadows of several figures gather along the rubble pavement. "Are those...the Seals?" His head darted in another direction. Two other figures were walking off in the opposite way. "Sakurazuka-san?" He glanced at Satsuki. "Who is that with Seishirou?"

* * *

Kotori looked over. There was a new male that had joined them. She watched him closely, watching as he stared down at Kakyou. And then she heard Kakyou say something. Was it a name?

"Yuurei?" she repeated. "Who is that?" She looked from Kakyou to the guy, and tried to put two and two together. All she could think about though was if Kamui and her brother were alright.

"Hey…you!" she called to Yuurei. "Why don't you come down here?"

* * *

Arashi shook her head. What had just happened there. It was as if all the action had frozen her in place. She looked down to where Karen and the others had taken off too.

Arashi jumped down from the building she was on, and ran over to her fellow Seals.

"Gomen 'asi." She said. "I'm not sure what happened there. Does anyone need help?" She glanced at the struggling Karen and Aoki. "Kamui...and his friend...are they okay?"

She glanced around. "Where's Yuzuriha-chan?"

* * *

_"I AM KAMUI."_

He had heard it as well and it sent a chill down his spine that was colder than any winter wind.

Seiichirou crouched near Karen, his eyes focused on the two men in the distance. His arms ached from carrying Kamui but there was nothing in hell that would make him drop the boy now. Not when his Twin Star was so close.

They had to get away. And fast.

Seiichirou frowned. But to where?

His thoughts raced as he hurriedly tried to think. Somewhere safe, somewhere safe... Had to get Kamui-san somewhere safe... Well, what was the safest place that he, Seiichirou, knew?

"...Home," he murmured unconsciously to himself.

Perfect! His home was no hospital, but it wasn't too far away and his bathroom was stocked with medical supplies anyhow. They could make do. And perhaps Shimako could make some tea...

Then he hesitated.

There were problems with that, weren't there? Seiichirou felt himself become torn between his duty as a Seal and his desires to protect his family. Should he risk it? An image of Shimako and his daughter flashed in his mind and the idea of losing them hardened his heart for a moment. What if something should happen by bringing Kamui to his home? What if they were somehow followed in the process and a battle ensued? Would he be able to protect both Kamui and his family or would he have to choose?

There were too many questions. But as Seiichirou looked at Kamui's innocently sleeping face, the gaze behind the glasses softened.

"Kasumi-san," he said softly, "I think I know a place we can go."

* * *

Sorata sighed in relief as the Dog passed him...So much for looking for these 'friends'. He suddenly caught sight of the others in the distance, it was a wonder why he didn't see them before. "HEY! You guys know a girl named Yuzuriha?!"

He suddenly noticed the men, one of whom told him a fact he already knew...He would die...He smirked. If he was going to die, he would kill that arrogant bastard for telling him something he was sensitive about.

He charged his hand as he watched them walking, stopping as they got a distance away. They were leaving, that made things easier...but they would see him later.

Sorata approached the others, giving them a smirk. "Hey any of you guys hurt?"

* * *

Staring off in the direction of the Sakurazukamori and the other man, Yuuto blinked to regain his focus. Maybe he had been more severely injured than he thought. He felt light-headed...and not just a bit dizzy. When he turned his head to find his bearings again, his eyes fell on an approaching figure from the shadows.

The recognition struck him at once. Satsuki's BEAST had named him a Dragon of Heaven--Arisugawa Sorata. -That funny boy again,- he smirked to himself, then froze as the young man began to form a surge of energy in his hands as he glared at the back of Seishirou's companion.

Quickly Yuuto turned back to Satsuki and Kanoe. "Looks like the trouble might be heating up again," he said, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice with a tinge of sardonic humor. He signaled to Satsuki, indicating the direction Seishirou had left in. "You should follow him. The guy he's with might just be our man. I haven't seen him around before... As for him"--he nodded toward Sorata--"we can't let him interfere. I've faced him before, as you know, so I'll hold him off while you get a head start. Understood?"

With a nod to Kanoe and a debonair wink to the young computer genius, Yuuto failed to wait for a response. He jogged off in the direction of the Seals, only too aware of his less-than-adequate position. Once he nearly tripped over a piece of debris and lost his balance, his legs nearly giving away underneath him. But he caught himself and, adjusting his composure, continued.

Just as Sorata seemed to be at a crossroads between choosing to head for the Seals or for the Sakurazukamori and his companion, Yuuto made a giant leap into the air, over a pile of rubble, and landed between the young priest and his destination. Hands in his pockets, he smiled pleasantly. "You're that funny boy from Kouya, aren't you? I've been looking forward to a rematch." Luckily they were still far enough away from the other Seals that he could hopefully not be overheard.

And with a glance out of the corner of his eye to check Satsuki's progress, he awaited a reply from the cocky young man.

Sorata smiled devilishly as he saw the figure land in front of him. It was his old buddy, the bartender? "Oh my god! Hey it's the pimp! What's been going on?! Still the flashy dresser I see." He was treating this guy like his best friend, ignoring the position he was in at the moment. Keep your friends closer but your foes closer...That's what he read somewhere at least. Question was if you hugged your enemy, what kept him from stabbing you?

"You find a woman to put your mack on? Eh? eh? Cool guy like you must get a lot of offers, heh heh" He took a few playful jabs at Yuuto, grinning widely. I promised her...Damn it I don't think I'm gonna get out of this "Maaan, I was just gonna tell those people over there that their friend is in the hospital 'cuz a unfortunate accident...You know the whole guy meets girl, girl turns guy down so guy punches hole through girl's chest. I kinda promised this particular girl that I would tell them she was alright buuut..." His expression changed to a smirk. "..I can't let a friend like you down can I? So what this is getting to is me asking if you could wait here in the shadows while I handle that...I sweeeeaar I will keep your presence unknown so we can keep it one on one. You have a monk's promise, Cool?"

* * *

"All those I love?" Nataku's lashes flutter with the words, like Subaru just lapsed into a foreign language. His shoulders rise and fall with a heavy sigh.

"I don't love anyone. I'm not capable of it." Though it might sound less harsh if the other knew the other side to the story. That Nataku also doesn't hate anyone. He was, essentially...just doing his job.

"I would like to think...that if I did love someone, I certainly wouldn't want them to suffer on a planet like this. A planet that is dying and taking every living thing with it. But then, you're a Dragon of Heaven, right? So I don't expect you to understand. We were destined to be enemies."

If Nataku could feel anything, he just might be remorseful about the fact.

* * *

"You again..." grumbled Kamui as Hinoto appeared. 

He was helpless within the dream realm and could only watch in silence as she showed him the visions of the future again. They seemed more frightening than before. Possibly due to the fact that he had witnessed the destruction first hand. This possibility of this future seemed almost certain...

None of that mattered though. Kamui was only interested in what Hinoto had spoke of earlier. "Your twin star has awakened..."

"My twin star...do you mean Fuuma!?" questioned Kamui. Part of him knew the answer already, but he had to be certain.

"What happened to him!? Tell me now!"

* * *

Laughing genuinely at Sorata's good humor, Yuuto put his hands on his hips and shrugged helplessly. "What can I say? I have great style, and the ladies can't help but love it." He eyed the priest impishly. "You might have better luck if you followed my lead." With a quick wink, he added, "And what's this about a lady friend of your own, eh? Hurt, is she? That's a damned shame." 

With Sorata's inquiry as to speak with those standing behind them, Yuuto threw a quick glance over his shoulder. His motive was only to keep the funny monk away from Sakurazuka and Kamui's Gemini, not to prevent his contact with his fellow Dragons. And on top of that, he was still injured. If Sorata's will to reach them was strong enough, Yuuto might not be able to hold him off even if he really wanted to. But since that was not too much of a concern, he shrugged.

"Sure, whatever. I wouldn't want you distracted during our battle. Heaven knows you'll need your every bit of concentration to fight an accomplished sorcerer such as myself." He scoffed and flashed an impudent grin. "So hurry it up, already. We're wasting the night away!"

But in the back of his mind, he could not get away from the task at hand. _-Please be quick...and careful...Satsuki...-  
_

Satsuki looked up at Yuuto, surprised. He remembered how badly she was feeling about BEAST? She couldn't remember anybody ever feeling… well, ever feeling anything besides a blind admiration towards her. Her classmates may have admired her, but none of them really cared if she was happy, or sad, or lonely. Yuuto was so different from everyone else. He actually took the time to care about how she felt. Satsuki smiled again to herself; only this time, it wasn't a smirk, but a gentle smile.

Pulling her mind back to the problem at hand, she took her cell phone out of her pocket and held it up for Yuuto to see. "BEAST may be in the basement at the moment, but I still have my ways of getting information," Satsuki said, smirking slightly. "I don't need to rely on my computer all the time. After all, I'm not a Dragon of Earth for nothing."

She felt a slight pang, though, as she spoke. True, BEAST was not really necessary for her to be an efficient Dragon of Earth; her powers as an Angel consisted of her knowledge of technology and her ability to use it, not how much machinery she owned. But nevertheless, she still missed the supercomputer. Satsuki had poured so much of her life and soul into its making; it was her ultimate creation. Without BEAST, if was as if she was missing a piece of her soul.

Satsuki looked in the direction that Yuuto was pointing, taking in the form of the young man with the Sakurazukamori. There was no doubt about it; the teenager's appearance matched the image of Monou Fuuma that BEAST had shown her. "It's definitely him, San-san," Satsuki said to the handsome water caster. "Sakurazuka-san's company is none other than the Twin Star, Monou Fuuma,"

"I'll follow them, Kanoe-san," Satsuki addressed the dream walker, not taking her eyes off the young man. "There shouldn't be a problem in bringing the Twin Star back to you." _::As long as Sakurazuka-san doesn't kill me for what happened in the basement before I get a chance to talk to him…:: _she thought to herself, wincing slightly.

Satsuki flushed slightly as Yuuto winked at her before leaping off in the direction of the newly arrived Seal. "Be careful, San-san…" she called after him, but he was already too far away to hear. She watched him for a moment, feeling a strange ache in her chest. What was it that she was feeling?

Shaking herself out of her daze, she looked towards Kanoe, wearing her trademark emotionless expression. "Wait here, and I'll be back soon your Kamui," she said. Without waiting for a response, she jumped onto the roof of a nearby building and leaped away in the direction that Seishirou and Fuuma had gone.

Traveling as she was from rooftop to rooftop, Satsuki was able to catch up with the two men far more quickly than would be expected. She watched from her position atop a nearby building as Seishirou and Fuuma walked into a ramen shop. "Looks like I'll have to interrupt their little conversation," Satsuki murmured, smirking slightly to herself.

She leaped from the building's roof and landed silently on the sidewalk. Nobody else in the street seemed to notice. Satsuki smiled sardonically; humans were really oblivious to everything. She straightened up and pushed her hands into her pockets, strolling over to the ramen shop. "I'm here for you now, Fuuma-kun," she muttered cynically, and without further ado, she pushed open the door.


	19. Chapter 17: To Defy Fate

**Chapter Seventeen: To Defy Fate**

Sorata grinned and patted Yuuto on the shoulder. "Maybe one day on a break I'll let you show me how. You know, we put all this end of the world stuff aside for a day...Anyway thanks for this favor and Don't worry I'll be right back ok?"

Sorata bowed formally and carefully moved past Yuuto. _Something's odd...He didn't stop me... _Sorata thought as he walked toward his comrades, taking caution to watch his back.

He came to a stop a respectable distance away from the group, smiling brightly. "HEY! You guys know a girl in a school uniform?"

Arashi glanced up at the new face.

"Yuzuriha-chan!" Arashi exclaimed. She walked up to the teenager. "Where is she?!" She asked, placing both her hands on Sorata's shoulder.

"Is she hurt?" She looked directly into his eyes. "You will take us to her, now." she said.

Arashi turned her back on Sorata and went to Aoki. "Let me help." she said, trying to take Kamui's upper torso. "And we're going to follow that boy!"

Sorata blinked as he watched the girl place her hands on him...She was very delicate apparently...Sorata liked. He smirked as he watched her walk away, checking her slender body out. "Hey...I can carry the boy to the hospital! That's where I left Chan-chan..."

Sorata looked back at Yuuto pointing to his wrist and tried to gesture for him to wait a few minutes. He then moved to where Kamui, picking up the boy with moderate trouble as he hoisted him onto his back. "Oh I'm Sorata...by the way...Monk and warrior of love." He grinned and gave Arashi a thumbs up.

Inuki was glad SOMEONE could get their attention. Still, he didn't like this guy.

He looked up at Sorata and growled a bit before nudging Arashi and the others on to the hospital and bounding off. He should be by his girl's side.

The Twin Star and the man in black had left. From his place beside Karen, Seiichirou let out a small sigh of relief. Perhaps he wouldn't have to bring the fight home; Shimako and Yuka-chan didn't have to get involved.

"On second thought, Kasumi-san," he started to murmur, feeling slightly guilty at his change of heart, "maybe we should go to the hospital after a--"

_"HEY! You guys know a girl in a school uniform?"_

Seiichirou cringed at the brash voice. The sudden sound was unnerving. The appearance of a boyish young teenager made him tense with apprehension. Friend or foe? He watched him warily, clutching the sleeping Kamui even closer.

_Wait--girl in uniform? Did he mean Yuzuriha-san?_

_"Yuzuriha-chan! Where is she? Is she hurt?!" _The quiet girl who had spent most of the time in observant silence suddenly stepped forward. Taking the boy by the shoulders and with a firm voice, she ordered him to lead them to Yuzuriha.

_"Let me help," _she said, approaching the wind caster, _"We're going to follow that boy!"_

But as she reached for Kamui's upper half, Seiichirou gently stopped her, "Arigatou, I appreciate the offer... but I think I can carry him."

For a moment, he almost regretted the words. His arms were burning from the strain. It was amazing how the Kamui could look so fragile and yet be equivalent in weight to an elephant. Yes, it was remarkable. Not to mention, relatively painful.

But it made up for not taking him home. His conscience wouldn't let him rest if he didn't do this.

Seiichirou gave the young girl at grateful smile, "I'll take Kamui-san. He's safe in my arms."

_"Hey...I can carry the boy to the hospital!"_

The wind caster cringed again, the sudden cheerful call breaking his concentration. Kamui tumbled unceremoniously from his already weakened arms. Before he could recover from his own horror, the young man had taken the unconscious Kamui onto his back, announcing proudly,  
_  
"I'm Sorata, by the way... monk and warrior of love."_

Seiichirou's right eyebrow twitched. Being a manga editor, he'd encounter some cheesy introductions before but this...

Still, the guy had to be rather strong to lift Kamui so easily. Seiichirou studied him carefully. Was he a Seal? Most likely. There was a good-natured grin on his face and his aura resembled Yuzuriha's in being both happy and powerful.

"Kasumi-san, do you think he's a Seal?" Seiichirou asked quietly, "I have a feeling that he may be involved with the Fate of the world..."

Sorata smiled brightly at the quiet girl, giving her a thumbs up before leaping away.

Seiichirou started in panic, "H-hey! Wait! Don't just run off with Kamui-san! He's rather..."

The boy disappeared into the distance.

"...important," he finished lamely. As he recounted what had just happened, the wind caster's eyebrow twitched again. Some stranger had just taken Kamui right out of his arms. Granted, he had dropped the boy but that had been an accident. An accident induced by the "warrior of love". Twitch.

"We've got to stop that unnaturally genki guy before he does something to Kamui-san!" Seiichirou shouted without thinking. He rushed impulsively after the disappearing 'kidnapper'. The wind urging him onward and fueled by his own frantic worry, he soon caught sight of the boy just up ahead.

"Sorata-san, wait! Before I can let you go any further with Kamui-san--"

With a burst of speed, Seiichirou intercepted the boy, coming to stand between him and a white building.

"--I need some answers! Are you friend or foe? A Dragon of Heaven or a Dragon of Earth?" he finished.

An ambulance suddenly drove by, turning into the driveway of the white building. All the questions seemed suddenly foolish. He had been leading them to the hospital, after all.

"...So this is the hospital," Seiichirou muttered. He was abruptly aware of how wildly suspicious he had acted and acutely embarrassed because of it, "Gomen... gomen nasai... for doubting you... I don't know what must have overcome me..."

He trailed off into awkward silence. Then he realized that he had forgotten to introduce himself. Extending a hand, he said with what he hoped was a friendly smile, "My name is Aoki Seiichirou and I'm one of the Seven Seals."

"Arisugawa Sorata. Dragon of the Heaven, at your service," he gave Aoki an elaborate bow.

"Seems like your pretty little Yuzuriha found herself some trouble with a tall, broad-shouldered pretty boy who called himself 'Kamui'. He looks nothing like **THIS **Kamui, though," Sorata said, jabbing the smaller Kamui in the head with his finger.

* * *

As Kakyou stared at Yuurei, everything around him faded into almost non-existence. All his golden eyes saw was the man dressed in crimson. Neither of them said a word, it had been fifteen years yes, but there was no need. A million thoughts passed between them in those moments.

Kakyou's thoughts became muddled and when Yuurei was the first to look away, the dream-seer felt as if his heart were trying to be in two places at once. He was happy to see Yuurei and yet...he looked away first.. Had he done something wrong? Did Yuurei not love him anymore?

His thoughts spun like this until Kotori spoke up. Shaking his head slightly, he looked back down at the young girl.

"He is a friend...from long ago." he said softly, his voice low and almost monotone, betraying the fact that his heart was fluttering strangely and too many other emotions to name were coursing through him.

When Kotori called Yuurei over, Kakyou should have stopped her and given Yuurei a warning look, but he found that he could not. His voice was lost to him. All he could do now was move his eyes back to Yuurei. His eyes, though he could not tell, were full of an almost childish hope, pleading and begging him to walk closer.

At Kotori's invitation, Yuurei recoiled and turned his eyes to the ground, desperate for any trace of shadows to sink back into. It had been so long since he had spoken to anyone, not just those involved in the End of the World. And the aspect of suddenly holding a conversation now seemed...threatening. But his sanctuary of hiding places had been vanquished from the dream, and even in his heavy crimson cloak and the clothes that lay beneath, he felt utterly exposed.

But inadvertently his eyes were gradually drawn upward to meet those of his childhood friend. And what was it in those beautiful golden orbs that had haunted his own dreams for fifteen torturous years? Pain...but this was different. Was it...for him? No, he had seen the lovely dream seer scream Sumeragi Hokuto's name so many times in the past...but never his. Rarely had he heard his own name mentioned. So had Kakyou remembered him after all?

Slowly, with forcibly steady hands, he lifted his arms and curled his fingers around the hem of his hood, pulling it down ever so gingerly to reveal his slender ashen face and burning crimson eyes. Stringy raven hair spilled over his shoulders and now hung almost to his waist, instead of its old shoulder-length when he was ten years old. His eyes were soft and tender, though filled with confusion and a long-since-buried longing.

He took a step forward, and then another, and then another. Always slow, always steady, always ever in control. This time he did not wrest his eyes from Kakyou's stunning gaze; he was not sure he could have if he had wanted to. For years on end, all he had wanted was to reach out and take the forsaken dream seer into his arms...to banish his ever loneliness, along with his own. But his fate had held him back. And now that he had finally broken that barrier, he could barely bring himself to look the man in the eyes.

He stopped no more than three paces away from the dear, sweet friend of his childhood. He could almost feel Kakyou's eyes burning a hole through the very core of his soul. How in the name of the heavens had he managed to keep away for this long?

"Ka...Kakyou-kun..." Only the deep roughness of the course voice convinced him it was his own. He had not used it in years, it seemed, not even in his dreams. Strange how one's real life disabilities seemed to always weigh down in some manner even beyond that tangible world.

So what else could he say? Truly nothing else was needed. Even for the short period of time they had grown so close, they could practically read each other's minds. A thousand memories, a thousand wishes, a thousand promises...all came flooding back to him.

At length he found that scraggly scrap of voice left somewhere in him. "Gomen nasai," he murmured huskily, struggling with all his might not to let his unexercised tone break with the few words. "Gomen nasai..."

Golden eyes met crimson head on. And when Yuurei removed his hood, the dream seer almost gasped out loud. The Watcher's dark midnight hair spilled down over his back and moved in the brief wind. Kakyou now took the time to study Yuurei's face and what he found there surprised him. The face was as he remembered it from years ago but now there were harsh plains and new lines. With a sudden realization, the golden-eyed dream seer suddenly understood that Yuurei had aged. With that thought came another, had it been because of him? Kakyou then too realized that Yuurei wasn't the only one that had aged.. So had he...

But those thoughts faded quickly, like the ocean breezes that came and went and were never the same as the ones before it. The eyes were all that mattered, Kakyou concluded as they locked onto Yuurei's again. He saw in those red eyes a mirror image of his own emotions...

As Yuurei walked closer and closer, his steps like always measured, Kakyou's hand clenched into fists at his side. His mind was so jumbled again that he couldn't think straight, his thoughts dashing wildly around in his head like hummingbirds. His stomach had never been so full of butterflies... and when Yuurei stopped a few feet in front of him, Kakyou found that he couldn't even step forward toward him. He was rooted to the spot.

When Yuurei spoke Kakyou's name, the dream seer let out the breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding. The voice had not been used in years and the husky quality sent a shiver down Kakyou's spine. He forced himself to take the last steps toward Yuurei and slowly, ever so slowly, Kakyou raised his hand and touched the ashen cheek with delicate fingertips. "There is no need to be sorry." he whispered softly. "You are here now and that is all that matters to me. You kept your promise."

* * *

Suddenly without warning, a hand burst through the door and seized the girl by the neck, pulling her toward the door. Fuuma's eyes glowed from behind the glass, meeting Satsuki's.

"That was very rude of you wasn't it little girl? Peeking on a private party you weren't invited to." A passing car shined light, showing Satsuki that Fuuma wasn't smiling for once. His expression was very grave in fact, annoyed with this girl being so inconsiderate.

It was enough to make Fuuma let her join the people who were inside. The light suddenly turned on, revealing the bodies of the shop's occupants and the blood which now painted the wall. He should kill this one...but not as fast as the others...He would be helping her then not punishing her.

This night had been the most enjoyable Seishirou had experienced in a long time. Just a relaxing night out, eating ramen and drinking green tea, chatting about the end of the world, and holding an occasional contest to see who could blow up the most booths in the shop the quickest. It was the night he had always dreamed of, but never had the companion to carry it out. And now here he was, with the leader of the Dragons of Earth--Kamui--and having the time of his life.

Reclining in a booth, Seishirou took a casual sip of his tea as Fuuma suddenly turned cold and burst his hand through the door, yanking in the very familiar form of Yatouji Satsuki. The sudden combination of obvious surprise and panic on her face brought a dark smile to his face. She had been involved with Kigai's dealings with Subaru while still in the basement of the Metropolitan Government building, as he very well knew. The scare might do her some good.

Setting the mug on the bloodstained table, Seishirou let out an amused snicker. "So, what shall we do with her? Add her to the pile? Or...perhaps something more...interesting?"

Satsuki choked as Fuuma's hand fell across her throat, not expecting the sudden onslaught. Her eyes widened in alarm and she clawed at her captor's wrist in panic, trying to loosen Fuuma's iron grip before she was strangled to death. She had to find a way to distract his attention so that she could get away, and fast.

The technological genius shoved one hand into her pocket and quickly grasped her cell phone, punching a code of numbers into the button panel. Immediately, the lights in the ceiling above Fuuma exploded, creating a burst of sparks above Fuuma's head. Taking advantage of the distraction, Satsuki shoved him away with all her might. She staggered backwards, gasping for air as she clutched at her throat. She felt her body hit the wall behind her as she backed away; there was nowhere for her to escape.

As she looked from Fuuma to Seishirou, she noted distractedly that the two men had finished off all of the occupants of the small restaurant. Well, so much the better; now there were fewer humans polluting the Earth. She just hoped that they wouldn't finish her off as well.

Willing herself to keep calm, she pulled on her usual cool expression and straightened up. If she had to die for her mission, at least she would do so gracefully; she wasn't about to get down on her knees and beg for her life.

Satsuki looked Fuuma in the eyes, trying to act braver than she felt. His eyes were an eerie golden amber color, bright yet cold and chilling at the same time. She shuddered involuntarily.

"You are the Twin Star, the Kamui," Satsuki spoke, addressing Fuuma as calmly as possible. "I am a Dragon of Earth. We are on the same side."

Hopefully, the Kamui wouldn't kill her now that he knew that she was one of the Angels… although Satsuki had a feeling that it didn't matter whether or not she was, and that he would kill her anyways. Seishirou, damn him, wasn't helping at all. In fact, Satsuki had a sinking feeling that should the Kamui choose to kill her, the Sakurazukamori would join in on the fun as well. She struggled on bravely.

"The dream walker Kanoe is gathering together all of the Dragons fighting for the sake of the Earth. If you would please, she would like to meet you, the Kamui of the Seven Angels."

Fuuma left go of her as the sparks fell on him. He couldn't help but smile at the impudence of this girl. The fact she would try something against someone she knew to be stronger than her intrigued him. He narrowed his, sending a Telekinetic blast with enough power to knock her into cement...the support bars tearing upward and wrapping around her legs. He chuckled slightly and opened the door, which was followed by the standard "ding" from the door bell.

"You are one of the Dragons? You are very rude, you know that? Snooping in other people's business like you're some sort of royalty" Fuuma walked casually into the street, looking as a car skid toward him. He blinked and the car burst into flames, the explosion somehow avoiding the girl and Fuuma. The flames burnt around them, as the bars forced Satsuki's legs apart. Fuuma smiled darkly, kneeling next to her. His cold eyes met hers. "Next time, these same bars will pull so hard, you'll be two people...And that's just the finale." Fuuma stood up once more and released the bars, looking into the flames and the chaos he had just caused. He turned and smiled friendly at Satsuki. "So just treat me with a little respect and We'll get along fine."

Smiling casually as though nothing out of the ordinary had ever occurred, Seishirou leaned back to spread his arm across the length of the booth's back. He would not let Fuuma go so far as to kill the girl genius, but for now it was amusing to see her writhing to get away.When the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth wrapped the steel bars around Satsuki's ankles with a blink of his eyes, Seishirou let out a curt scoff. His powers had been fully awakened, for sure. And when Fuuma dragged her out of the little shop, Seishirou stretched a bit before getting to his feet to follow.

Outside in the smoky air produced by the flames of the sudden wreck, he leaned against the brick wall of the row of shops and indifferently lit another cigarette. He had little interest in taking part in the girl's torture, but it was still fun to watch. Breathing out a stream of smoke through his nostrils, a twisted smile covered his chalky features.

"Hai, she's one of the Seven Angels," he confirmed in a plain voice, not at all seeming to be aware that the girl's life was on the line. When Fuuma released her from the temporary trap, his grin only broadened. "Run swift and sure, little mouse, for the cat is not far behind..."

* * *

"Are you saying you're incapable of any emotion?" Subaru cocked an eyebrow at the young, beautiful man. "Just because I'm a Dragon of the Heaven doesn't mean..." Subaru's voice drifted off.

"It is exactly what I'm saying." One end of the cloth slid up, concealing Nataku's eyes like a blindfold. But why? Perhaps to hide something there? Or maybe just...because. Sometimes there were no real reasons for things. He waited for Subaru to finish his thought aloud, and when moments passed in silence, prodded him to continue. "What exactly does being a Dragon of Heaven mean?" Nataku knew the basics, of course. That they were intent on saving humanity. That they were the flip side of the same coin, and for all logical purposes, enemies. But beyond that...he can't imagine. He also must wonder about the other Dragons of Earth, those true born humans of man and woman. They were even more like the ones they were to fight and destroy. Did this put his 'teammates' at a disadvantage? In the end, did it even matter?

"Tell me...are you a Dragon of Heaven because you want to be, or because you were fated to be?" Nataku tilted his head gently with the question. There is more than one way to defeat your enemy, ways that didn't involve physical combat. Could he make Subaru question this a little more deeply? "Because if you really don't want to fight, it makes no sense to do so. And if you don't fight...I won't have to kill you." Nataku's tone remained gentle. It wasn't a threat.

Subaru thought about it for a minute. With his sister dead, with his only love a psychopath, why should he have to fight and risk his life for strangers? Most of them unappreciated at that.

"I…don't know," Subaru admitted.

"Think about it." Or more correctly, think about it some more. Nataku could tell that it was all weighing heavily on the man's heart. A Dragon of Heaven...perhaps it was a heavier burden than Nataku had ever considered before.

"Until then, I won't fight you." Nataku stepped onto the edge of the building, peering down at the sidewalk below. The others might not like this...treaty that he was forging. But if it worked out, it would mean one less seal, and surely they wouldn't protest that. He looked back at the man once more. "What is your name?" Perhaps he had some natural curiosity in him after all.

Subaru contemplated the young man's words. Did he even want to fight for the end of this world? Why should it matter to him what would happen to this unappreciative Earth and the people on it? He glanced up at the stars once more."Sumeragi Subaru." He turned to the young man. "And yours?"

"I am called Nataku." The corners of his pale lips twitched, as if they wanted to curl up into a smile. Maybe he found amusement in his own name. The Chinese god...the one with no soul.

"I'm torn, Sumeragi Subaru. And part of me hopes that we never see one another ever again." Because it would mean that they wouldn't have to fight. But at the same time, he was hesitating, intending to leave several minutes ago. Yet here he remained.

"Never meet again?" It took Subaru a minute to figure out what he  
meant by those words. If they never met, they would never fight.

"Just because we are on opposing sides," Subaru said, pulling a cigarette out of his trench coat, "doesn't mean we have to fight." He lit his cigarette.

"Want one?" Subaru asked, offering Nataku the carton.

The smoke curled about Nataku, and he reached his hand out as if he thought he could touch it. It dispersed, floating away into the night sky.

"No thank you." He was on the verge of giving the other man a lecture on the facts of smoking, how vulnerable the human body was to it. But...maybe not.

"You mean...being enemies doesn't mean you have to fight? I don't understand."

* * *

Hinoto looked at Kamui as he spoke. "Yes, Fuuma is your twin star. Your opposite, the one to fill the void when you chose, but he has chosen already. He is a Dragon of Earth now and now you are a Dragon of Heaven. As my dreams have shown me, though they have gone by a different path.."

She looked down, now not wanting to meet his cold, calculating gaze. "You will battle him, in order to save this Earth.. and only one will live. There can only be one fate.." her soft voice trailed off and she looked at Kamui again, her eyes showing no emotion.

"What do you mean he's become a Dragon of Earth!? He would never do such a thing!" shouted Kamui in disbelief. "Your lying to me! Just like you did last time!"

Feeding off his anger, Kamui managed to charge his fist with what remaining energy he had. There was no for him to kill her with what little power he had, especially in the dream world. But maybe it would be enough to get his point across.

"I want to see Fuuma with my own eyes. Let me out of this dream now. Or do I have to force my way out like last time?"

* * *

Subaru shook his head, exhaling deeply. "Just because we're on opposing sides doesn't mean we're enemies. Although we both fight for a different cause, that won't stop us from using our own judgment or making our own decisions." Subaru brought his cigarette to his lips and inhaled.

"Judgment. Decisions." Nataku repeated the words, his eyes focusing on something in the not too far distance. "You make it sound so easy." Again the smoke curled around him, causing his nose to twitch.

"It IS easy." Subaru blew circles of smoke from his lips. "It's INSTINCTIVE."

"I do what I'm told to do. What I was created to do. I'm...I'm not like others. I'm not like you." Nataku's eyes slide over to Subaru before focusing on a particular ring of smoke. "If I don't do these things, there's no need for my existence. I simply become...unimportant."

Subaru smiled. "Have you ever thought of doing something you weren't told to do? Or not doing what you were told to do?"

Nataku blinked, tilting his head at the question. "Why would I do that?" It was an odd concept, and it showed in what expression he did have. Obviously, he'd never thought of it. "What are the advantages of acting on such thoughts? Tell me, I want to know."

"When you make mistakes, you know they are your own." Subaru brought his cigarette to his lips. "You can make choices, and know when something good comes of it, that you helped to MAKE that good."

"Making something good...is a matter of opinion, don't you think?" Nataku looked down, watching as a couple of young girls chattered happily while strolling along the sidewalk. "Perhaps my idea of making something good is to remove a couple of parasites from this planet. But you wouldn't think that was good at all, would you?"

"True...but if you can make yourself happy, and the people you care about the most happy, the happiness of others really shouldn't be questioned, should it?"

"I can't be happy. And I care about no one." Nataku crouched down, leaping from the building to land silently a few feet behind the girls. They didn't know he was there...he could kill them without them ever knowing...but there was no desire to do so. Nataku watched as they continued on their way, before looking up to Subaru.

"You can't be happy?" Subaru stifled a laugh. "You're living, aren't you? All living things have the capacity to be happy. Maybe you just don't THINK you can be." Subaru exhaled deeply.

"Nothing's made me happy yet." The girls...how they giggled, and appeared so happy. The one he was cloned from, wouldn't she be around that age by now? Would she be like them? "That...is all that I know." He sighed, running a hand through his hair before continuing. "What makes a Dragon of Heaven happy?"

"I don't know what makes a Dragon of Heaven happy, but I can tell you what makes ME happy." Subaru flicked the remains of the cigarette to the ground, crushed it with his foot, pulled out another cigarette, lit it, and started smoking again. "Memories of my sister, and...Seishirou."

"I don't have a sister. And I don't know Seishirou." Hmm. So goes the chance for his happiness. For a moment, he blinks, and thinks of...someone. His expression changes, though he does his best to conceal it.

Subaru didn't notice Nataku's sudden expression change. "Happiness comes from a different source for everyone. My sister and Seishirou may not be the source of your happiness, but I'm sure that you'll find SOMEONE who can make you happy." Subaru exhaled, "...at least that's what **I **think."

Laughter went through Nataku's mind, not his of course, but the laughter of someone else. He slid his hands up again, trying to cover his ears against it without luck. He didn't **need **happiness. It would only bring him more trouble in the end. He would fight it...or at least try. "Happiness...leads to destruction."

"What?" Subaru thought he wasn't hearing correctly. Was something wrong with Nataku? Suddenly, he was acting awfully strange... He threw his half-finished cigarette on the ground and approached Nataku, eyes filled with concern. "Nataku-san...are you all right?"

Nataku squeezed his eyes shut for a few moments, and when he opened them, they were clear again. His arms returned to hang straight at his sides, his head turning slowly to observe Subaru, noting his concern. "Hai. I'm fine."

"You didn't seem fine." Subaru put an hand on Nataku's shoulder. "You sure you're all right?"

"There's no reason to be concerned." His voice became soft and even again, as Nataku glanced away from the hand on his shoulder. "I assure you, all my systems are fine. And I'm not injured." So how could anything be wrong with him?

Subaru nodded reluctantly and pulled away before picking his half- finished cigarette off the ground and re-lighting it. After bringing the cigarette to his lips and taking a puff, he began to cough uncontrollably.

"You really should think about giving those things up. They'll kill you." There was an irony there that even Nataku couldn't resist. And though his lips might not smile, his eyes certainly seemed to be.

Subaru managed to choke out between coughs, "Not...funny." After he recovered, he found his hand covered in slick, red blood. Not a good sign.

"Hmm. It seems I'm the one who should have been asking you if you're alright." Nataku's eyes raise from the blood covered hand to Subaru's face. "Does this happen often?"

"Not usually," Subaru sighed. "Moments like this remind me why I hate fighting."

"This happened as a result of a battle?" He questioned, tilting his head curiously before glancing up. In a leap, he was standing atop a telephone pole, and settled there, curling one leg beneath him.

"Yes." Subaru replied. "When I was younger, Hokuto-onee-san used to always over-react when I came back injured. But I think now, it hurts a lot more now than it ever did back then, despite how weak I was." Subaru placed a hand over his heart. "...My chest hurts."

"Go home. Rest. If it gets worse, go to a doctor." Nataku practically sounds like a doctor himself. He stands, feeling a little week himself, and it was starting to show. He'd been out of his...tube for too long. "Survive so that we can meet again, Sumeragi Subaru."

Subaru smiled. "It's a promise." He leapt from building to building until he finally reached the hospital.

He recognized one of the figures atop the hospital building as another Dragon of Heaven. Seiichirou Aoki. The other he didn't recall ever seeing.

He stood in the shadows, watching for a minute to make sure this wasn't another confrontation with the Dragons of the Earth.

* * *

The younger man's hands were icy against his cheek, and it sent a cold shiver down Yuurei's spine. The look in the dream seer's eyes...the touch of his skin...the sound of his voice...he remembered. Tentatively Yuurei leaned into the touch and narrowed his eyes as his lips slowly hinted at a melancholy smile. Still he said nothing...he did not trust his voice.

Kakyou smiled a bit, when he felt the Watcher lean into the touch of his hand. And when he smiled, a Yuurei smile, no tone full of happiness but of something akin to happiness… Kakyou almost became lost. He was floating and he didn't know how to return to the ground. Kotori was for the moment forgotten as Kakyou smiled softly back and said, "I didn't think I'd ever see you again. My dreams do not always show me what I want to see. And yet you are here. Real."

Everything faded gently into the background, and Yuurei only had eyes for Kakyou. Parting his lips ever so slightly, he forced out the voice that had been quiet for so long. "I never left you, Kakyou-kun. I never stopped watching over you. Every moment of every day...I wanted so desperately to show myself to you, but it was forbidden. Even now I am at great risk." He shook his had and lifted a hand to stroke the dream seers stray silver locks behind his ear with his knuckles, then lowered a finger to brush ginger over the younger man's soft, pale lower lip. "But Fate is irrelevant to me now. I don't want the responsibility, and I don't care about the world's future. I can live contently knowing that you are not in pain."

Kakyou now found himself mimicking Yuurei's movement as he leaned into the light caress. The words that the crimson-eyed watcher whispered made the dream seer's golden eyes widened. He had been here all this time and had not come forward.

_ Hinoto...you put him up to this didn't you.._

Kakyou's eyes narrowed at that thought. But he let it pass for the moment and concentrated only on Yuurei'swords. They were like a balm on Kakyou's soul. Each word...it almost didn't matter what he was saying, Kakyou was happy just to hear his voice again...to feel the older man's touch..

"You have never been one to care for fate much." Kakyou said lightly, his own hand moving to curl itself around the Yuurei's neck..

As the Yume-mi's soft hand slid to the back of his neck, Yuurei nearly choked on his own breath. A torrent of sweet memories came rushing into his mind...of days long since past when Kakyou used to touch him like that. But they had been naught but children then, and those affections had been innocent games of youthful friendship.

Inadvertently he felt his free hand shifting to rest on Kakyou's waist, then slowly wrapping around his middle to draw him closer. His eyelids grew drowsy from the moment, though his heart was palpitating in his throat. He remembered the time so many dreams ago when the seven-year-old dream seer had kissed him playfully, not even knowing what it meant. But now...everything had changed. As he leaned down and tipped the man's chin upward toward him, he found that he could hardly breathe. "Kakyou-kun...I..." His husky voice drifted off, and he could not finish.

Kakyou suddenly melted, if Yuurei hadn't been holding him up the dream seer might have fallen to his knees. He let himself be pulled in, closer and closer until they were mere inches apart. The older man suddenly tilted his chin toward him and tried to speak, but like Kakyou, found that he could not. He remembered another time then, another place as he stared into Yuurei's crimson eyes...

**-FLASHBACK-**

When he became aware of his dream at last, he dashed down the path of a very familiar park, the special place his mind always retreated to these days. It was of his own making, but it was their place.

Yuurei was already waiting for him, leaning against that same tree, hands shoved in the pockets of his black trousers, a thick cape of the same color pulled around his sinewy frame. The tall boy was almost three whole years older than Kakyou, but that made no difference. When he saw him coming, Yuurei grinned and stepped away from the trunk, spreading his arms to catch Kakyou in a tender embrace.

Falling eagerly into his open arms, Kakyou laughed light-heartedly as the older boy swung him around in the air. Patiently he waited for the initial tumult to subside, then said in an ardent voice, "Sit down. I want to show you something."

Steadily Yuurei took a seat in the soft bed of grass, no trace of hesitance written upon his naturally ashen features. He was eternally composed. It seemed nothing could shake him. Tranquilly he watched Kakyou and awaited an explanation.

But Kakyou shook his head. "Close your eyes first." When the older boy had obeyed, Kakyou knelt down before him and stared at the lovely face for a moment. Complete faith. Yuurei trusted him. Leaning forward with languid eyes, he nearly jumped when it happened. His lips made contact with the ghost's warm mouth, and for a moment he forgot how to move. When at last he backed away, Yuurei was staring at him with an expression of utmost perplexity.

"What was that for?" the boy said in astonishment, though no trace of anger or apprehension was present in his tenor. His voice was calm and inviting, his eyes full of question.

Settling into a cross-legged position, Kakyou inhaled deeply to explain. "I read it in a book today. When somebody loves someone else, they kiss. A kiss on the lips means the most special kind of love."

Yuurei's eyes had grown wide with the first few words. "You...love me?"

Kakyou paused to cock his head to the side. "Well, yes." At first it seemed like a silly question, but then his ivory eyebrows shot up in realization. "Is that bad?"

"No," the boy answered slowly, apparently deep in thought. "I'm just surprised. Do you know what the most special kind of love is?"

Again he furrowed his brow in confusion. "It means you love that person the most." But even as he said it, a thought occurred to him that had not before entered his mind. Suddenly he felt his face burning with shame, and he looked down in humiliation as his chest began to tremble. "Oh, I'm sorry. I guess you don't love me too." What a fool he had been, believing such a wild notion was possible.

A gentle hand touched his cheek, and he looked up to find himself gazing into those stunning scarlet eyes. Before he could mutter another embarrassed apology, his lips were suddenly overtaken by the most incredible sensation he had ever experience.

When Yuurei backed away, a tender smile swept across his smooth features. "Not only are you the one I love most...you are the only one I love, Kakyou."

**-END FLASHBACK-**

Kakyou's other hand slide to join the first and lifting himself a bit, whispered, "I love you." And then brushed his lips lightly against Yuurei's..

The words rang through his mind like a chorus of church bells in a deserted cathedral. He sucked in his breath in wide-eyed shock. Kakyou loved him? What about all those times he had screamed for Hokuto Sumeragi? But at that moment it ceased to matter. They were here...now...after so long. Yuurei had only dreamed of such a reunion.

And then their lips met. It was not a deep kiss, nor barely a kiss at all for that matter. Yuurei leaned down, and the tips of their lips brushed together. He did not close in...only paused for a brief moment to relish the feeling as he rubbed the thumb of his hand gently over the dream seer's soft cheek and jaw line.

"Ai..." He would have said it. He would have said it over and over again, whispering and shouting it in every possible variation. He loved Kakyou; he had always loved Kakyou. And he wanted now more than ever to say it, and he was ready... But that was when it happened.

The sudden pain in his head caused him to lurch back in unexpected terror. It seared through his mind, and he let out sustained, tumultuous groan as his hands were intuitively seized from the beautiful Yume-mi's slender form to clutch his throbbing head. In mind-numbing agony, he sank to his knees with a sharp cry. Why now? Why did it have to be now? Grasping handfuls of his stringy raven hair, he curled over himself until his forehead nearly touched the ground. He could not think, he could not see. Everything was gone. He could sense Kakyou's presence, but his eyes failed him. All he knew was torturous pain.

Kakyou heard the beginnings of the three words he already knew coming from Yuurei's soft lips but before he had time to utter them, the man in crimson suddenly removed his hands and clutched his head. Kakyou felt immediate alarm and moved away. Then Yuurei screamed, and at that Kakyou shuddered from his very core. A bitter bile began to clog his throat as he fell onto his knees next to the older man, panic evident in his face and his golden eyes wide with fear. It was as if when Kakyou had told the man for the first time in fifteen years that he loved him, that fate decided to step in and punish the one man that he knew in his heart that he couldn't save. A cry, mirroring Yuurei's own agony burst from his lips before he could stop it and tears began to stream down his cheeks.

It was Fate. In the back of his mind, Yuurei knew it could never last. Turning himself inward forcibly, he saw its cause: Kamui's Gemini had finally been fully awakened. The Sakurazukamori was with him, and they were playing with their fellow Angel Yatouji Satsuki's life. Elsewhere, the second battle between Kigai Yuuto and Arisugawa Sorata was drawing near. Yuurei had been present for the first. He would have to be there for this one as well. Fate would not permit him to escape the calling.

With every ounce of strength he could manage, he looked up through eyes that had begun to trickle blood as he fought against Fate itself to stare into Kakyou's horrified gaze. "I'm sorry...I...can't..." So much more he wanted to say...had to say. But Fate pressed, and he could not break away. So with a shuddered moan of agonizing remorse, he lowered his head to the ground again and willed his powers to tear him away from the dream...away from Kakyou's arms...away from the one he loved so much.

And like an uttered breath swallowed by the wind...he was gone.


	20. Chapter 18: Dilemma

**Chapter Eighteen: Dilemma**

Karen sighed in relief as the two Dragons of Earth walked off in the opposite direction. So they wouldn't have to worry about them after all. Karen focused her attention on the two unconscious teenagers again. Seiichirou had the same thoughts, apparently, as he began speaking–

_"HEY! You guys know a girl in a school uniform?"_

Karen's head jerked up in surprise, and she jumped up to face the person who had spoken. "Girl in a school uniform?!" Karen exclaimed. "That's Yuzuriha-san! What have you done to her?!"

From then on, everything was thrown into confusion as everyone started talking at once. Arashi immediately spoke up for the first time, demanding of the newcomer information about Yuzuriha's whereabouts. Meanwhile, the young man – Sorata, his name was? – had somehow gotten Kamui out of Seiichirou's arms and onto his back without her noticing, distracted as she was.

"Kasumi-san, do you think he's a Seal?" Seiichirou asked her, quietly enough so that Sorata wouldn't hear. "I have a feeling that he may be involved with the Fate of the World…"

Karen opened her mouth to respond, but before she could speak a word, the newcomer bounded off over the buildings – with Kamui. "Wait! Young man – Sorata-san! Where are you going with Kamui-kun?!" Karen called after the young man, sudden panic striking her. What if this Sorata was one of the Dragons of Earth? She didn't even know who he was. She couldn't let him just run off with Kamui like that!

As if he were reading her mind, Seiichirou instantly leaped into the air and hurtled after the boy. "We've got to stop that unnaturally genki boy before he does something to Kamui-san!" he shouted as he sped away after him.

A thought suddenly occurred to Karen as Seiichirou was rushing off. "Wait! Aoki-san, come back!" Karen shouted in concern. "What about…" She trailed off as she watched the brown-suited man disappear off into the distance.

"…Kamui-kun's friend?" Karen finished, to nobody in particular.

The red-haired woman looked down at the blonde girl, who was still lying unconscious on the floor. Somehow, Karen would have to get this girl to the hospital as well. And that presented a problem.

Karen most certainly was not the frail and fragile type, but she wasn't strong enough to jump from building to building while carrying the girl to the hospital, either. Just because she had incredible magical powers didn't mean that she had incredible physical strength  
as well. And on top of that, Karen had no idea where the hospital was; there was no way that she could follow the others now. Well, she'd just have to get to the hospital in another way.

She looked over at the raven-haired girl who was still standing next to her; thankfully, Arashi hadn't run off after the men. "Arashi-san, do you know where the hospital is?" Karen asked, hoping that the girl would know. "If you don't, we'll have to find a taxi. But-" the fire caster grimaced "-I don't know if we can find one with all of this destruction." She indicated the ruined buildings surrounding them with her hand.

Karen bent down and put her arms under the unconscious blonde girl, lifting her up as best as she could. She silently thanked God that the girl was so thin; if she had been any heavier, Karen didn't think that she would have been able to lift her up at all. But would she be able to make it all the way to the hospital with the girl in her arms? Karen looked anxiously at Arashi.

"On second thought, maybe it would still be better if we tried to find a taxi. I don't think I can carry this girl all the way to the hospital like this."

Arashi glared at Sorata. Just WHO was he?

"Hey!!" she screamed after him. He had winked at her, and then vanished. Aoki was right- how genki. She turned to Karen.

"Karen-san, I think that we might.." But Karen was already ahead of her.

"…Kamui-kun's friend?" Karen said.

Arashi smiled. "Just what I was thinking." She walked over to Kotori. "Men..." she muttered under her breath. Even the spirit dog had left them.

"Arashi-san, do you know where the hospital is?"

Arashi's cold eyes followed Karen's hand. "I think that we might be able to catch up if we hurry. I do believe that I remember seeing one on the way to the DIET building." Arashi looked at Karen's anxious eyes. "Hand her to me?"

Arashi extended her arms, and took the girl from Karen. "She is a bit heavy." Arashi's mind tried to think of something quickly, as she gently placed Kotori back on the ground.

"Well, we could both take turns carrying her, but it still might be wise for the taxi." Arashi said. She walked to the street and scanned it. It was empty.

"Can we even find one..." she mumbled.

* * *

Kotori just stood, watching the scene. She would not interrupt them. It was obvious that they loved each other. And she didn't mind the momentary ignorance of herself.

She just stayed quiet.

Suddenly, Kakyou was crying, and Yuurei was screaming. What had just happened. Kotori wanted to run over, to see if everything was okay. But she held back. She knew that this was something that they needed to do alone. Even though it was killing her not to run to the couple.

Then, he was gone. Yuurei had disappeared so quickly, Kotori wasn't sure how he had left exactly. She walked slowly over to Kakyou. And she placed a fragile hand on his shoulder. It was all she could do. Kotori stood there, touching him slightly- to where it was almost as if she wasn't touching him at all- and she was quiet.

"A- ano..." she whispered to the older male.

Kakyou could barely see Yuurei anymore, his golden eyes were so full of tears. He wanted to reach out...to take the man into his arms and comfort him, like the watcher had done many years before for him. The dream seer could no longer tear his eyes away from the dreadful sight, even if he had wanted to. And at Yuurei's whispered words, he shook his blond head. "No...it is I who should be sorry.." He reached out with a shaking hand as if to touch the dark head, but before his hand was barely lifted from the ground, Yuurei was gone.. Kakyou's hand now fell back on to the rocky ledge. The energy drained out of him in one long rush, as if it were being sapped by a force that could never return it to him. The dream seer bowed his head wearily and sobbed from deep within his chest, the tears falling unheeded into his black slacks and the white trench coat that had billowed out around him.

Suddenly, he felt something come to rest on his shoulder. The touch was as light as a butterfly. Startled, he gazed up into the face of Kotori, tears still streaming down his cheeks.

It was as she spoke that Kakyou finally remember she was still here. He moved one of his arms upward, and gripped the hand on his shoulder as if it were a lifeline. He gazed at her face, golden eyes intense. But then his eyes unfocused and seemed to be staring off at something in the distance, as he whispered in a husky voice past the lump that resided in his throat, "There can still only be one Sadame, one destiny...Why?" His voice now rose in pitch and he tilted his head back to scream at the gulls soaring high above, "WHY?!!?"

Kotori's heart hurt as Kakyou looked at her, tears falling from the corner of his eyes. His hand gripped over hers, and she just stared at him for a moment.

It was as if he were looking at her, but Kotori knew that he wasn't. He was staring at something far off, and she was tempted to look over her shoulder to see what it was. But her eyes couldn't leave his own.

_"There can still only be one Sadame, one destiny...Why?"_

Kotori tilted her head slightly. "But, it's not yet set...destiny..."

Then, Kakyou's voice rose louder, screaming, "WHY!!?", and Kotori leaned back some. She knew that he was hurting, and she felt it, but...what could she say to him. She glanced up, her eyes watching as the gulls overhead moved about at the sudden outburst.

She didn't understand. She didn't know the story of what Kakyou was talking about. But destiny, she knew something about that.

"Destiny isn't decided yet." she said again, coming closer to Kakyou again. She wrapped her arms around him briefly, hugging him- the way that she wished she would've been hugged more in her life in times like this.

Kakyou shuddered within the young woman's arms. His chin fell against his chest and he took a deep breath, trying to quell the emotions and the tears.

"I wish that I could believe you." He said softly, staring at the hand that rested in his lap, as if mesmerized by the long white finger. "But in my dreams...destiny is already decided. And I find now that is not the destiny I want. Yet there is no way to change it. At least nothing that I can do.." The golden-eyed dream seer trailed off, leaving the last sentence unfinished. Kotori's compassion and her complete trust that fate wasn't yet decided was surrounding him and the words she spoke echoed over and over within his soul. He couldn't help but have a faint hope that maybe destiny could be changed...

At those thoughts, Kakyou shook his head and letting go of Kotori's hand, struggled to stand up. His knees were still weak, but they held his weight. He wiped vainly at his cheeks to try and remove the last vestige of tears but when his fingers brushed across his lips, they became misty again.

He turned toward the girl then and said in a voice that was soft yet firm, "There is nothing that can change fate. Nothing."

* * *

Hinoto looked at him. "It is true. Please Kamui you must let me help you."

"I want to see Fuuma with my own eyes. Let me out of this dream now. Or do I have to force my way out like last time?" Kamui demanded.

Hinoto sighed, her voice quiet. "No, I will not keep you here. But you must at least try and become used to the fact that you are now a Dragon of Heaven."

Kamui turned away. Even is he was a Dragon of Heaven, none of this end of the world non sense mattered much at the moment. Fuuma and Kotori were more important than anything right now. As soon as he saw their faces and knew they were alright, then maybe then he would consider caring about any of this.

"Are you done rambling?" asked Kamui impatiently. "Just let me out of this damn place already..."

The light faded around him and Kamui could feel himself returning to his body. At first he didn't realize where he was, he felt numb and he could barely move. A sudden string of jabs to his head seemed to bring him back to his senses.

Kamui reached out almost instantly, Kamui grabbed Sorata by the wrist and clenched it tightly with whatever strength he had left. "Do that again...and I'll brake your hand off..."choked Kamui.

His vision blurred as his eyes tried to adjust to his surrounding. "Where...where am I? Where's Fuuma?...and Kotori?"

Kamui made attempt to get back on his feet but only feel back down from the strain." S-shimatta..." he gasped.

"Itai-itai-itai-itai-itai!" Sorata tried to jerk his hand away. Finally, Kamui released his grasp, allowing Sorata to shake his arm to numb the pain. He checked his arm for any abrasions or bruises, and found there to be none.

"Ehhhh, I don't know anybody by the name of Kotori. But your 'Fuuma' or 'Kamui' or whoever he is sure pulled a number on the gal," Sorata responded. "...didn't seem like a very nice guy to me."

Kamui looked up at the man. He didn't really recognize this new face, but if her knew anything about Fuuma then he was going to get as much answers from him.

"Who are you? What did you do to Fuuma?" he asked.

"Me?" with wide eyes, Sorata pointed to himself, looking around, as if Kamui could possibly be talking about someone else. "I--I did nothing to him! He just walked off!"

* * *

He sat up straight, panting ruggedly as sweat streamed down his face and neck in sheets. His pallid skin was cold and clammy; his flimsy black tank-top was drenched with perspiration. Struggling to catch his breath, he stared through his strands of damp ebon tresses and out into his real world surroundings.

Everything was just as he had left it, not that there was much that could have changed. A few dingy pieces of furniture adorned the tiny apartment room. He sat breathing haggardly on the sorry excuse for a bed--a low cot with nothing but a thin white sheet for covering. The single shade less window told him it was still night in reality, and after a moment of catching his breath, he glanced out of the corner of his eyes to gaze out at his high view of the world.

Had he possessed the will, he would have snarled. Tokyo was a mess. He hated cities. Always so crowded and so vulgar. He wished he could have been back in Kyoto, his birthplace...his home. When his parents had died when he was only a small child, Hinoto's voice had led him to the ruins of the ancient Shindatsukiyo Shrine. Deserted and in the middle of the enchanting forested mountains, he had lived by himself since then, performing his watchful duties only from his dreams. But for several years now, he had resided in this miserable dump in downtown Tokyo, so as to observe those involved in the End of the World from reality's viewpoint. There was little he would not have given to be able to return to his home in Kyoto. He had other wishes as well--ones that would also never be fulfilled.

A sharp pang in his head caused him to wince and jerk forward. "All right, all right, I'm going." Crawling numbly from the pallet, he stretched his tall, muscular frame and somehow managed to change tediously into a clean set of clothes. Loose black tee-shirt, baggy black breeches, black leather trench coat, and thick black boots. Then, donning his crimson cloak over the rest of the dark attire, he tied his long hair back loosely and pulled the hood over his head.

Out the window and into the forbidding night he leaped, springing lightly from building top to building top, his eyes ever fixed absently on his destination. But his mind was elsewhere. He had been forced to leave Kakyou to his lonely dream seeing, unable to save him or even reassure the younger man how he felt. He clenched his teeth doggedly and forbade the tears to invade his eyes. Hinoto had been right; he was a fool to let his emotions hinder his duties as the Watcher.

It was not long before he landed atop the roof of a small ramen shop along a strip of markets that lined a narrow street. Touching one knee and one hand to the surface to catch his descent, he stayed low to watch the events unfold. Monou Fuuma, now the cursed Twin Star of Kamui, was jeering at the computer genius Yatouji Satsuki as though they were enemies. Yuurei glanced briefly at the Sakurazukamori, who was looking on placidly as he put his thin cigarette to his smirking lips. He had witnessed as this man had torn Sumeragi Subaru's heart apart seven years earlier, had been there to see the wretched death of the Onmyouji's beloved sister Hokuto.

_-People are so cruel,- _he breathed silently, as he turned his eyes back on Fuuma. _-Maybe the world would be better off if humanity were erased from its surface. We only plague this beautiful Earth. Perhaps it would be better if we had never existed. At least then there would be no more pain...no more suffering...- _And as the fated Gemini cackled menacingly at his victim's terror, Yuurei could only look on helplessly. _-Fuuma...I still remember that day six years ago when you made your promise to Kamui and Kotori. Yes, even then I was there. And I knew this was coming, but still I could do nothing. If sacrificing my life could have saved you from this Fate...I would have given my life for you in an instant, even taken your place. May God forgive me...-  
_  
And, glancing away for a moment to clear his misty vision, the Watcher gathered his wits reluctantly about himself, and continued to observe...

* * *

Without a word, Yuuto watched with a slight grimace as Sorata and another man made off with Kamui. So much for promises. But he shrugged it off easily enough. He was in no shape to fight anyway.

Then his eyes fell to the three figures still present amidst the debris. From the shadows he watched as two young women of significant life forces tried to get their unconscious friend into the air, apparently to a hospital. He recognized the girl immediately as Kamui's young girlfriend. And his heart was filled with, not compassion exactly, but something akin to it.

He stepped forth to where they could see him, hands in pockets as his approached. Easily he stepped between them and lifted the girl into his arms. Even in his present condition, the sickly girl wasn't too much of a burden. "I know where the hospital is. Don't worry, I  
won't hurt her. I have no quarrel with you." He waited for their reply, knowing all too well their hesitation. He was, after all, their destined enemy.

* * *

Satsuki screamed in surprise and pain as the blast knocked her out of the shop and clear out into the street. She hit the cement hard, bruised and battered. The girl struggled to get away, but before she could do so, metal bars ripped out of the cement and tightly wrapped around her legs. She choked back a scream of fear as a car exploded into flames near her and fire erupted around her, the bars wrenching her legs apart at the same time. Flying pieces of debris from the wreckage struck her body, drawing blood.

Fuuma nonchalantly strolled over to her and bent down, looking into her eyes. _"Next time, these same bars will pull so hard, you'll be two people… and that's just the finale," _he said in a smooth, low voice, his golden eyes boring into hers. Satsuki repressed a shudder; she had never known before that anyone's eyes could be so cold and so menacing. She closed her eyes and waited for her death to come.

To her surprise, she felt the bars unwrapping themselves from her legs. Satsuki crumpled to the floor in a battered heap as the metal released her. _"Just treat me with a little respect and we'll get along fine,"_ Fuuma said to her as he stood up, flashing at her an  
attractive smile that seemed wildly inappropriate for the situation.

"H- h- hai," Satsuki choked out, too terrified to say anything else. It took her all of her willpower to resist her urge to scream and flee for her life. Satsuki briefly considered using her powers to distract Fuuma and make a break for it. It was quite a plausible idea, actually; there were plenty of wires and things with computer chips around the area that she could control. But she had a feeling that trying to do anything else would just provoke the Kamui and put her life into even more danger. Yes, she rationalized, the safest  
thing for her to do would be to simply stay where she was. Now if only she could convince herself to believe that.

_"Run swift and sure, little mouse, for the cat is not far behind…" _she heard Seishirou murmur in a silky voice. The girl shuddered involuntarily at his words and tightly shut her eyes, willing herself not to cry. She forced herself lie still on the floor where Fuuma had left her, praying that she would somehow escape from this with her life.

* * *

Talking to this man was getting him no where and Kamui was quickly getting frustrated. In normal cases like this, Kamui would have just flexed some of his power and would get the information he wanted. But in his current state, keeping himself conscious was hard enough.

"Fuuma..." he groaned as he struggled to his feet once more. Unfortunately, his legs wouldn't respond this time. As he sat there in silence, Kamui noticed that this man was giving off some kind of strange power. Could he be one of the Dragons of Earth? If this was the case, then there was very little he could do to defend himself.

Instead of worrying about it, he decided to try to get some answers from him once again. "W-who are you?" Kamui asked faintly.

* * *

Satsuki writhed on the ground while Fuuma continued to chuckle wickedly. He was taking pleasure in the young girl's pain-filled horror. At it caused Yuurei to seethe so bitterly, he found that his jaw was suddenly aching from clenching his teeth so tightly. At this rate the End of the World would come before the Dragons of Heaven even had a chance to get involved.

This was ridiculous. Yuurei was forbidden from even distracting Kamui's Gemini long enough for the computer genius to get away. He hated it from the very pits of his bowels. He had already trespassed on Fate's territory once that day. Perhaps this was a good day for taking risks.

Folding his hands together in the fashion of prayer, Yuurei formed a triangle with his thumbs and forefingers before his eyes. His crimson-black aura began to emanate around him, and his eyes began to glow the color of bloody sunsets. He would not interfere physically; that would be suicide in more ways than merely sacrificing his life.

"Ryu...Ten...Ryu...Chi..." The words of his enchantment spilled like frigid gusts of wind from his lips, and a moderate shield invisible even to naked eyes of Kamui's Twin Star extended down to Satsuki. It would do little for protection, but at least she would be able to hear his thoughts without the others catching any of what he had to say.

_-Yatouji-san,- _he breathed telepathically into her mind, the words crisp and firm amidst the panic of the moment. _-Listen carefully. You have to run now! I believe this Kamui is not ready to kill you, but you must leave this instant before he changes his mind. I can_  
_shield you for a few seconds, but if you wait any longer, I'll be forced to withdraw. Wakarimasu ka? Ima...hashite!-  
_  
Unfortunately, as he waited for her reaction, he failed to realize he had left his life force exposed...

As he stood idly against the wall inhaling at his cigarette, Seishirou paused suddenly as a new feeling shifted through the air. It had not been there an instant before, nor had he sensed it approach. It had just suddenly come into existence...like a ghost. A life force...of significant power. This was no mere mortal.

Stepping out of the shadows of the ramen shop's puny overhang, he glanced up to the rooftop. It took several moments before he saw him- -the figure lurking behind the curtain of darkness. The form was still nothing but a silhouette against the night, but it was enough.

Seishirou did not know what the figure was doing, nor did he care. Smirking at the chance for something to do, he darted down the street a ways before vaulting to the roof. The figure did not move; it did not notice him. Flicking his cigarette to the mortar surface and cramming the butt into the roof with the toe of his boot, his simper transformed into a snarl as he drew in closer behind the shadowed being.

_"Ryu...Ten...Ryu...Chi..."  
_  
It was not until Seishirou had approached within an arm's reach of the man that his hearing picked up the words that were being repeated again and again under the man's breath. He was completely immersed in some sort of enchantment. A sorcerer. It did not matter; he never even sensed Seishirou's advance...

...And then it was too late. Lunging forward with the swiftness of a fox, Seishirou thrust his arms under the cloaked figure's shoulders, jerking him abruptly to his knees with a satisfied grunt. He had seen this man before...this cloaked Watcher...more than once. He had sensed this same presence once seven years ago...and again just recently.

Pulling him back and feeding off of his surprise, Seishirou's snicker returned to his tenor as he leaned forward to whisper into the intruder's ear. "So we finally meet, Kanotu-sama... Just what is it you've been hiding...?"

Panic shot through his spine as his hands were torn from their clasp. Back locked against the Sakurazukamori's stalwart abdomen, it took a moment to recover from the initial shock. His focus was instantly broken, and he cursed himself for letting his shield crumble before Satsuki could even get to her feet.

_"So we finally meet, Kantoku-sama..." _Yuurei felt Seishirou's hot breath on his ear, and he winced. _"Just what is it you've been hiding...?"_

He had to get out of here. This was too much involvement; surely he would pay a dear price for his actions now. He had been foolish to take on such an endeavor, and now he was placing everyone at risk. What had he been thinking?

"Ano, Kamui-sama!"

At Seishirou's scoffing call, Yuurei turned his eyes down in horror in Fuuma's direction. No, this had to stop here. He had to get away from this place. "You don't know what you're doing!" he shouted finally, his throat still groggy from the lack of speaking in the real world. He did not want to hurt Seishirou, since that would make his predicament even worse, but he could not simply break away; the man was too powerful. "This is over your head!"

But at that moment it was too late. As he looked down again, his crimson eyes met golden fire with a vengeful fury...as he found himself staring straight into Fuuma's cold, snickering glower...

* * *

Subaru watched from the shadows. This man didn't seem like much of a threat, especially since Kamui could make him wince so easily.

He considered approaching them, but instead, stayed still, and watched, trying to keep quiet as blood seeped from his injured arm.

* * *

It was nearly midnight by the time Nataku made it back to the lab. He was so tired...no, tired was connected to emotion, he was merely weakened. He needed to regenerate. In spite of his state, his steps were slowing...and eventually came to a halt. "You should go home." He spoke softly, but firmly to the shadows. How could he even know that she was there?

Alysia bit down on her bottom lip, drawing the taste of her own blood into her mouth. How indeed. She doesn't seem surprised. How can she be with all she's seen from him? She closed her eyes and remained silent. He already knew she was there, but she continued on pretending that she wasn't.

One end of the cloth shot forward. It was a weapon, viewed as strange by some, but deadly nonetheless. However it wasn't used as such with her. And end of it slithered around her wrist, and pulled her into the light. He turned his head, pastel gaze fixed on her. "If you're found here, the others will kill you. Go home." He repeated the instructions, a little more firmly this time.

"I-I-" Alysia stuttered, finding herself unable to lift her gaze to Nataku's piercing one. "I have no home to return to!" Her voice quivered with emotion. She jerked her head up then, looking at him as the tears streamed down her cheeks. She'd seen him murder, he'd ruined her in the eyes of her family. How could she not hate him? But Alysia didn't hate him.

How could he not hate her? She was a human...it was his destiny. And yet she alone he had spared. How odd. He blinked, looking away from her after a moment. It was his fault, Nataku realized that. Did he feel...remorse? Regret that he had alienated her from everyone she loved? Or was there some dark glee that now- He shook his head quickly, clearing it of the thoughts that threatened to take a hold of him. "What do you want me to do?"

"For one, I want you to keep your promise to me. Nataku." She stepped closer to him, looking down at the white cloth that was still wrapped around her wrist. She should also be afraid of him. In a way she was, but she also knew that if he wanted to hurt her, if he even wanted her dead, it would have happened a long time ago.

"My promise..." He murmured, gaze shifting to the ground. "You don't want me to kill anymore." It reminded him again of his conversation with Subaru earlier. His subtle encouragement that the other shouldn't fight. The corners of his lips turned down. In a moment of what he now wonders was madness, he had made that promise to her.

"Nataku." She whispered his name before taking a few steps closer to him again. Her eyes lower along with his, and with a heavy sigh she rests her forehead against his chest. She had no idea what she was supposed to do now. "I feel so alone." She squeezed her eyes shut tightly to try and hold back the tears as best as she could.

Alone. That word, the sorrow in her voice as she spoke it, her very nearness...Nataku placed his hands on her shoulders, urging her backwards gently. "There's a hotel nearby. Do you know it? Go there." If she didn't have money, well, he could get it for her simple enough. Though...it might mean breaking his promise to her. "Wait there."

Alysia blinked, and nodded to him softly as she stepped back. The cloth slid away from her forearm to free her. She didn't know what Nataku had planned, only that she had no one else to turn to at the moment. "Hai." She backed away from him slowly. Maybe still afraid that he'd pierce her in the back?

He...should. But he wouldn't. He watched her, his eyes like those of a child, dissecting her. He had no idea what the hell he was supposed to do now. When she was out of view, he sighed and turned away, continuing on into the laboratory.


	21. Chapter 19: Recalled To Fate

**Chapter Nineteen: Recalled To Fate**

Fuuma eyes looked at the new man, noting all of the stunts this individual attempted. He felt pity more than anything else for this man, now in the grasp of Seishirou. Interesting how this one didn't seem to agree with the world's destruction yet he was saving the life of someone who was to help end it. He noted all this and turned back to Satsuki, she was more fun anyway. He also decided to add a line that would please Seishirou, "Seishirou, do whatever you wish to that one..." His voice was firm, though not drawing his attention away from Satsuki's fearful expression.

Fuuma smiled down at the girl, feeling the fear insider her as it was a stench so powerful he could smell it from quite a distance away. "What's the matter now? You were so eager to talk a minute ago and now you are silent." Fuuma's smiled drooped to a straight face. "You are a servant of the world...if you are too weak to even answer me then I shall end your existence here!" His mind snapped to something...a smirk appearing on his face.

"Would you talk if..." He raises his hand threateningly...suddenly revealing his wallet. "...if I bought you some Ice Cream?" The cheerful smile returned...hiding the fact that this man was a murderer.

* * *

Karen looked anxiously at the fragile blonde girl, who was once again lying on the floor. "You're right, Arashi-san, but I really think it will be impossible to find a taxi now," she murmured worriedly, looking down the empty street. "Maybe the best thing to do would be to take turns, like you said earlier."

Karen stepped forward to pick up the girl again, but before she could do so, a figure stepped in front of her and lifted the girl up in his arms. Karen stiffened reflexively as the man turned to face her.

"You!" Karen hissed, glaring at her handsome nemesis with suspicion. This was the same person who had attacked them earlier and practically destroyed the Diet building. "What are you doing to her?" Karen snarled, ready to summon up her flames.

_"I know where the hospital is. Don't worry, I won't hurt her. I have no quarrel with you," _the man said. His statement completely threw her off guard.

"What?"

Karen looked doubtfully at the blonde man. She didn't know if she could trust him; after all, he was their enemy, one of the Dragons of Earth. But right now, he seemed like he was telling the truth. Karen hesitated and looked carefully into the man's eyes. He seemed sincere enough; maybe he really was concerned about the girl. And they really did need help moving her to the hospital anyways.

"I will trust you," Karen said finally. "But if you harm a single hair on that girl's head, I won't hesitate to hurt you." She paused briefly, and added, "Thank you for your help, sir."

Karen straightened up and looked again at the man; she had really hurt him quite badly during their fight. The red-haired woman felt a pang of guilt; she had nearly killed this man, and yet he was still helping them in their need. "Your own wounds are quite serious, sir," she said in concern. "I apologize, I lost my temper during our battle earlier today. You should go to the hospital yourself, to have those burns treated."

* * *

Sorata looked at the boy, understanding finally this was their Kamui. "Arisugawa Sorata...One of the Dragons of Heaven." He smiled and dusted himself off, it truly wasn't his day. " Now that we are introduced, I guess its time I complete the job my mentor gave me...Kamui, you must gather the strength to defend the holy sword. If you do not, it will be in the hands of your Gemini..."

Sorata's expression was solemn, eyeing Kamui's expression. "Naturally it is entirely up to you...but the master of the Monou Shrine will die by his own son's hand if you don't stop this from happening."

Sorata bowed. "Well if there isn't any questions, I gotta a previous appointment I have to honor...I mean the person in question went through the trouble of engraving my name on the bullet he's gonna cap me with..." Sorata smirked as he rose. "And since I promised him, I gotta honor it…Tell Yuzuriha I'll be back to visit her when I can."

Sorata didn't allow himself to be stopped as he leapt upward and back toward where Yuuto was waiting...Today was a good day to die as any.

* * *

He knew the huge risk he had taken by stepping out from the shadows and showing himself to the very people he had tried to kill earlier. But when he looked down at the frail figure in his arms, he almost felt remorse. She looked so...innocent. And they needed his help. After all, being a Dragon of Earth did not necessarily mean he was wicked at heart...right?

Chuckling light-heartedly at the auburn-haired fire castor's sharp retorts that had suddenly changed to concerned words, Yuuto shrugged and flexed a bit to prove that he was all right. "It's nothing, really," he said coolly. "That was just a hologram. You didn't hurt me as much as you think." He gave her a friendly grin, the charm of his charisma dancing in his sparkling eyes. "So...shall we call a truce for the time being? Say...to regroup and recover our injured? You can trust me--you have my word. And remember, I'm trusting you as well." His smile became slightly guileful. "I won't make off with this lovely little thing until you consent, and I'll wait for you every step of the way." And then just as suddenly, his cheerful simper returned. "So are you ready to do?"

Inwardly he shrugged at the uneasiness. _-Sumimasen, Sorata-san,- _he thought shallowly. He really was looking forward to a rematch, but the young man from Kouya had flown off abruptly also in the direction of the hospital. Perhaps they would meet on the way there.

Arashi glared at Yuuto. Where had he even come from? Before she could react, he had taken Kotori into his arms.

Arashi's expression softened. Just who they needed. Someone to guide them to help her. The girl's breath was shallow, after all.

"You will not hurt her." she repeated, assuring him of what he had already said. "If you do, you'll be sure to die." Even if it wasn't by her hands...Kamui would do it.

Arashi looked pleadingly to Karen. Should they trust him? Right now, it looked as if they didn't have a choice. "Take us, now."

* * *

"W-wait!" called out Kamui as Sorata bounded off. What did he mean Fuuma would kill his father? So far, he had been hearing nothing but bad news concerning him. What had happened? This is nothing like the Fuuma he knew.

At times like this he would have just gone off on his own and get the answers face to face, but with his current condition, that wasn't possible. For now, he would just have to wait. Kamui had been injured like this before and always healed rather quickly. In fact, he could already feel some of his strength returning. He would just have to be patient for the time being...

* * *

Sorata ran as fast as he could, leaping roof to roof. He smirked as he caught a flagpole and swung to another rooftop. _Damn it...I can't break my word...I can't believe I'm saying this when there's a chance I might die..._ He thought back to his childhood and all the lies he told to Stargazer...empty promises was likely the term he would use. Now look at him, he wasn't a child anymore...not since he received his destiny, the reason he was taken from his crying mother.

He landed swiftly near the place where he left Yuuto...now noticing the uneasiness between the group and the now visible Yuuto. Sorata blinked not understanding what was going on at first. "OI! Mr. Pimp," He was breathing heavily from the hectic dash he took to make it back this fast. "I'm back!...I told you I wouldn't break…my word..."

_I have never kept appointments before and yet my first is...with my greatest enemy. _He smiled coolly at Yuuto, ignoring the others. They didn't trust him yet and the way he was treating this adversary wasn't going to help him. "Lets get these guys squared away... so we can set up the barrier and have a few rounds."

He turned abruptly at the sound of the familiar voice: "Oi, Mr. Pimp!" Yuuto could not help but laugh. So the funny boy had decided to return and keep his promise after all.

Still holding the girl in his arms, Yuuto greeted Sorata with a playful grin as he approached running and huffing. "It's about time! But, uh..." He glanced down at the bundle in his arms. "This girl needs to get to the hospital quickly. There's no taxi to be found, apparently, and these lovely young ladies were having some difficult. I thought I'd help out. You don't..."--he glanced from Sorata, to the two female Seals, then back to Sorata-- "have a problem with that, do you?" He winked slyly.

* * *

Unseemly terror shot through his spine as he glared into those eternally frozen eyes of the Twin Star. Yuurei was not afraid of death, nor did he fear what the sadistic Sakurazukamori was planning for him. What terrified him was the fact that his foolish interference might somehow hurt the rest of those involved in the End of the World. He cared nothing for himself; he only wanted those he watched over and had come to love to remain safe and out of harm's way. He knew Fate had other plans for them, but still he had acted rashly. Would they pay the price for his obstinate folly?

At Fuuma's chilling retort, Yuurei could all but feel Seishirou's smug grin of satisfaction at his ear. His lock around Yuurei's shoulders tightened, and with a swift movement that the Watcher could barely follow, the cruel Sakurazukamori planted a knee brutally into the small of his spine. Eyes suddenly wide with the acute pain, Yuurei stifled a grunt as his back arched awkwardly and his head was thrown inadvertently back against his oppressor's shoulder.

Seishirou chuckled softly as he leaned in to where his lips nearly brushed the Watcher's ear. "Who are you?" he inquired just above a whisper. "I can sense you're power. Why don't you fight me?"

Clenching his teeth, Yuurei fought against the will to do just that. No, he had already meddled in these affairs far too much. To fight would mean to alter Seishirou's condition, and in doing so...alter the future. Not to mention seal his own death sentence. There had to be some other way.

"Fight me!" This time the Sakurazukamori's tone was somber and cold and hard as stone. With his words came a burst of Onmyoujitsu energy, and Yuurei suddenly found himself facedown on the asphalt roof. Arms still locked behind him, he felt with alarming alacrity the sharpness of Seishirou's knee as it embedded itself even more heavily into his back.

He felt the tepid dampness soaking his already crimson robe as the rich red blood began to trickle from the wound that the Dragon of Earth had created with his energy attack. Lurching his head back in an effort to ease the strain on his spine, he nearly choked as a mouthful of blood bubbled from his lips and spilled down his chin. Still he did not fight back. It was too dangerous. He was not meant to be here.

A powerful fist grabbed a handful of his raven hair and jerked his head back. At least one of his arms was free now. But Seishirou was still on top of him, and he would not use his power to get away.

"Let's see...since you're not being a good sport, how should I kill you?" The masterful illusionist's voice was cool and collected again. Then he gave a dark chuckle. "Perhaps...like Hokuto? I'm sure you remember that."

Yuurei could not hold back the snarl that pulled at his lower lip. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Seishirou bringing back his hand and straightening it into a blade-like stance. Under his breath he whispered a few words of an Onmyoujitsu curse, smiling as his sightless right eye glinted in the starless night. But as he collected his energy into that one hand, the rest of his body was left off guard.

The hand came down, poised for Yuurei's virile chest. But the Watcher was not one to die so easily. In a movement that a lesser eye would have missed, he dug his fingers into the roof and rolled to the side, tearing his other shoulder out of the Sakurazukamori's grasp. The Angel's hands struck asphalt, and Yuurei was on his feet not a moment later.

Seishirou recovered in an instant, standing a little too casually and shoving that same hand into the pocket of his black trench coat. He smiled guilefully. "So, you have some spirit in you after all," he said in his usual low voice. "I'm glad to see that. I was starting to think you would bore me."

He wanted to stay; he wanted to help Satsuki. His mind had been with her since Seishirou had interrupted. He knew that her life was still at risk by Fuuma's hand. But that was not an option. He had to take his leave of this place now--watch from some other vantage point.

But Seishirou must have seen it in his eyes. "Don't think of trying to escape me, Kantoku-sama," he smirked grimly. "I'll chase you down to the ends of the earth." With that he lifted a hand and summoned a mighty barrage of illusory spiked discs, directing them at Yuurei with the whim of a thought.

Yuurei dodged left, dodged right, jumped, ducked...all in the span of a heartbeat. Leaping backward over himself, he executed a series of flips along the length of the building, with every intention of falling evasively from the roof once he reached the edge. But he never got the chance, for just as he reached the outer border, another disc cut him off from his path, and he was forced to dodge by leaping upward into the air.

He grimaced when he saw the scene on the ground. Satsuki was at the mercy of the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth, and there was nothing the Watcher could do about it. Not far in the distance, he could just make out the rising dust from the destruction at the Metropolitan Government building. Would anyone still be there? Had the Seals gotten Kamui and Kotori to safety? If he had been sure Seishirou would not follow him, he would have left to find out for himself.

Suddenly the upwelling of power brought his attention back to his current predicament. With an ardent cry, the Sakurazukamori let loose a stream of blood-like torrents, surging at Yuurei with deadly accuracy. There was no time to dodge; it was notoriously difficult to move such a substantial distance in midair. It was either act or be killed...and the Watcher had no intentions of dying today.

Folding his hands before his eyes, he uttered a low continuous flow of enchantments. And out of the sky, as though summoned from God himself, a magnificent bolt of golden lightning connected the clouds to Yuurei's fingertips for just the briefest instant, creating a shield around him to block the ensanguined attack. When the torrents of crimson energy made impact, he felt the instant weight of their burden, and he struggled to ward off their effects. Crossing his forearms in front of his face, he ignited his aura to deflect the power. It had been so long since he had faced a formidable opponent, and the strain of his efforts was almost too much to bear.

This could not continue. If Seishirou kept attacking him like this, the Angel would eventually wear himself out...or destroy Yuurei, whichever came first. Adamantly the Watcher glanced about the surrounding area, seeking out a diversion--anything--that might bring this skirmish to an end. His eyes fell again to Fuuma and Satsuki. Perhaps there was a way. It would have to be timed precisely at the right moment, but he saw no alternative. And if it worked, he might even succeed in killing to birds with one stone...

...So to speak...

This guy was good, better than he had expected. Who exactly was he? Seishirou grimaced as his Onmyoujitsu attack collided with the barrier of lightning and dissipated into oblivion a moment later. He might actually have to put some effort into this fight. So why was this stranger holding back? He obviously had the power to put up a good battle.

As the Watcher landed lightly back on his feet, descending to one knee and one hand to catch himself on the solid roof, Seishirou scoffed as he met the man's effulgent crimson eyes. "You're harder to kill than I thought," he commended him. "Impressive...but I wonder...how much more will you be able to take before I finally crush you?" Rolling his shoulders and straightening the hemming of his tattered coat, he smiled with faulty benevolence in his countenance.

The stranger was already breathing hard, where as Seishirou had already recovered almost completely from his last battle, thanks to the powers of Onmyoujitsu. Wiping a strand of mixed blood and spittle from his mouth with the back of his hand, the Watcher stood with his eyes locked on Seishirou's face. His expression was an utter picture of solemnity: no smirk, no lifted eyebrow, no sly twinkle in his eyes. If anything, he appeared to be filled with dread. And while his eyes spoke nothing of fear, there was still something...

"I have no quarrel with you," the man spoke grimly, his husky voice expressing plain and simple terms. "Just leave me to my purposes."

At this Seishirou could not resist chuckling, half tempted to pull out a fresh cigarette. "You don't seem to understand," he answered, his tone dark, his undertone darker. "I always finish the job. Always."

The Watcher nodded after a moment without another word, and then suddenly broke into a sprint. As though surged forward on a current of celestial wind, he darted off to the front edge of the building and lunged downward. Seishirou was right on his tail in a flash, preparing an attack under his breath all the while.

Just as Seishirou's feet touched earth, he released his illusory barrage, sending an invisible mountain of energy at his mysterious opponent. He watched with contentment as the Watcher sped in-between the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth and his cohort Satsuki. There would be nowhere else to run. This battle was at an end.

Then, without warning, the cloaked figure dodged around Fuuma, and Seishirou's blast missed its mark and struck the neighboring building. It was at that moment that Seishirou realized what the man was trying to do. And abruptly he stopped dead in his tracks and vaulted into the night sky, devising his next order of attack. He did not sense the enchantment laid into the ground beneath him until it was too late.

From the heights of the Heavens came an onslaught of lightning, striking earth in a perfect succession of thunderbolts right down the center of where Fuuma was advancing toward Satsuki. And for an instant, a wall of blinding light forced Seishirou to shield his only good eye from the ethereal sight.

When the blaze cleared a moment later, the Watcher's life force had vanished...along with the man who bore it.

Seishirou landed back at the edge of the roof, staring stunned at what had just happened. He glanced helplessly down at Fuuma. "What the hell was that?" he called down, rage coursing through his veins at the thought of having lost track of his enemy.

The onslaught had ended; the wall of lightning had died away. And from the top of a ten-story building not a block away, the Watcher stood erect, robes blustering in the chilly night wind, observing the reactions of those he had so foolishly interacted with...from a distance.

Fuuma snorted as he again turned his attention to Yuurei. This man was really testing Fuuma's nerves, interrupting his important business. Fuuma's smile faded once more as he watched Seishirou nearly miss and strike him with a stray attack. That was the final straw, making a man he deeply respected slip up was a crime he could not forgive.

Suddenly a bright light almost blinded Fuuma from following the bastard's escape. Where was he now...Fuuma's eyes came to a building as his lips curled into a chilling smile...There. Fuuma could almost see the fear in Yuurei's eyes as the Dragon of Earth stared up at the spec atop the building. Fuuma's eyes shut slowly and then there was silence...as if the world was for this moment on mute.

High above the group, a jagged rock slowly raised from the left side of Yuurei. It hovered for a moment before shooting forward in a collision course with Yuurei's face, slicing into the man's eyelid. The rock pulled down ever so slowly, as if savoring the pain this must have caused the man. It was then that Yuurei heard Fuuma's voice from within his very mind. _Every time you see this scar, remember next time I will claim your destiny...so every time you see it, remember my promise._

There was no fear in his eyes, only caution. But apparently...not enough. He heard the rumble off to his side, and started to turn his head to look. But just then, his eyes met the far-off glare of that man...the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth. And then it was too late.

The rock fragment struck his face just as he wrenched his eyes from that cold face. The corner bit into his ashen flesh, tearing a jagged gash through his left cheekbone all the way through his eyelid to his forehead.

And in that exact moment, the chilling words brushed the edges of his mind... _-Every time you see this scar, remember next time I will claim your destiny. Whenever you see it, you will remember my promise.-  
_  
He stumbled back, his head groggy from the impact. What had he done? Now he had the worst possible enemy swearing to claim his Fate...not exactly the impression he had wanted to make. The debris fragment did not cause him to fall. He regained his balance, and only then did he sink to one knee. Blood from the brutal gash splattered onto the rooftop, and gingerly he lifted a hand to cup his left eye.

Squinting through the blood, he tried to focus. No use. His vision was marred by the laceration. At least he could see shapes and colors, but the split eyelid was going to cause trouble. Impatiently he tore away a piece of the crimson cloak and fastened it around his forehead and the wounded eye as a bandage.

_-Not only will this remind me of your promise,-_ he thought grimly, cursing himself every step of the way, _-but it will also remind me of my stupidity. I'll not make the same mistake again.-  
_

* * *

_  
"There is nothing that can change fate. Nothing."  
_  
Kotori was shocked. That wasn't true...it couldn't be. She stared at Kakyou for a long time. Finally, she said,

"That's not true at all! How can you even say that?!" She glared at him, quite un-normal for her.

"We decide our own future's, don't we? What chose to be, or weather we want to stay in school or not, that is our choice, right?" She didn't wait for an answer before going on.

"If that's true, then we can decide everything. The future can not be set before we make it so. And if it can be set, then can't we- the people- also change it?" she questioned.

Kotori was quite angered. How could someone think that way? Life was for them to chose, not anyone else...wasn't it? Of course it was. But then, was it her mother's choice to die? She shook her head a few times. Vigorously.

"Nothing has been decided yet." she said again in a firm voice.

* * *

Kamui sat up slowly, trying to maintain his balance. His legs were a bit tender for the lack of use, but he could feel the blood circulating through them and regaining their strength.

He was a still bit sore, but most of his power had returned and the major wounds were almost healed. Now as the time to see all this chaos for himself. To finally settle some old grudges and to see for himself if his "Twin Star" is the one everyone claims to be.

Sprinting forward Kamui leapt high into the air. The cold night air felt refreshing and little by little Kamui could feel his old powers returning to normal. It wasn't long before Kamui spotted a group of people. Most of them seem to be the Dragons of Heaven along with that Sorata guy. Amongst the crowed one familiar face seemed to stand out.

"Yuuto..." he huffed under his breath and Immediately bounded towards the group. Landing to the ground, Kamui slowly approached him, his eyes burning with hate.

* * *

Alysia couldn't stop crying. With everything that had happened over the past weeks, it had come to a point where it was almost too much. She was a normal girl. Not an angel, or dragon, or seal, or any of the other things that Nataku had tried to explain to her. She was nothing special.

"How did I get myself into all of this?" She stops beneath a streetlamp, doing her very best to wipe away tears before fresh ones fall.

Nataku. At times, she was still afraid of him. But for now, her survival seemed to depend on him. But it was more than that, it was like...it was like...

Alysia raised her head sharply with a gasp. She heard something, she's sure of it. Her eyes widen, scanning the darkness around her intently. "Who's there?" Her voice was meek and the muscles in her legs already tensed in preparation to run. It was then that she realized just how late it was.

And she was just a girl.

Subaru was bored of this game. He was starting to feel a little bit better, so he pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and jumped off the building. He wanted to get as far away from this destruction as he could.

Finally, he was away. The people here probably knew nothing yet of the devastation across town.

As he landed on a lamppost, he thought he heard the sound of crying. He looked down. He was right. A girl was crying.

It almost reminded of him of happier days many years ago, when his worse problems were comforting a person after he exorcised their lover or sibling or friend.

_"Who's there?"_

He leapt down from the lamppost and inhaled deeply. He felt the girl's eye bare into his back, but he ignored it.

"Sumeragi Subaru. Something wrong?"

* * *

Before Sorata had the chance to answer him, Yuuto's gaze almost unintentionally fell away from the young man from Kouya...to rest on the livid countenance of the boy that would determine the world's Fate. Kamui...of the Dragons of Heaven.

Yuuto grimaced and glanced around for a possible retreat. He was in no mood to face this particular opponent just yet. Eventually he knew his time would probably come, but at the moment he was not much in the mind frame for fighting at all. He could handle a rematch with the impish young monk, but God's Messenger himself? No, thank you.

Putting on a cheerful smile, he veiled his apprehensiveness from their sight. "Ano...Kamui-san," he greeted as the angry youth approached. "I'm glad to see you are alive and well. Are you all right? Looking for someone?" He gave the young man a compassionate look, expressing an earnest will to understand and help...well, at least for the moment.

* * *

Fuuma's eyes opened, turning slowly to Satsuki. "Now then...Shall we go for that Ice Cream." He seemed peaceful, contrasting the chaos that surrounded them. "I know this lovely place just a few blocks away and it would give us time to get to know one another..." Fuuma smiled charmingly at Satsuki, finally turning his attention to his partner in crime, Seishirou.

"You too are invited." He laughed slightly. "But I didn't need to say that, It was kinda of implied." Fuuma felt at ease with Seishirou, wishing his duties could wait for a few moments...unfortunately the time was rushing closer when he would have to kill them all and revive the world to it's origin.  
_  
And my gift...shall make them happy._


	22. Chapter 20: A Walk in the Darkness

**Chapter Twenty: A Walk in the Darkness**

Alysia cried out in alarm before stumbling back. It was like the man had literally fallen from the sky. She watched the back of his form a little longer, finally catching her breath and feeling her heartbeat return to a more normal pace.

"Ano, betsuni." She glanced around at the darkness before stepping back into the comforting glow of the street lamp. It was undoubtedly a man, but with his back to her, Alysia couldn't tell his age or any other distinguishing features. Could he be one of 'them'. With his sudden appearance, wasn't it possible?

No. She was becoming paranoid.

"Well, actually, I am a little lost. Maybe you could direct me to the nearest hotel?" She gives him a sheepish smile even if he can't see it, and steps a little closer to him.

The ends of two white cloths jutted suddenly from the darkness. One wrapped around Alysia, covering her mouth before wrapping more around her body and pulling her backwards. It lashed her to the lamppost, preventing her from running away.

The second cloth had a more intense aim. It sped towards Subaru's back. Did he just mean to knock the man down? Or was Nataku suddenly aiming to kill?

"Our paths seem to have crossed again. It must be fate." Nataku stepped into view, the odd coloring of his eyes making them appear even colder, even more...dead. Even with his back to him, he had recognized Subaru. How could he not? They'd spoken just a few hours before, after all. But that was only part of it.

"NATA-!" Before Alysia could even finish his name, her mouth was covered. The wind was knocked from her when her back hit the lamp post, and she could feel the cloth cutting into her skin this time.

She struggled only briefly, knowing first hand that it was in vein. Her eyes widened as she watched the other cloth fly towards the man's back and she shook her head in protest. She could already see the image of the cloth piercing his body in her mind. Alysia squeezed her eyes shut tightly. She couldn't take it. She didn't want to see this man die!

"Just-- just what do you think you're doing?!" Subaru was surprised at Nataku's sudden entrance. Why was he so concerned about killing now, when a few hours before, he seemed to be so dazed, so indifferent.

"LET HER GO!" Subaru couldn't help but sound demanding. Ever since his little sister was taken from him, he couldn't stand to see a girl in pain.

* * *

Kamui slowly approached Yuuto with one intention in mind, to eradicate him from the face of the planet. That was intention at the moment till he witnessed the frail girl that was in his arms.

"Kotori?" he questioned and gently took her into his arms. He wanted to lash out at Yuuto and the others, blaming them for all this, but he couldn't. If anything it was his own fault for bringing her there in the first place. He knowingly put her in danger and still couldn't protect her.

Looking at Kotori, Kamui asked "Is she all right? What happened to her? Where's Fuuma?"

Seiichirou found himself wincing in sympathy.

_"Where's Fuuma? Where's Kotori?"_

The wind caster tried to make the connections. Kotori was probably the blonde girl. Feeling slightly guilty for leaving her, Seiichirou hoped that she was doing ok. Surely she was in the best of hands; he trusted that Kasumi-san and that other quiet girl were taking good care of her.

As for Fuuma... That wouldn't be... the Twin Star?  
_  
"Itai-itai-itai-itai!"_

Thoughts interrupted, Seiichirou jerked in surprise just in time to see Sorata wrench himself away with an expression of pain. The boy, however, soon recovered his genkiness to introduce himself to Kamui as "Arisugawa Sorata" and a "Dragon of Heaven".

Then, with almost a bittersweet grin, he ran off to fight some unknown enemy with a promise to visit Yuzuriha when he returned. Seiichirou watched him leave with a strange mixture of relief, admiration, and sadness. There was just something about that guy...

Seiichirou returned his attention to Kamui, who seemed to be resting on the ground.

"Sorata-san... takes a little getting used to, eh?" he found himself saying with a wry smile of his own, "But he doesn't seem so bad. I'm glad you're finally awake, Kamui-san. I'm sure you have a lot of questions. I'll try my best to answer them."

"I'm Seiichirou Aoki, by the way. I apologize for the late introduction, but I'm also one of the Seven Seals," he said amicably. On instinct, he offered a friendly hand. Seiichirou smiled gently at the boy, whose life he would protect at all expense, whose destiny was undeniably intertwined with his own.

Then he remembered Sorata's experience and added hastily, "Please don't break my fingers."

Of course, Seiichirou knew he would not withdraw the offer of friendship even if he did.

* * *

Shrugging the uneasiness from his shoulders, Seishirou nodded down at Fuuma. "Hai, of course. Ice cream sounds like a wonderful idea. Nothing like a snack between committing widespread massacres, ne?"

He smiled smugly down at the two of them, folding his sinewy arms over his broad chest. "But...," he added, after only slight hesitation, "you're not worried about...him?"

* * *

Karen looked carefully at the handsome blonde man, considering his words. "All right, we'll call it a truce," she said finally. "No more fighting until our injured recover." She gazed at the Dragon of Earth seriously. "Don't forget, I'm trusting you not to break your promise, either. I don't know why, but somehow I believe you."

She suddenly dropped her serious expression, smiling back at him cheekily. "Besides, I don't think you'd be stupid enough to try anything when Arashi-san and I could so easily add more injuries to the ones you already have."

"All right," Karen said, stepping back slightly. "Let's take this girl to the hospital. Lead the way, sir."

_"OI! Mr. Pimp!" _a voice yelled out. Karen stiffened as the loud teenager who had earlier made off with Kamui reappeared – without Kamui or Seiichirou.

"You! Young man – Sorata-san!" Karen snapped at the teenager, starting to become irritated by his brashness. "Where is Aoki-san? And where's Kamui-kun? What have you done with him?"

Instead of answering her, however, the young man ignored her, saying to the Dragon of Earth, _"Let's get these guys squared away so we can set up the barrier and have a few rounds."_

Barrier? So this Sorata was a Dragon of Heaven after all. There was no need to worry about Kamui. While this relieved Karen of much of her concerns, this new bit of information still wasn't enough to make her look at Sorata favorably. His entrance had been rather rude and abrupt, after all. If there was one thing that really irritated Karen, it was people who lacked manners. Why, even this Dragon of Earth here had more manners than Sorata did.

"Excuse me, Sorata-san!" Karen said loudly to get his attention. "Where is Kamui-kun?"

Her question was answered within seconds, however, as a figure bounded over from a building and landed near them.

"Kamui-kun!" Karen said in surprise. Her surprise quickly turned to worry. "You should be resting in the hospital right now! Didn't Sorata-san take you there?" The fire caster glared at the person in question. This Sorata hadn't even made sure that Kamui was properly placed in the hospital. What kind of protector of the Kamui was he?

Before she could say anything else to the boy, however, Kamui was already approaching the Dragon of Earth, looking extremely angry. Karen blinked. What? So both Sorata and Kamui were rearing for a fight right now? Didn't they know that the poor girl in the Angel's arms had to be hospitalized right away? This was no time to be squabbling with the Dragons of Earth, not when there were more important things to be attending to. The poor Angel looked rather bewildered; Karen almost felt sorry for him.

Apparently, though, the two younger Dragons of Heaven either didn't notice or didn't care. Karen almost threw up her hands in exasperation. Really, now! Did these boys have no common sense? She had to set their priorities straight.

"Boys, boys!" Karen scolded Sorata and Kamui, irritated at their lack of logic. "Now, I know you're both itching for a battle, but isn't there something a little more important that we should be worrying about right now?"

She pointed at the blonde girl, still unconscious in the Dragon of Earth's arms. "This man has very kindly offered to help us take her to the hospital, in exchange for a temporary truce. And I fully intend to uphold our end of the agreement, as long as he does as well. Yes, I realize that he's a Dragon of Earth. Yes, I know that we're supposed to fight him. But there are more important things to be doing right now!" she said in exasperation, glaring at her two younger comrades.

"This isn't the Promised Day. The Promised Day won't happen for a while yet. So please, please, save the fighting for later. At the very least, hold your tempers until we get this poor girl to the hospital!"

Sorata smiled at Yuuto, nodding at his comment. "Sure thing man...I mean I don't want anyone else in this." Sorata noted the odd look he was getting from the girl, causing him to grow a bit nervous. One of them began to scold him, question him and treat him as if he was doing more harm than good. "Sorry...for being so abrupt...I just have a lot to do before I can stop moving." Suddenly he heard another person enter the scene, Sorata turning to meet the figure. To his surprise the once injured Kamui was looking rather healthy...and irritated. Sorata sighed heavily, realizing he wasn't well liked, a fact he wasn't very pleased with.

"Kamui! What're you doing here? You're in no shape to fight now! You have to be ready to defend the sword or its game over!" He watched Kamui ignore him and approach Yuuto, who was holding a girl Sorata didn't recognize. "Kamui, this is my fight...You have to stop this now or you're gonna lose the sword AND the girl..." Sorata attempted to place a hand on Kamui's shoulder, knowing this action was going to get him hurt.

Kamui didn't appreciate being scolded by Karen. Especially since he hardly knew her. What right did she have to yell at him like that?

He could have easily told her to shut up and mind her own business, but what she spoke of was true. Kamui simply sat there, listening. It had reminded him of his mother and the way she used to scold him when he was a child.

Even the annoying Osaka boy was right. There were a lot more things that were important at the moment than revenge. That would have to wait for now.

Brushing off Sorata's hand and ignoring Seiichirou's kind gesture, he took Kotori away from Yuuto and began to walk away in the direction of the hospital. Turing back one last time, he shot a glance at Yuuto.

"You may have been kind enough to help out this time, but that doesn't make up for what you did in the past. Next time I see you, I'll finish you off for sure..."

* * *

Straightening himself with a grimace along the high rooftop's edge, Yuurei was half tempted to go back to his apartment and return to his dreams. Technically it was more of a self-induced trance, and sometimes, on a good night, he could get his mind to coexist in the dream world and reality simultaneously. But obviously this was not going to be one of those nights.

_-What I wouldn't give to go back to you...- _He let out a sorrowful sigh as the image of the lovely silver-haired Yume-mi consumed his mind. A faint trace of a sad smile hinted at his lips as he recalled with fondness their brief intimate moment earlier that very night.  
He could still almost feel Kakyou's smooth pale skin under the light touch of his fingertips...

Abruptly he shook himself. _-Baka no Kantoku,- _he breathed with a sudden change of demeanor. He should have never let his thoughts wander; that was what had caused his existence to be revealed in the first place. Fate may or may not have already been decided, but it had already made it clear that he and Kakyou would never have a future together.

There was a flourishing of sounds off to his right, and turning away from the line of shops were Fuuma and Seishirou had been holding Satsuki, he looked down upon another scene. Two of the contenders in the confrontation he recognized: Sumeragi Subaru and the biological doll Nataku. The third was a girl...human...and being held hostage by Nataku? No...that did not seem right.

But he did not send a signal or let them know of his presence. He had learned his lesson that night. He was the Watcher. He was not to interfere.

* * *

She was angry.

Her eyes glared like black, icy diamonds into his back. She knew who he was. She had seen him when secretly wandering in her sister's dreams, when Hinoto was drowning so much in her own anguish that the presence of an intruder went undetected.

Kanoe hated the images in her sister's head. All of them. Yet, at the same time, she longed to share them and maybe take away some of the suffering... _Onee-chan, let me help you...  
_  
Yet, all she got instead were fragments. A glimpse, a glance. Like those of the man before her. Her sister's Watcher. To be sure, he was a beautiful man. Kanoe had never hated a man so beautiful before and her hatred made her rash.

She stepped forward. Her words rang out, cold and furious, "You shouldn't have interfered, Yuurei-san."

For a moment, she faltered at her own boldness, recalling his power. His name came out almost hesitantly. She questioned it doubtfully. After all, her knowledge of the man was limited. Even in Hinoto's usually clear dreams, the details regarding him were guarded and blurred. At the most, the information she had learned was minimal. Briefly, she wondered if he knew who she was and then decided that it didn't matter.

Her bitterness returned, "I don't know if you're following Hinoto's orders or not but stay away from my Kamui. Let me make it simple for you. You are neither a Dragon of Heaven nor a Dragon of Earth. The Fate of the World doesn't concern you and I do not believe you have any reasons to get involved."

Her own hypocrisy pricked at her conscience but Kanoe ignored it the way she was used to ignoring things like that.

The wind blew harshly. But she refused to tremble. Instead, she assumed her a mocking air and fixed her hair nonchalantly. She drawled casually, "In fact, if I were you, Yuurei-san... I'd stick to my profession and just watch."

She laughed lightly, "Enjoy the show, if you will."

Turning to leave, Kanoe gave him a teasing smile and even a wink. The light-heartedness in her expression, however, faded once her face was turned away. She murmured in a dark tone, just loud enough for him to hear, "Your actions could have cost me two of my most important allies. On top of that, you didn't even manage to save Satsuki-chan from the danger she was in."

Her eyes flashed, "Take my advice, Yuurei-san... Don't meddle in things that hold no meaning for you."

With that said, Kanoe left the Watcher. Feeling slightly less angry, the dream gazer focused her attention on finding Satsuki. She hoped the poor girl was alright and still in possession of all her body parts. Kanoe grimaced to herself. It was a good thing that the Kamui appeared intent on destruction but it didn't seem to matter to him who or what was destroyed.

She neared the building where she had last seen the computer girl and paused, eyeing the local ruins with dread. The fight between the Sakurazukamori, the Walker, and the Kamui had obviously been devastating. Kanoe hoped for Satsuki's safety.

"Gomen... Satsuki-chan... for making you do this..." she muttered, surprising herself, "In any case, I'm here to rescue you now..."

She froze, however, at the sound of voices coming from within the building. The Kamui and the Sakurazukamori. But no Satsuki. Kanoe faltered for a moment. If the girl was dead, there was no point in going in.

...Unless she was still alive. Satsuki was a smart girl; she knew the importance of keeping quiet at certain times. For some reason, Kanoe could not bring herself to abandon one of her own. It was a strange feeling. She wondered briefly if Yuuto or Satsuki would do the same for her.

"I'm not sure how successful this will be, Satsuki-chan, especially if the Kamui decides he doesn't like me..." Yet her hand reached forward to push open what remained of the door, "But let's find out, shall we?"

And a wry smile touched her face as she entered, "Good day, gentlemen... Mind if I join the party?"

Fuuma smiled at the newcomer, surprised that someone would actually approach the man who have leveled the area without so much as a scratch.

"Be our guest." He bowed Politely, supposing that this one was involved with the end of the world. "We were just about to go for Ice Cream. Eh Seishirou? It would be such a pleasure to have two lovely young ladies join us." In his mind he could see deep within the woman's soul. Staring into her eyes, he suddenly knew her deepest of desires and her wish...

She also had a sister...He could read her jealousy like a book as he continued to size her up, keeping his cheery exterior outside to put the woman at ease. After all, there was no point in scaring her this early in the game.

Kanoe was slightly surprised by the cordial invitation. She smiled at the Kamui, taking note of his charming good looks. But the admiration faded when he looked directly at her. His gaze was unreadable but full of dangerous promises. It was unnerving.

"Thank you for the offer," Kanoe replied, struggling against fear, "You're too kind. And I'm sure there'll be plenty of things for us to discuss... Kamui-san."

Turning, she arched an eyebrow at the Sakurazukamori and feigned surprise, "Why, Sakurazuka-san, fancy finding you here! The last time I saw you, you were trying to suffocate Sumeragi-san with your lips." She smirked wickedly, "Did he die the sweet death?"

Her eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of Satsuki, crouching in the corner. The girl was still alive. She sighed inwardly with relief.

"My, my... what happened to poor Satsuki-chan?"

She edged near the girl and bent down, whispering quickly, "Are you alright?"

Looking back up, she flashed a reassuring smile at the two men, "I think the poor girl was a bit shaken by the fight that occurred earlier. Kamui-san, Sakurazuka-san... perhaps you two should go on ahead while I help poor Satsuki-chan to her feet."

"Of course, we'll catch up later," she laughed lightly, though her words were more than serious in meaning, "Sakurazuka-san, I'm counting on you to keep an eye on our Kamui for us."

"But hopefully Satsuki-chan will recover soon," and she looked specifically at Fuuma, her own eyes a promise, her lips curving seductively, "Like I said, we'll have a lot of things to discuss."

* * *

Arashi smirked at Karen. How motherly. And what she said seemed to work on the men. "Kamui-kun, Kotori's pulse.." she started, but he was already walking off. "She must get to a hospital now!" she yelled after him. She knew that it crucial...Kotori's pulse was already weak...

Arashi folded her arms at Sorata. "You are a jumpy one." she said coolly. Her eyes showed that she was not impressed by him. She almost felt like rolling them. But she had to be mature here as well. "We should probably follow Kamui-kun, and go see about Yuzuriha-chan." she told Karen.

* * *

The young boy seemed to stare behind him. Leaping to his feet, he growled, "Yuuto!" and then proceeded to run off.

Seiichirou blinked. Had he said something wrong? He rushed after the young boy, "K-kamui-san, wait!"

To his relief, however, Kamui led him to the other Seals who were not too far away.

Karen seemed to be settling some sort of dispute. _"...hold your tempers until we get this poor girl to a hospital!"  
_  
Seiichirou glanced at the disgruntled expression on the teenager's face; Kamui seemed distinctly angry. The wind caster abruptly noticed the blonde newcomer, who was the apparent focus of the boy's fury.  
_  
"...Next time I see you, I'll finish you for sure."_

Seiichirou's eyes widened in alarm. He turned to the young boy, "Is he an enemy of yours? A Dragon of Earth?"

But Kamui merely walked past him, the sleeping girl in his arms. The wind caster tried again, stretching out his hand in another attempt to be helpful, "Kamui-san, do you need any help carrying her--"

He was promptly ignored.

Glancing helplessly at the other Seals, Seiichirou remarked with a light smile, "At least he's awake now."

_"We should probably follow Kamui-kun and see about Yuzuriha-chan," _Arashi spoke up.

Seiichirou nodded, "I agree. I don't think that girl's the only one that should see a doctor. Although he's healed quite a bit, I doubt Kamui-san's completely recovered. We should probably keep an eye on him just in case something happens."

He looked at the blonde man.

"As for you..." Seiichirou narrowed his eyes, suddenly feeling extremely wary, "I don't know who you are but it seems that you haven't done much to earn Kamui-san's trust. Nevertheless, you did help us out... You're welcome to join us if you like...?"

Seiichirou drifted off, hoping for an introduction of some sort.

Sorata noted Arashi's disgust with him, finding it a shame how she was already judging him. He sighed and looked to Yuuto with a kind of semi- let down smile. "Kinda funny how the other seals are already judging me  
and the only person I can have a bit of fun with is a Dragon of Earth."

He turned to watch Kamui walk away, noting how protective he was of that girl. A kind of jealousy rode through Sorata, not of the people involved but the idea they had each other. Sorata was alone...

Maybe this whole solemn surroundings were finally getting to him... Yuzuriha, a girl who seemed so pure, had been marred the moment he was considering stepping in...and now he had to deal with the fact Kamui and the other seals couldn't stand the way he acted...Eh, Sorata wasn't here to be liked anyway... He crotched to the ground, poking a stick at the dirt.

"You know I don't think Kamui even took my message seriously..." He looked up to the other seal who had chased him down earlier. "Do me a favor and try to get Kamui to that shrine before the sword is taken...He won't listen to me." Sorata smiled brightly. "Doesn't seem like he'll listen to you either but this is really important."

Startled by the solemn-ness in the genki boy's voice, Seiichirou turned his attention from the suspicious newcomer to Sorata.

_"You know I don't think Kamui even took my message seriously..."_ The boy remarked glumly, _"Do me a favor and try to get Kamui to that shrine before the sword is taken...He won't listen to me."_

"Well perhaps if you--" Seiichirou started sympathetically.

_"Doesn't seem like he'll listen to you either but this is really important."_

The wind caster twitched in annoyance again. But the irritation was only temporary. There was a seriousness underlying the other Seal's words that worried him. Plus, the boy really seemed rather depressed.

"It'll be difficult right now to get his attention since it's completely focused on that girl... She seems really important to him," Seiichirou observed after a moment, "I'll try my best though."

"In the meantime," he continued, "why don't you go to the shrine first?"

An idea struck him and he smiled, "I know. One of us can go with you..."

The wind caster's eyes alighted on Arashi, "Ano... would you mind going with him, Arashi-san?"

* * *

Things changed with Alysia got involved, if only slightly. Even Nataku couldn't explain it. And until he could, until he could at least understand it himself, she was alive.

There was such emotion in Subaru's voice, anger. He couldn't help but feel the beat of his heart quicken in response to it. Why had he followed her? What difference did it make if something happened to her in the darkness? Nataku was aware of the evils humans visited on one another. Did it really concern him if some of those evils should happen to Alysia?

And more curiously, why had he reacted so strangely when he saw her talking to, even approaching Subaru.

Such strange, illogical feelings.

The cloth wrapped around Alysia even tighter, but not in an attempt to hurt her. He tilted his head, the cloth recoiling after a first and failed attack. His reply came simply. One word.

"No."

* * *

Kamui didn't even wait for the others to follow before he started leaping towards the Hospital. He didn't have time to check Kotori's pulse as Arashi requested either. All he could do was hope and pray that she would be all right till he arrived there.

_"(Come on Kotori. Don't die on me...)"_ he thought as he hurried along. Though it seemed like it took forever Kamui finally arrived. Landing at the steps of the hospital, he immediately ran through the automatic doors.

"I need some help! Please! I need a doctor!" he cried out as he ran towards the reception counter. The nurse, though startled, called for some assistance and it wasn't long before several doctors came and loaded Kotori on a stretcher.

"Another young girl?" questioned the nurse. "Seems like the streets are becoming more and more dangerous. What's going on out there?"

Kamui didn't answer and began to follower the doctors as the took away Kotori, but was stopped dead in his tracks by one of them. "Sorry kid, no ones allowed past here besides staff members."

"But..." Kamui stammered. He didn't even bother arguing this time. He would have to trust them for now and hope that she would make it out in the end.

* * *

Satsuki's eyes widened in surprise as she heard an unfamiliar voice echoing in her mind, ordering her to escape. The computer master looked around to see if she could catch a glimpse of the one speaking, but she saw no one. Well, that wasn't the important thing at the moment; what was important was making sure she came away from this in one piece.

The girl looked at Fuuma, trying to discern if he would notice her attempt before she tried to do anything. However, luck was against her; the Kamui was looking directly at her, wearing a smirk on his handsome face. Satsuki barely suppressed a shudder of fear from being under the scrutiny of those cold eyes. She felt as if she had been paralyzed; she couldn't move, not even if she wanted to.

Helplessly, she watched as Seishirou emerged from the remains of the ramen shop and leaped to the top of a building. The Sakurazukamori seemed to be attacking a figure atop the building; from where she was, she couldn't quite see what was going on. Was this the person who had been trying to help her? She had no idea. At any rate, she was too distracted to notice anyways; it was hardly any wonder that she was more concerned about the safety of her own life than the identity of the person being attacked by Seishirou. Satsuki hoped that the mysterious stranger would be able to escape; at the very least, he or she had a better chance of surviving than she did.

The girl closed her eyes as she listened to Fuuma's threats on her life, praying that either someone else would come to rescue her or that the Kamui would have mercy and spare her life. As a result, she couldn't believe her ears when Fuuma lifted up his wallet and cheerfully asked her, _"Would you talk if… I bought you some ice cream?"_

Satsuki looked wide-eyed at Fuuma, both extremely surprised and extremely wary. "I-ice cream?" she managed to stammer. "I… I…" Satsuki fell silent, not knowing how to respond. Was this some kind of twisted, sick joke? The Kamui had looked so willing to kill her on the spot just seconds ago. Yet here he was standing in front of her, wearing a most unthreatening smile and inviting her to go with him for ice cream. If the girl hadn't been so terrified, she would have burst out into hysterical laughter.

But for now, she had to say something, anything, at least respond to the Kamui before he grew further irritated by her silence and decided to get rid of her for good. Satsuki swallowed nervously and opened her mouth, but no words came out. She couldn't speak a word. Not that it mattered anyways; even if she could speak, she wouldn't know what to say. Satsuki closed her mouth again and tightly shut her eyes, sure that she was about to die. She blocked out Fuuma's voice, not wanting to listen to his threats in what she was sure would be the last moments of her life.

Suddenly, the sound of tapping footsteps broke the girl out of her self-induced trance. She could hear the steps of someone wearing high- heeled shoes approaching. Out of nowhere, a familiar sultry voice spoke, _"Good day, gentlemen… mind if I join the party?"_

Satsuki almost started crying in relief; she wouldn't die now after all. Kanoe had come to rescue her. Even if the dream walker went about it in a very strange fashion, it didn't change the fact that she was here to save her. For once in her life, Satsuki felt an intense gratitude towards the older woman.

The girl pried open her eyes as a shadow fell across her; she heard the rustle of fabric as Kanoe bent down and whispered in her ear, _"Are you all right?" _Satsuki smiled wryly. "I'm alright as I can be," she murmured back to the dream walker, out of the hearing range of the two men. The girl fell silent again as she watched the older woman converse lightly with the Kamui. She had an idea of what Kanoe's plan was for getting her out with her life, and she hoped that the Kamui would allow Kanoe to live long enough for her plan not to backfire.

* * *

Arashi raised an eyebrow. Had she just been volunteered to escort the immature teen to the shrine? She frowned at Seiichirou.

"Fine." she said icily after awhile. She turned to Sorata, brushing a lock of raven hair from her face.

"Let's go, and stay close. I don't want you causing anymore trouble." she said. For a brief moment she smiled, but it was hardly noticeable. Then, Arashi jumped up on one of the rooftops. Then another, and another.

* * *

Standing by feeling like a trapped idiot, Yuuto watched mutely as Sorata and Kamui got ratted out by the fiery Dragon of Heaven. As grateful as he was, he did not have the chance to thank her mildly before Kamui approached him and promptly snatched the girl from his arms.

"Ano..." But it was too late. The boy was hardly listening to anyone, let alone one of the Seven Angels.

Then the Kouya boy's hurt words reached his ears, and Yuuto smiled with an attempt of cheerfulness in his face. "Hey, I wouldn't put our rematch on the line, would I?" Turning back to the wind caster as he made his offer, he shook his head. "I don't think I'll be joining you for this. You're right--I shouldn't be trusted. Besides..." His smile turned a bit sour. "I'm a Dragon of Earth."

Realizing that his fight with Sorata was again being postponed, he did not wait for a response from the others. Instead he leaped into the air and landed atop a nearby roof. Then he was off in the direction Satsuki had gone to follow Kamui's Gemini...hoping she was all right.

* * *

Alysia gasped at the sound of the man's voice. He was still alive! Her eyes opened wide in disbelief as she focused on them and tried to make sense of Nataku's words. Did they know one another? It certainly seemed that way.

Mindless of the pain, she began to turn her head from left to right quickly, hoping to cause the cloth to slip away from her mouth. When it didn't, she simply screamed out from behind it and hoped he could understand her.

"Run away! Please hurry! He's not human!"

A part of her was sorry for having said that. She didn't mean it the way it sounded. Alysia turned her head to stare at Nataku, pleading with him with her eyes. Her body suddenly went a little limp, but the cloth held her in place.

"Please! Nataku, why are you so angry?"

Subaru smiled a bit, "I thought you were incapable of emotions, or making your own decisions, NATAKU."

He turned to the girl. "You don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself." A little bit of blood fell from his arm and pitter- pattered on the ground.

* * *

Sorata blinked as he heard Aoki's choice of partner, kinda feeling both happy and regretful about the choice. The ice queen herself was assigned to him...he would've been better off with Kamui. Which was gonna be worse, defending the sword from the twin star or dealing with this girl's scorn of every action he would perform.

Then again she was very cute...in sort of that opposites attract kind of way. He listened to her bark out, _"Let's go, and stay close. I don't want you causing anymore trouble,"_ like he was a child who needed to be watched. Suddenly something happened that scared Sorata...The girl smiled. _WHAT THE HELL DID THAT MEAN?! _Did she have a crush on him...Was she looking forward to a good laugh? What was on this girl's mind... Someone like that smiling couldn't necessarily be a good thing.

Sorata sighed heavily and jumped after her, keeping a close distance between them. What would this mission bring between them...

"Hey I think we got off on the wrong foot." Sorata finally said, turning to look at her.

"The wrong foot?" Arashi asked. She glanced at him a moment. "What would give you that idea?"

She sighed, and adverted her eyes back to the town below. If she thought it about it, he was trying his best…and he had looks. Slightly.

But Arashi didn't think about it.

"Explain." she said the words calmly, not so cold. And it wasn't a question, but a demand.

She kept jumping the buildings, landing finally. She stopped and looked around before jumping up in a tree. She crouched low, seemingly hiding.

Sorata blinked and was perplexed by this demand. He could've sworn she had something against him earlier...I guess she was full of surprises behind that icy shell. "Well the way you reacted to me didn't seem very friendly...But then again I don't get out much."

Arashi laughed a moment. A half laugh. She wouldn't comment on anything this round. "Oh?" She looked at Sorata. "You must be the one from Mt. Kuya.." she said quietly.

"Yeah..." He smiled widely. "I guess it kinda was obvious when I showed up...Where are you from?" Sorata was sort of startled by the laugh, enough to almost make his smile seem nervous.

Arashi folded her arms. Her eyes never moved from the empty shrine she was watching. "Ise.." she mouthed, her voice hardly heard. Without looking at him, she knew that he was feeling funny. "You don't have to be nervous. I'm a normal person too, you know."

Sorata leapt out of the tree and stood in it's shadow. "Yeah but you're kind of different from the others...You're special to put it plainly." Sorata smiled up at her, crossing his arms as he leaned against the tree. He suddenly turned serious as he looked ahead to the shrine. "The Monou Shrine...You realize it could already be too late."

"Special? " she questioned. She blinked her large eyes. She didn't bother to return his smile.

"Too...late?" Arashi asked. She walked along the branch of a tree. Silently, she jumped down from it.

"You don't know what I told Kamui, eh? Well I guess it's my fault for not telling you on the way...See my master said I was leave immediately for Tokyo...He also gave me a message for Kamui."

Sorata crossed his arms as he continued to eye the Shrine as if entranced by it.

"A message for Kamui?" Arashi asked. Her gaze followed Sorata's.

"Yeah...On the night when the Moon is covered by Shadow...The keeper of the Holy sword shall be killed by his son and the Holy sword shall be in the Twin Star's hand..." Sorata yawned and leaned back against the tree. "Kinda ominous."

"Mr. Monou would die..?" she knew the answer. But yet, she felt like she had to ask anyway. "Ominous, eh?" She finally looked at Sorata. "You must have been raised by the Stargazer.."

Sorata caught a glance into her eyes. "Oh you know the old Man eh? Sweetest guy you'll ever meet really..." He sighed as his voice trailed off.

She noticed the trailing in his voice. "What else?" she prodded for an answer. She looked into his eyes for a moment, then quickly back out at the shrine.

"Heh." He felt his smile weaken as if it was forced"...He wasn't doing to well when I left...Maybe it's just me worrying but I dunno..."

Arashi didn't look at Sorata. But she noticed the hesitation in his voice. "Was he not doing well?" she asked gently. Getting restless, she decided to jump back into the tree.

He watched Arashi jump back into the tree. "Playing hard to get I see." Sorata's smiled returned as the subject was on more comfortable ground.

"Hard to get?" she asked. She peered down at him. He really was a funny guy. "Hard to get, how?" she pressed. She brushed her raven hair from her face as she settled herself against the trunk. She sat on one of the branches, her feet hanging down.

"Hard to get how?" He laughed and peered up at her. "Hard to get as in playing hard to get...you know girl teases the guy by acting uninterested..." He turned back to the shrine. "That hard to get."

She raised an eyebrow at him. For a moment, she sat there, in silence. "What makes you think that I'm teasing you? It could be intentional."

"It could...but then again it doesn't have to be." Sorata didn't look at her as he continued to eye the shrine. "Personally I think if it was intentional you wouldn't be reacting so much to it."

"Reacting?" Her voice was a monotone. "I don't understand.."

Sorata shrugged and shook his head. "Never mind...You're still cute no matter how serious you act."

She was quiet then. Her cheeks flushed a moment, but she rubbed her hand across her face to get rid of it. "That has nothing to do with why we're here." she said, her cold emotions returning.

Sorata grinned, sensing the embarrassment she felt for that split second. She was human after all. " No it doesn't...but it's not wrong to tell the truth when given the chance." Sorata finally walked forward out of the shadows. " We might as well try to talk to Mr. Monou..."

Arashi nodded. "Let's then." she said. She stood up, and jumped from the tree, grabbing a branch. She hung from the branch a few moments, before jumping to the ground. "After you." she paused.

Sorata watched her drop, admiring her elegance. Two girls already and it was only his first day in Tokyo. Sorata grinned and scratched his head..._Man was this place is Rad_. He began to walk toward the shrine...being cautious in case of a sneak attack.

Arashi followed behind him. She kept glancing over her shoulder, checking for anyone coming their way. "Mr. Monou.." She looked forward. "Where would he be? In the shrine?" she asked. She didn't even know what they were going to ask him, but...

"He might be here or in the House...Knowing his connection to the end of the world he's probably keeping the sword close to him incase anyone tries to grab it." Sorata cautiously peeked in, ready to dodge any attacks.

"Then..." she walked over to the shrine's entrance. "Mr. Monou?" she called she name softly. When Sorata's head wasn't decapitated, she walked in. He did come in handy when it came to checking for problems.

Sorata followed her in, checking around him. He sighed when he didn't find anything.

"Let's try the house." she said. She went to turn around when she saw an extra shadow.

"..." Arashi was still. And she was quiet.

Sorata laughed and knocked on the door. The door opened and Sorata's head was met with a swift Shinai strike. Sorata groaned and back up, looking up to see the old man glaring at him.

"Ah...Mr. Monou..." she started.

The man glared at her.

"We're here to talk to you. We're sorry if we seemed...spy-like." She continued. She smirked at Sorata. Better him than her. "May we come in?"

He studied them a moment, before opening the door a bit wider.

Sorata rubbed his head under his cap. "Tch...why'd you hit me so hard." He looked to Arashi's look and sighed...How un-cool.

Monou opened the door. "I'm sorry but I can't be too careful lately...Come in and let me get you two some tea."

Arashi nodded. "Arigato." she said. She walked into the Monou home, ahead of Sorata. She bent down and removed her shoes. "Tea would be nice..." she started.

But he was already gone. Disappeared around the corner, and bustling in the kitchen. "Please, make yourselves' at home." he called.

Sorata removed his shoes, stepping inside after Arashi. He looked around the house, whistling. "Nice place..." He looked to some pictures..."Heh hey kids..." He met eyes with a picture of Fuuma, growing Solemn. "It's definitely him..."

"What?" Arashi asked. She turned, walking over to the pictures. "Hey...that's that girl that Kamui took." She studied the picture some more. "And that boy..."

"..That's the man who hurt Yuzuriha...I'd know him anywhere." Sorata looked toward the kitchen. "I wonder if his father knows yet."

"That's the boy that hurt Yuzuriha-chan?!" she exclaimed. She glared at the picture.

"Here we go..." Mr. Monou came back, placing cups on the table. "Oh, beautiful, aren't they?" he asked, looking at them and the pictures.

"Yes.." Arashi muttered. She pulled herself from the frames and walked over to the table. She sat down, folding her legs under her.

Sorata followed, and copied Arashi's grace with his own flavor...basically making it look really bad. He fidgeted to get into a comfortable seat.

Arashi watched Sorata. But she didn't laugh. Pathetic... How enthralling.

A cup was handed to her, then to Sora. "Thank you." Arashi said, accepting the cup. She glanced at Sora.

"So, what can I do for you too? Fuuma did something to your girlfriend?" he asked, laughing.

Sorata accepted the cup and nodded. "Thanks..." He heard Monou's question and he hesitated before answering. "Yes...You're son kinda...well how do I say this without being rude."

Monou gave Sorata a strange look as he sat down.

Arashi coughed, choking on her tea at Monou's question. "hac...ha..." She shook her head. "You're son, seems to be acting...strangely..."

Monou's face grew Solemn. "Strangely how?" He seemed to know what they were going to say...yet totally be in disbelief.

"W-well..." Arashi stammered.

Sorata sighed and finally spat out the answer. " He tried to kill her...sir..." He couldn't look at the man's face as he broke the news.

Arashi looked down. "That's right. He tried to kill Yuzuriha-chan.." She placed her cup firmly on the table. "I think you might know why.."

Monou sighed and nodded slowly. "I know...It just saddens me it has already happened..."


	23. Chapter 21: Alone and Too Much Company

**Chapter Twenty-One: Alone and Too Much Company**

His remaining useful eye was still fixed on Subaru and Nataku when he felt the virulent gaze bore into his spine. He did not turn to see; at this point his senses could do that better than his eyes. Instead, he listened to the woman's words, and an acute chill ran down his back when she spoke his name, nearly causing him to shudder. It seemed he had not been the only one watching from a distance.

_"You nearly cost me two valuable allies tonight," _Kanoe continued gravely, only the slightest mocking hint of a smirk in her effeminate tone. _"You didn't even manage to save Satsuki. If I were you, I'd stick to my job and keep watching."  
_  
Each word was like a blow to the very core of his being. The worst part was that she was right. He had almost gotten Satsuki killed, and Seishirou could have been in quite a fix himself if it had not been for his quick thinking. It had been a foolish endeavor, and he had failed to accomplish anything. On the contrary, he had risked the lives of those he longed to protect and had gotten wounded because of it.

As Kanoe's voice turned from serious to contemptuous, Yuurei lowered his chin and clenched his teeth in shame, thankful that at least his back was still to her. Turning his head slightly so that he glimpsed her slender figure out of the corner of his remaining useful eye, he scowled and prudently drew his cloak closer about himself. The chilly night wind whipped his stringy ebon tresses wildly about his ashen face, long enough to stream aimlessly past his shoulders even though they were still held back by a piece of cord.

"I do only what I can," he murmured, barely above a whisper. But by that time Kanoe was already gone. With a dispirited simper, he returned to his vigilant watch. He did not expect her to understand. No one was meant to understand. He alone was forced to wait for the Appointed Day to act, caught forever between Heaven and Earth, and unable to help either.

For that was his Fate. He was alone--destined to be alone, destined to die alone. Nothing was his. And so until the Final Battle would arrive, he could do nothing but wait...and watch.

* * *

Kanoe entered the little ramen shop and went straight over to Satsuki. Once he had gotten over the initial shock of seeing her there at all, Seishirou settled back into his smug countenance. Of course, his face had never altered for a moment when she walked in; he was a mastermind of deception.

When the dream gazer made her comment about his incident with his counterpart Sumeragi Subaru, Seishirou was for a moment caught off guard. It had not even crossed his mind that someone might have been watching. After the short moment it took to recover, he chuckled dryly. "Usually one would be courteous enough to mind his own business." His voice was cool, and his pale skin did not alter in the least as he spoke of such a seemingly personal matter. "I assure you I had no intentions of being a source of your entertainment, as much as you may have enjoyed it."

He leaned back again then, and his eyes drifted back to Fuuma. This Twin Star of Kamui was going through mood swings more than Kanoe during PMS. And that...was not saying a lot for the poor guy. He had undoubtedly been through much in the past hours, and yet he remained unchangingly calm and cheerful toward Seishirou. Smiling furtively under a slightly bowed head, Seishirou leaned back in his booth and fingered the tip of a cigarette in the box tucked away securely in his trench coat's inner breast pocket.

"Why don't you just let them go?" he said casually after a while. He did not mind the company of the young computer genius, even if she had been involved in that little hologram scheme, but Seishirou would have been content never to have run into Kanoe at all. The woman was incessantly eating away at his nerves, with her constant lascivious behavior and that tendency to bury her in matters that were not her concern. "That...or you'll be paying for a lot of ice cream." At these words his smile lightened, and he chuckled light- heartedly. "Well, if the offer still stands, that is..."

* * *

Kamui refused to let the doctors and nurses examine him. It would only be a waste of time and most of his wounds were already healed.

He steeped back outside and leapt across the night sky onto a near by roof top. Perhaps it was on accident or even a premonition, but Kamui had felt that he should visit the Tougakushi shrine.

It was the reason he came to Tokyo after...to revive the Shinken. Yes...that was his mission after all.

Taking one last look back at the hospital, Kamui Leapt off again toward the shrine.

* * *

Kakyou remained stone-ly silent, staring into the now flushed face of the young girl. He wished with what heart he had left that he could believe her words, but he knew that he could not. Nothing could make him believe otherwise. So many dreams and yet they always ended the same way..

Kakyou suddenly tilted his head to the side, strands of hair falling over his golden eyes. "If that is what you believe then continue to believe in it. Perhaps you are right but I will not believe it until..." He trailed off, not wanting to continue on this vein of thought.

He lifted his hand then and tapped her cheek softly with a slim fore finger. "I think however that you should return to your world now. Staying here too long is dangerous. Besides there are people that care for you there."  
This last sentence wavered as a picture of Yuurei entered into the dream seer's thoughts, but he forced it away...

Kotori nodded. "Alright then." She smiled softly.

"I look forward to our next meeting. Tell your friend hi for me when you see him next." She waved to Kakyou. "Stay safe."

And with that, she was gone.

* * *

"Ah!" she bolted upright. She golden blonde hair fell around her. "Where am I?" she looked at the white sheets, the doctors around her. The near silent beeping of her pulse and heart rate.

"She's awake." a white jacketed male told the nurse.

"Where's Onii-chan? And Kamui?"

* * *

Nataku's eyes looked sharply to Alysia when she cried out. Not human. His fingers twitched, before his hands formed fists at his sides.

Subaru's words were like fuel to a fire.

He leapt quickly from the ground, leaping atop the lamp post where Alysia was still held prisoner.

"You're mistaken about something. I can kill her anytime I want to." He paused briefly, one of the cloths spiraling about his body. "Just not tonight. You, on the other hand...Dragon of Heaven."

And then the end of it surged forward again, slicing the wind just beside Subaru's cheek before vanishing into the darkness beyond. But it could boomerang back. Was Nataku trying to warn him again?

He's been around humans far too much lately.

* * *

Fuuma nodded to Kanoe's suggestion. "Then I guess we'll see you around then..." He nodded slightly to Satsuki and gave a glance to Seishirou. _We have to make a quick stop if you don't mind._

He smiled at the man as he used Telepathy to let their private conversation be a little more private. He didn't entirely trust the other two Dragons yet, they seemed a little jumpy and easily disturbed...yet Seishirou seemed the exact opposite.

Fuuma began to walk toward the end of the street. It was nice being the only one on the street. _Come along if you still want to come._ He smiled at the sky, it wouldn't be long now...Eh Kamui?

Seishirou glanced inconspicuously up at Fuuma without lifting his chin. As the momentarily cheerful young man got up to depart rather swiftly, Seishirou followed his lead and stood to roll his shoulders casually.

Waiting a few moments until after Fuuma had left, Seishirou nodded nonchalantly at Kanoe and smirked discreetly at Satsuki before exiting the shop. Then he sped up his pace to catch up to the Twin Star.

"What exactly did you have in mind?" he inquired pensively, with an air to his tone that indicated he could have very well cared less.

* * *

Kamui stood off on a nearby roof top, eyeing the Tougakushi Shrine. There didn't seem to be anyone about, and Mr. Monou wasn't anywhere in site. Perfect. The less interference he had, the better.

Leaping down to the grounds of the Shrine gate, Kamui quickly walked up and swung open the door.

He poked his head through and after realizing no one was there, rushed inside. His foot steps echoed through room as he made his way to the shrine. There, laid the Shinken, neatly wrapped in cloth. Without a moments hesitation, Kamui reached out and grasped the sword within his hands.

"I did it Mom. I finally was able to fulfill your request," he spoke quietly as he eyed the sword.

* * *

Subaru brushed the blood that was seeping from his cheek away. "So, this proves it. Even you are capable of human emotion, although you deny it." Subaru glanced at the struggling girl. "I'm sure that you weren't COMMANDED to hurt such a helpless girl."

"Hurt...her." Nataku blinked, his expression remaining blank, even though the hesitation in his voice likely gave him away. The cloths loosened, but didn't completely free, as if he was still unsure. "Why do humans care so much about what happens to other humans?"

Subaru thought for a moment before responding.

"I guess it's instinct. I can't help caring, even if I don't know why..."

"Instinct." Nataku repeated the word, understanding not only the definition, but what it actually **meant**. Even he had the instinct to survive, though pain and death meant a little less to him than to the average human. "I too have instincts." Nataku wouldn't deny that. Though he failed to see the link between instincts and emotions.

"What does your instinct tell you?" Subaru was hoping that this was encouraging Nataku to realize the error of his actions.

"To keep...you away from her." Nataku wasn't sure why...he didn't understand. Why should one single human be a threat? Was it because he was a Dragon of Heaven? Or was it something more...mundane. Was it because he was a male?

"I'm not going to hurt her," Subaru said. He was getting really exasperated. Why was Nataku acting like this?!

Alysia kept moving her head back and forth frantically. She had to free herself of the gag! When one side of the cloth finally slid down, she called out to him. "Nataku, stop it! Please! He's telling you the truth!"

Subaru looked up at Nataku with pleading eyes after hearing the girl's words. "Please let her go..."

Nataku could feel a slight tremble threatening to take over his body. Why **was** he acting this way? It certainly wasn't rational. He turned his head, blinking at her cry. "He's human, like you are. I'm not." Hadn't she "reminded" Nataku of this earlier?

"You may not be human, but we're not that different," Subaru responded.

Alysia blinked. "Wait, is that what this is all about?" She tilted her head, not even worried about the straps that held her bound so tightly to the lamp. "Nataku, are you...are you jealous of him?"

The cloths fell away completely, even those that would have attacked Subaru. He stared at the other man for several long moments, but without hatred or anger in his eyes. If there was anything there, it was a mixture of sadness...

Subaru caught the girl in his arms. "Thank you..." he murmured.

Envy. "You. Belong with someone like him. Your family was like he is. Those you love were humans, all of them." Nataku lowered his eyes after watching them for a brief moment.

Alysia took a deep breath after looking up from the scratches the scarves had left on her skin. "Please don't hate him." She whispered to Subaru. "It isn't his fault."

"I don't hate him," Subaru said firmly. "It's hard to HATE a child."

Subaru placed Alysia on the ground.

"I am not a child." Nataku responded simply, glancing to Alysia with a frown. He didn't need her to intercede on his behalf. He never asked it of her. Yet while he never loved or hated any human...there was still something unique about her existence.

"He didn't mean to hurt me. And I'm sure he never meant to hurt you either, Mr...?" Alysia paused. She didn't know his name yet.

"Sumeragi Subaru," he replied. "And your name, miss?"

"Ejiri Alysia." She replied with a slight smile and a bow. "Arigato Subaru-san, for your help." She raised her curious amber eyes to him and canted her head to the side.

"I suppose you're one of the others. A Dragon of Heaven."

Subaru blinked in surprise. "How do you know that name?"

"I told her." Nataku lifted his head a bit, sliding his gaze towards them. Well, Alysia had asked, and he had told. Whether or not he would have done this for just anyone...even he wasn't sure.

One of the cloths moved slowly against the ground, rising up a little to wrap around and serve as a bandage for one of the more serious scratches on her arm.

Alysia smiled down at it before looking over to Nataku. It was strange how the clothes almost seemed a separate entity from him sometimes, alive in their own right. "Is it...bad that I know?"

Subaru shrugged. "I don't think so. Others might not think the same way." Now that Nataku was showing his softer side, he didn't seem like such a bad guy.

Alysia giggled and glanced over to the other dragon. "When he first told me, he was trying to frighten me." It hadn't worked out completely as he'd planned.

"It should frighten you." Nataku murmured before turning his body towards them. "The end of the world. The end of humanity. Your life, and the life of everyone you love." Why wasn't she afraid? She was just a human girl

"So you two know each other?" Subaru cocked an eyebrow in interest. He was under the impression that they were strangers.

Alysia blinked before looking over to Nataku and waiting for him to answer.

Nataku blinked as well, glancing back to her before looking to Subaru. "She has been chosen." He lowered his head again before nodding once, firmly. Chosen for what...well, maybe he'd better not say.

"Chosen for WHAT?"

Nataku looked back up to Subaru again, his eyes focusing on him once more. "She'll be the last human I kill." Hey, at least she wasn't the first! "My destiny will be fulfilled with her last breath."

"Why not kill at all?" Subaru asked. "What-- or who is FORCING you to kill?"

Alysia sighed. Wow, doesn't she feel special. She looked to Nataku with a little frown before glancing back to Subaru-san. "He doesn't know what he's saying." She whispered. "He doesn't understand."

"It's...what I was created to do." Nataku blinks, repeating the words as his own personal mantra. He doesn't know much else. Well, he hadn't before at least, but now these...humans cluttered his mind, one male, one female!

Subaru nodded in recognition of Alysia's words. "How do you know you were CREATED to kill? Don't you think your life's purpose should be more than just endless death?"

Alysia smiled brightly in spite of it all. "Besides, he's already said that he wouldn't kill me. I think...Nataku has a crush on me." She giggled and blushed gently like the everyday girl that she was.

Subaru smiled at Alysia, his eyes gleaming.

Nataku turned his head quickly in Alysia's direction, eyes widening. "Don't be ridiculous! I did not say that, I said that I wouldn't allow anyone else to kill you!" His voice had risen. Why did it do that? He didn't even know it **could** do that.

"And that's why he was so upset!" The light bulb went on over her head as she looked to Subaru. "He saw us together and got jealous!"

Subaru's eyes smiled. "Nataku-san is reminding me of a dear friend of mine," he said, thinking of Seishirou.

He continued to stare at Alysia, saying nothing, expression revealing nothing. Jealous. How even more ridiculous. It wasn't anything like that, it was just because Subaru was a Dragon of Heaven and nothing more! He shook his head, thinking it was time to return to the lab for good this time.

* * *

Relief washed over Yuuto's soul as he bounded farther and farther from the scene of destruction where his fated enemies had been gathering. For a moment he reflected on the events, digging deep within himself to see just exactly what he was truly planning on accomplishing. If Kamui had not shown up...if Sorata had come just a little later...would Yuuto have kept his promised truce and delivered the girl safely to the hospital?

The answer came like a quiet whisper in the wind. Yes. Of course. He tried to tell himself that it was only because he had been surrounded by Dragons of Heaven and it would have been a suicide endeavor to betray them in the midst of such a situation. Yet somewhere deep in the back of his mind, he knew that was not the real reason. The Seals were human begins not wholly unlike himself. And unlike the antisocial Satsuki, Yuuto was not totally inclined to hate humanity in its entirety. The Dragons of Heaven were descent people with a powerful purpose, just like several of the Dragons of Earth.

He winced under the thought as a chuckle rose within his throat. Well...the Seven Angels were certainly less angelic as a whole than the Seven Seals. Of course, neither side had fully organized. Yuuto's side still had at least two members to merely locate, much less meet and collate.

After a while of heading almost blindly in the direction Satsuki had been going, Yuuto finally picked up on her life force. As he descended from a higher rooftop, he observed with feigned curiosity the two figures walking leisurely away. The Sakurazukamori and the supposed Twin Star of Kamui.

He rushed inside a now-battered little ramen shop, and his nose instantly scrunched up in disgust. Blood stained the walls, and dead bodies lay everywhere. _-Yep, definitely the fine work of Sakurazuka and his psychotic friend.-  
_  
His eyes drifted to the corner where two familiar figures were crouching. Kanoe and Satsuki. Yuuto approached them, looking closely from one to the other. Finally, resting his good-natured eyes on the young computer genius, he cocked an eyebrow as he said impishly, "Konban wa, Satsuki-san. You look like hell."

* * *

Frustration eternally knitted into the creases along his brow, Yuurei watched in silence as Subaru confronted Nataku. It seemed for several tense moments that they would break out into battle at any second, but it was obvious from the start that Nataku was wavering.

When the human girl was at length released, the Watcher could not resist the faintest trace of a sorrowful smile. So the genetic doll was not completely devoid of emotions after all. And this girl...she was special to him. Yuurei listened to the promise spoken and instantly heard the deeper connotations of its true meaning.

Then his fragile smile faded, and his single un-bandaged eye turned cold. _-I wish I could give you hope,- _he breathed into the cruel night. _-I wish I could make your Fate different, even if it meant sacrificing everything of my own world. I wish your futures weren't hopeless...-  
_

Subaru gazed out into the distance for a minute, and he saw a shadow move. He was positive it couldn't be a cat or anything like that. It was way too big.

Suddenly, he felt a strong presence around him. He hadn't noticed it before, being so distracted by Nataku.

"WHO'S THERE?!"

When Subaru shouted in his direction, Yuurei stiffened his back. Had he let his guard down? No...it was not that this time. His thoughts had been sealed prudently within his own mind. But then...how had the man noticed him? The answer hit him not a moment later. Of course--Sumeragi Subaru was a master of the Onmyoujitsu arts. His senses were undoubtedly amplified compared to most of the others.

As he stepped out to the edge of the rooftop, the only hesitation was in his thoughts, not a sign of it present in his fluent movements. He gazed down silently at the young Onmyouji for several moments before answering. "A shadow," he called down at last in a low voice. _Nothing but a shadow..._

"Heh." Subaru smiled. "A shadow doesn't talk. Who are you, REALLY?"

He ignored the younger man's question and leaped gracefully to another rooftop, this one only being three stories high. Landing easily on the balls of his feet, cloak whipping about his virile body as the hood flapped at his shoulders to expose his face, he stood erect and confident as he stared down at Subaru.

His crimson gaze fell languidly to the cigarette in the young Sumeragi's hand. His expression saddened, and in a quite, almost ironic voice, he spoke hushed-ly into the cold, cruel night wind. "Picking up Sakurazuka's bad habits, I see..."

"What do you know about Seishirou-san?!" Subaru demanded. "Are you a friend of his?!"

Subaru pulled Alysia behind him. "Make sure you stay near me," he told her quietly. He was ready for a battle, if need be.

* * *

Seiichirou watched as the two Seals leapt off in direction of the shrine. He felt slightly guilty. Arashi hadn't seem too pleased to be paired off with the teenage monk. Then again, he could've sworn that he had seen a brief smile cross her face.

The wind caster grinned to himself. He highly suspected that her icy facade hid a compassionate heart. In any case, he hoped that her company would cheer up Sorata. The boy seemed partial to beauty and Arashi was certainly not lacking in looks. Besides, Seiichirou found that her coldness was a nice balance for Sorata's genkiness, which could be somewhat overwhelming and could lead to...mild twitching.

They had potential as a couple, the shoujo manga editor side of him noted briefly before turning his attention back to the suspicious newcomer.

The blonde casually rejected his offer to join them at the hospital before admitting his status as a Dragon of Earth.

For some reason, Seiichirou wasn't particularly surprised. Without regret, he watched the man depart with narrowed eyes, leaving him alone with Karen.

He looked at the red-haired Seal and smiled, "Well, I guess that leaves just us. I suppose there's nothing else left to do but to get to the hospital. Yuzuriha-san's probably waiting for us. Not to mention, we should probably check up on Kamui and his friend."

With that said, he leapt onto a nearby skyscraper and began to move toward the white building in the distance. The air was cleaner at a higher altitude; the wind more pleasant. Seiichirou jumped easily across the gaps between business buildings.

At the same time, however, something began to nag at the back of his mind. He was forgetting something important...

Seiichirou frowned as he continued to make his way toward the hospital. He couldn't quite place his finger on it... What exactly was it that had slipped his memory...

"Ano, Kasumi-san? Have we forgotten anything?" he was compelled to ask, although his instinct told him that whatever he had forgotten didn't concern her.

His hand slipped unconsciously inside his pocket and touched a square box. Puzzled, Seiichirou withdrew it. His eyes widened. The ring! For Shimako!

"Oh no, my anniversary!!" the realization burst from his mouth.

At that moment, however, the box fumbled from his fingers, falling several hundred feet into the dark alley below.

"Shimatta!!!" the wind caster cursed for the first time in a long time. Horror-stricken, he despised his own clumsiness. This was the second time that day he had dropped something immensely important. First, it had been Kamui and now this.

"Kasumi-san, gomen nasai... But we've got to get that box!" he called to her anxiously, hoping for some aid. He was just about to dive after it when his eyes caught sight of people that made him think twice. On a smaller building next to the alley, there stood a figure wrapped in a cloak--he was looking down at a girl, a boy with pale, white hair... and a man that looked quite familiar...

"Hey, isn't that Sumeragi-san?" Seiichirou paused, looking at Karen in confusion. He added in a low murmur, becoming alert, "And both the man and the boy that are with him seem to have powerful auras as well..."

He abruptly stopped whispering, remembering the rapidly descending jewelry box. Gripped by urgency, Seiichirou shouted impetuously to those below, "Oy!!! If you see a falling box, please catch it, onegai!!!"

* * *

A sly smile gradually spread across Yuurei's face. He had admired Sumeragi Subaru for many years, but now the young man seemed to be falling apart. Yuurei had longed for the opportunity to speak with him. Well, now was his chance. He had no will to run back into his destiny just yet. "I know everything about your 'Seishirou-san,'" he answered softly. "Just as I know everything about you."

"Just who are you?" Subaru repeated. "How do you know me?!" He tossed his cigarette on the ground.

Yuurei's face grew solemn. "I've already told you. I am...merely a shadow. I am everywhere and know everything about your past." Not that he particularly enjoyed speaking in riddles, but he could not afford to defy Fate in every sense of the matter.

Then the Watcher bowed his head, and his brow lifted as his single useful eye filled with sorrow. "Your wounds are severe. You should treat them immediately."

"I don't care about that!" Subaru said. "If I die, at least it'll be by the hand of Seishirou-san."

He could almost feel the young man's pain, it was so palpable. Shaking his head wearily, Yuurei's soul saddened at Subaru's hopelessness. "I know your pain all too well, my friend. You are a victim of Fate, as is Sakurazuka. I could tell you aspects about him that not even you could fathom to be true, but to do so would be...to interfere." He drifted off with a grimace, averting his eyes to the ground, full of self-hatred.

"Tell me, then!" he shouted out. "Does he...does he love me?"

Suddenly, Subaru felt dumb. It was so stupid, so stupid to ask a total stranger that. He probably had no idea WHAT Seishirou's feelings were. And even if he did, he KNEW that Seishirou didn't love him. There was no way.

Yuurei saw the humiliation in Subaru's eyes the moment he asked the question. Such desperate longing...the Watcher knew what that was like. But...could he give this young man what he wanted? He knew the answer...and knew that it had the capacity to change Fate altogether.

But as much as he knew in his logical, rational mind that he could not risk to say it, his heart and his soul told him that it had to be said. Not to say it would be to destroy any hope this admirable young man possessed. So slowly he parted his lips, and in a husky voice that was nearly swallowed by the wind, he murmured, "Hai."

Subaru stumbled back as the stranger uttered the single-syllable word from his lips. He was filled with doubt, as much as he wanted to believe it, as much as he wanted to...it couldn't be true.

Why would Seishirou kill his onee-san if he loved him? Why would he hurt him the way he did tonight if he loved him?

It couldn't be true.

Tears welled up in his eyes. He tried to hold them back, and was successful, for the time being.

"Why?"

For a moment Yuurei was afraid Subaru might collapse to his knees and was prepared to leap down and keep him from further injuring himself. But when the young Sumeragi staggered but managed to stay standing, Yuurei stifled a sigh of relief. This was utter foolishness. He should have ended the conversation then and there.

But he could not. "He hides himself from you in blood...as I seek refuge among the other shadows. For him, to love is the greatest folly and sign of weakness. He does not know himself, and he refuses to learn."

He couldn't keep the tears from falling. Subaru felt like a child once again. He hated crying, let alone in public. He felt so vulnerable, so young, so alone.

After the stranger said those words, he knew it was true. It had to be.

He tried to hide his face with his hands. He didn't want them to see his tears.

Swiftly, but with vigilant movements, Yuurei descended the remaining distance to the ground. As he approached the young Onmyouji, he kept his careful eye watchfully on Nataku and the human girl. Then he turned his attention back to Subaru. "Gomen nasai," he murmured gently. "I wish it were different. If sacrificing my life would change him, I would do that for you in an instant." He gazed somberly down at the man who held his face with his bloody hands. "I wish...I could give you what you want."

Subaru collapsed into Yuurei's arms, a mixture of flesh, blood, and tears. "I'm so stupid...so stupid."

Yuurei had to force himself from stumbling back in utter shock. He had never seen the man act so desperately to the entire open world. At first he was unsure of what to do. But Subaru's trembling body practically radiated pain--both physical and emotional--and shame as he clung to Yuurei's shoulders. So every so slowly the Watcher enclosed his arms around the young man and held him in a tender embrace. "You are not a fool, Subaru," he whispered gravely, staring absently into the night beyond the waking world. "You are wise and conscientious beyond your years. These things cannot be helped. But never...never believe what he might say of you. I could think of many words to describe you, but 'stupid' is most certainly not one of them."

* * *

Satsuki was fine. Kanoe felt her previous worry ebb away.

"I'm glad you're still alive, Satsuki-chan," she told the girl, trying for the casual effect although she had been more concerned than she would liked to admit, "Losing you before the Promised Day would've been a major blow to our side... You're not someone who can be easily replaced, after all."

It was a compliment. Sort of.

"In any case," Kanoe continued, returning her focus to more pressing matters, "we have to find the Kamui and convince him to join us." She smiled wryly, "His allegiance at this moment doesn't appear as... steady as we would like, don't you agree?"

Kanoe placed a contemplative finger under her chin as she wondered aloud, "But perhaps we can offer him something in exchange..."

The dream walker paused, lost in thought. It didn't take long for an idea to come to her. The dream walker closed her eyes, searching for one particular dream and catching a brief glimpse of it before its owner returned to reality. Kanoe smiled, reopening her eyes with a predatory-like grin of satisfaction. So the dainty bird had woken up.

_"Konban wa, Satsuki-san. You look like hell."_

"Yuuto!" Kanoe exclaimed, turning at the sound of his voice. For a minute, she just smiled at him. No teasing, no mocking. Just solid, pure relief. He was alive as well. Thank goodness.

Then slightly envious at the attention he was giving Satsuki, she decided to pout, "What? No greeting for me? Kigai-san, I'm hurt..."

But she winked to show that she really wasn't. In fact, she was almost happy. Things seemed to be getting back to normal. There was only one thing missing and his name was Fuuma Monou.

But that could be easily remedied. Kanoe's features darkened with a coldness that she rarely showed. A certain golden-haired girl was going to make sure of that.

With a bright smile that overshadowed her calculating eyes, she suggested to the Dragons of Earth, "Now that we're all back together... how 'bout we pay a visit to the hospital and pick up someone? I'm sure she's dying to see her dear Onii-chan again."

* * *

Humans are strange. He watched the appearance of the newest man, this 'shadow' from a slight distance. What passed between him and Subaru for the most part wasn't understood by him. And that was alright. It wasn't his concern. It didn't mean he was totally passive. From the beginning, he too was ready in the event of a battle, only more subtly. He noticed the attempt on the Dragon of Heaven's part to shield Alysia from any danger. He should've felt gratitude. He would deny feeling anything. But Nataku in the deepest recesses of his heart felt...something at that.

His eyes slid over to her, wondering what she was making of all of this. She was sensitive, he concluded, even more so than most people. He moved over to her silently, a hand hesitantly lifting, but falling again before even making contact with her shoulder.

"You shouldn't be here. You should go."

"Huh?" Alysia jumped back into the here and now at Nataku's words. She'd been absorbed by the scene not so far away, neither hearing nor understanding all of it herself.

"But Subaru-san looks upset. Maybe I should-" She started to take a step closer but then thought better of it. She looked back up to the clone with a sigh.

"I saw it. You wanted to touch me just now. Why did you stop yourself?"

He was really hoping that she'd missed that. Nataku blinked, unable to answer her question. The very fact that she asked him unnerved him to the point of dangerously dulling his senses.

"Tonight has been rather hectic. I should get back to the lab." Nataku turned his back to her, walking a few steps away before glancing back over his shoulder. "See to it that you get to the hotel safely Alysia."

Nataku leapt from the ground to the lamppost, lamp post to the rooftop. And then he was lost to the darkness of the night. Gone before she could protest or question and confuse him further.


	24. Chapter 22: Ambiguity

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Ambiguity**

"Nataku, please wait!" Alysia held a small hand out to his retreating form to no avail. He was gone. She sighed heavily before allowing her head to lull forward. Tears were stinging her eyes painfully. Where he claimed to have no emotions, she seemed to have enough for both of them.

And she still didn't know exactly where the hotel was on top of everything. "Why do you always run away from me?" She cursed softly under her breath, scolding herself for it while also unable to keep from doing it.

* * *

Looking back to Kanoe, Yuuto grinned and chuckled. "My greetings to you should go without saying, Kanoe-san. I'm just concerned about poor Satsuki's condition, that's all."

At the lovely dream watcher's suggestion, Yuuto cocked an eyebrow. "You mean Kotori...Kamui's little girlfriend? He may not be too happy about that." Recalling the scene he had just left, after having the frail young girl taken out of his arms by Kamui himself, Yuuto smothered a wince. The poor thing had been through so much. Did they have the right to toy with her Fate? "Ano...I don't think Kamui-san would like that very much at all."

* * *

Fuuma entered the gate in front of his house. A smile came to his face, realizing this would be the last time this cherished memory would be seen by his eyes...such was a sacrifice that had to be made for the planet. He had told Seishirou to wait for something to happen before intervening, so he could be alone on the yard which he spent most of his life.

"You know I'm gonna get you back for Yuzuriha-chan..." A voice came from the shadows, revealing Sorata as he walked out into view. He smirked at Fuuma. "And I'm not gonna let you get that sword either. So what's the point of staying here?"

Fuuma turned and smiled at Sorata, almost pleased to see his cheery face again. "Oh...it's you again." He noticed Sorata's position, blocking Fuuma's clear path to the Shrine. "I see you're going to be stubborn and get in my way." He said as his smiled broadened. "To bad it won't matter in the end...Destiny has already been decided. So let me ask you, what's the point of staying here?"

"Heh...You think I'm gonna let Destiny tell me what to do? I'm way to heroic for that." Sorata concentrated and set up a barrier around the house and shrine. He grinned and charged a attack. "Now are you going to give up and leave or is this going to get messy?"

Fuuma smiled and cracked his knuckles. He chuckled at Sorata's comment. "It's a shame you don't listen to reason...You're really quite entertaining...Though I might just have to kill you without granting your wish." He got ready for Sorata's attack, ready to move without bothering to use his powers. The boy was interesting, a little too arrogant for his own good however.

"Why, Thank you! But flattery will get you nowhere...I'm still going to kick your ass!" Sorata launched a barrage of Lightning orbs at Fuuma, running across the open yard to another tree.

* * *

Monou enter the shrine to find Kamui, holding the sword still wrapped in its canvas. He held his Shinnai firmly beside him. "Kamui! What are you doing? You can't wield that yet, you're not ready!" He got ready for Kamui's next move, expecting it to be hostile. This was definitely going to be his last day alive, this was something he already knew.

Kamui turned around slowly as he heard Mr. Monou enter the shrine, a slight chuckle escaping his lips. "Your hearing is pretty good for an old man. I thought I would have made it out of here without you realizing, but..."

He didn't pay much attention to Monou's plea. Why would he? He had what he wanted and didn't plan on letting anyone stop him. Walking up to Monou slowly, Kamui held out his hand and began to charge a small psychic wave. It wasn't Kamui's intention to kill the old man, but if he had to rough him up a bit to get what he wanted, then so be it.

"I'm leaving with the Shinken weather you like it or not." A cruel smirk streaked across his face "And I suggest you move out of my way, unless you want to end up like everyone else..."

Suddenly, a horrible piercing sound ripped through Kamui's ears. Gripping his head, Kamui stumbled back, dropping the Shinken. "A -a Kekkai? Here!?"

Sensing the two powers just right outside the door, Kamui picked up the Sword, darted past Monou and outside. Unsure of who the attackers were, Kamui immediately jump on top of the roof of shrine for a better view. In the distance, bolts of lightning seem to clash everywhere. Kamui could sense right away that it was that Osaka boy from before, but who he was fighting was unknown to him. The others persons power was incredibly strong...even familiar.

"It couldn't be..."said Kamui as he gazed out in the distance. "Fuuma? Is that you!?" He leapt down from the roof and bounded off towards he midst of the fight with the sword in hand.

* * *

Arashi ran outside. Everyone had gotten up so suddenly. Curse her late reactions.

She saw the green field. And Mr. Monou… he was going to the shrine. Was that...Fuuma in Sorata's field?!

"Sorata!" Arashi hurried to the field. She was torn, the field or the shrine? She looked at the two boys. Then over her shoulder at the shrine. Her sword appeared in her hand as she tried to decide where to turn her attention.

* * *

He understood Fuuma's need to enter alone. He did not, however, like the idea of waiting around in plain sight. So, taking refuge among the shadows of the gate, he kept perfectly silent like a panther ready to pounce on its prey.

The seconds passed like hours. What was Subaru doing right now? At this random thought, Seishirou shook his head and jarred himself back to the present. That did not matter. Such absurd notions had no place in his mind anyway.

Suddenly he felt the universe tremble, and a great kekkai surrounded the shrine, dragging him treacherously into the murky depths of another dimension. This was good enough, he decided. Vaulting effortlessly over the gate, he landed lightly in a tree branch for a better view, his toes poised and together as though suspended there from a string.

Fuuma was already engaged in a round with a punkish kid in a scruffy jacket and ball cap. One of the Seven Seals, no doubt. And there were other presences...inside the Togakushi Shrine. Seishirou studied their makings intently. One was Kamui--that was simple enough to discern. The other...another Dragon of Heaven? Yes, that was most likely it.

Soon his assertions were proved correct as a pretty young girl ran out of the entrance to eye the battle. When she summoned a sword from within her hand, Seishirou smirked and left his hiding place. It would just be plain rude to allow her to interrupt Fuuma's fun.

She seemed to be hesitating over which way to turn. He would solve that problem for her. Landing elegantly before her not ten paces away, his brow furrowed as his mouth screwed itself into a familiar twisted simper. "Another Dragon of Heaven," he murmured his earlier assumption aloud. "I'm afraid I can't let you go any farther."

There was Kamui, running out to the battle field. She went to run after him, when someone stepped in her way. _A Dragon of Earth?! _

"What?" she asked. She glared at him. Arashi pulled her hand closer to her chest, the sword blocking her.

"I'll go where I please." she said. Then, the sword dissipated for a moment. She summoned energy in her hand, and set up her kekkai.

Automatically, the sword was back. "If I have to fight you, I will. Although I would rather spare you." she said coldly. She looked at him with emotionless eyes. "It's your choice."

Seishirou smirked as the second kekkai was summoned and the girl's sword was drawn. "I certainly hope you don't intend to defeat me with that stick alone," he chuckled in mock benevolence.

"I don't want to fight you." Arashi repeated again sternly. "Only if you do not back down, I will have no choice."

He could sense the battle still in progression at his back. Fuuma was not yet done with the punk Seal yet, and Seishirou was not about to let this comrade of his interrupt them. "I think you already know the answer to that," he replied, summoning a bout of energy in the formation of his inverted pentagram insignia.

"Then, I will not let you leave this kekkai alive." She drew her sword away from her, pointing it at Seishirou. She looked at him, unmoving. She looked behind him at Sorata. She'd just have to hold off a while, make sure he finishes first...

Seishirou was a master illusionist. He knew she had seen his tricks before...in the DIET building. Without a word he lifted a hand and shouted a few words of a spell. Instantly the ground fell away, and all that was left before his opponent was a giant boulder hurtling straight toward her.

Arashi saw the boulder coming. She hardly had the time to dodge it. She slipped to the side, barely skimming it. She bent down on one knee. It only took her that split second to realize where she'd seen this power before. Arashi jumped towards Seishirou, swinging her sword down at his face.

Quick on his reflexes, and thankful that he had recovered almost entirely from his battle with Subaru, Seishirou revealed a slip of paper--a curse ward--and summoned its power to block her blow. Upon impact, it shattered into a million sakura blossoms, giving him the chance to duck and get behind her.

"Ah!" Arashi breathed. She shielded her eyes with her free hand. She couldn't see, and she knew he would use this to her advantage. She swung her armed hand to the side, and spun around in a circle, searching for him.

Seishirou dodged expertly, but the young woman managed to nick him in the shoulder. Even blinded, she handled her blade like a master. Grimacing, he leaped back and held two fingers before his eyes. "I'm impressed," he admitted through a snicker. "But how will you handle this?" And with that he sent a beam of razor-sharp scarlet light in her direction.

Arashi had just gotten her vision back. She blinked a few times. Was that a light in her face? The lights were there, and they hit her face, connecting with her skin. The razor edges tore into her cheek, and her eye. Her hand instinctively reached up to the blood. "I've got more." she muttered. She rubbed the caked blood from her view. She jumped forward, striking at him again.

Seishirou had just finished his somewhat draining attack--even more so considering the fact that he had just recovered from a previous battle--so he did not see the blade coming to strike him through the midst of his ray until it was too late. The sword punctured his right shoulder, and his eyes widened with a sharp gasp. Almost automatically he tore himself away, cringing and stifling a shout as the metal ripped through his coarse flesh. Once he had retreated to a safe enough distance, he clutched his wound with his free hand and forced out a laugh of ironic nature. "Not bad...," he muttered through clenched teeth. "But I'm not done yet."

"Don't count me out either!" Arashi yelled to him. She jumped forward again. If she could help it, Seishirou would not get the chance to get her again. Her eye burned though, and it was hard for her to concentrate on what she was doing. But she managed to come close enough to him where she could attempt striking again. Arashi almost smirked, as she aimed for his good eye. Even if the target was missed, she could almost be positive that she would hit something.

His good eye? He smirked. Harsh, but he could tell what she was aiming for. Gritting his teeth easily against the pain-- he had suffered far worse many times before--Seishirou shoved himself to the side. And though it was not enough to completely miss the attack, he did save his eye. The edge of the blade sliced through his ear, but it was a minor injury. He hit the ground, rolled, and leaped to his feet all in the blink of an eye. Already having in mind his next maneuver, he poised his hand at her chest and uttered the enchantment. A giant curse-hawk whirled into existence and spat screeching for the girl's face.

He was fast, but... Arashi hardly had time to cry out in pain. The hawk clawed at her face, scratching her. She jerked her head to the side. Swinging out with her blade, her knocked the creature away. "Very nice.." she muttered. "But not good enough!" She jumped back a few times.

* * *

Subaru was a mess. He reeked of sweat, blood, and cigarette smoke. To say the man had "had a long night" would have been the understatement of the millennium. The young Onmyouji trembled with every ragged breath, chest shaking violently as he wept, and Yuurei had to latch his arms under the man's shoulders just to keep him from slipping from his grasp and collapsing to the ground in a heap.

His mind reprimanded him harshly for breaking his watch for the third time in one night. But for that single moment, it was worth it. Subaru had kept all this pain locked within himself for so many years with no one to whom he could turn. To know that he could ease this respectable man's anguish, even if only for this brief precious instant, Yuurei would have sacrificed much more than the approval of his conscience.

They stood there in the middle of the street for countless seconds, as silent as blackest night save for the softness of the exhausted Onmyouji's sobs muffled against the Watcher's stalwart chest. And, as those same seconds ticked by and turned into minutes, Yuurei's mind began to drift to another place...far from reality. Would he ever have the chance to hold Kakyou like this again? To relieve the pain of the one whom he loved with every fiber of his very being, more than any other? Or would Fate rip him brutally away with mind- searing madness each time he got close?

Almost absently he lowered his unseeing gaze to Subaru's mottled black hair. "I also know what it is to love hopelessly," he whispered in a gentle, steady tenor. "His heart is set on another; I'm not sure whether he loves me or despises me. And his destiny..." He broke off for a moment to smother the snarl that was working its way up his throat as he thought of Fuuma and how cruelly the Twin Star would undoubtedly treat the sweet dream seer. "...He-- his destiny--belongs to my worst nightmare." Returning the gaze of his single glassy crimson eye to Subaru's trembling form, he retained the beautiful picture of the elegant Yume-mi firmly in his mind. Still he did not cry--he never cried--and his voice was controlled and unwavering when he spoke again. "I know all too well how much it hurts--every twinge of agony that constantly eats away at the heart and soul. It makes you feel helpless, doesn't it? And inferior..." His unpracticed voice trailed into the vast nothingness that lay beyond the realms of Night, and he could force it to work no more.

"You and I...we're the same then," Subaru said. "But..." He paused. "You never told me your name. I never thought I'd let myself cry in a stranger's arms."

* * *

Fuuma dodged out of the way of all of Sorata's attacks. He smiled at the genki boy, breathing heavily. His eyes met with Sorata's, eyeing him as he also paused. "I'm impressed that you have enough power to keep throwing these kinds of attacks...I mean your determination to hit me is truly something."

Sorata grinned viciously at Fuuma. "Shut up! I'm sick of you commenting every damn detail like your holier than thou!" He got ready, charging another attack as he tried to catch his breath quicker than Fuuma caught his. He was sick of this arrogant asshole...a force to be reckoned with but this twin star was really beginning to piss Sorata off.

Fuuma chuckled at Sorata's temper. "So you want me to stop talking? Well I guess I should stop playing with you..." His eyes suddenly narrowed as he sent a powerful telekinetic blow to Sorata, causing him to strike a tree. "You were just very entertaining is all...I apologize for not taking you seriously." Fuuma grinned darkly as the force of the blow only strengthened...pressing Sorata into the tree's trunk.

Sorata let out a cry of pain as he felt the solid object press into his back, luckily getting a very flat part of the trunk. He groaned as he suddenly felt himself cough, spilling crimson blood out his mouth. _Damn it...I can't let him… _His eyes caught the sight of Kamui, widening as they realized this was real and he was indeed holding the sword. _NO! He can't be so stupid!  
_  
Fuuma looked over and caught sight of Kamui, smiling evilly at his Gemini. "So you decided to fulfill your destiny..." He strengthen the grip on Sorata, now focusing on the boy's neck. "To be a part of the vision this boy was to deliver."

Sorata felt his neck squeeze. _No Kamui! You can't let him get that sword! If you don't...Monou will... _At that moment he saw Mr. Monou hastily exit the shrine with a shocked look on his face...undoubtedly from seeing his once peaceful son turned evil.

Fuuma smiled at Kamui, wondering what his friend would do now.

Kamui's eyes widened in horror as he gazed at Fuuma's cruel onslaught against Sorata. That face. Those Eyes. They were nothing like the Fuuma he knew. Could this have been what Hinoto meant? That his Twin Star had awakened?

"Fuuma!" he called out as he ran toward his friend. "Fuuma, what's happened to you? This is nothing like yourself! Please stop! Remember who your are!"

Kamui's pleas rung out across the sky. He could only hope that they wouldn't fall on deaf ears and the one he cares for would return to normal.

* * *

Kakyou couldn't help but smile a bit as the young girl faded from the dream world. The smile slowly faded however, as his golden eyes returned to look at the sea. Another playful breeze swept through, but Kakyou did not notice. He was too far gone in his own thoughts….

_ The real world.. _he mused to himself, his piercing gaze moving to look up into the deep blue sky, as if trying to cut a hole through it so that he could be released from this prison. He shook his head in disgust. _ No. I have given up on that place. It barely exists for me anymore.. _ However much his mind denounced the world, his golden eyes still looked upward toward the heavens. A small moan rose in his throat and he tore his eyes away, only the bury his face in his hands. _ Why? Why does fate have to turn out this way?!?! Why can't it change? Why can't it change!_

Through stumbling lips Kakyou murmured, "Yuurei.." His fingers brushed against his lips reverently. He would never forget that meeting.. every sentence, every word,…every touch. It was engrained on his memory and so it will remain forever. A single shudder wracked his slender frame and his heart began to beat faster as each piece was played before him in his mind..

Lifting his face, his gaze returned to the sky. And what he saw fall, would make him pause. It was a single leaf.. from the tree that Kakyou recognized as the tree where his and the Watcher's friendship had began. It floated lightly, and Kakyou stretched out his hand as if to catch it, but before his hand even closed about it, a breeze blew it away.. out over the sea.. He followed it with his eyes until it was a speck on the horizon..

He still loved Hokuto and he would continue to do so, but Kakyou now saw that the love he had for Yuurei was timeless and more meaningful there was something there that was an entity all it's own..

When he had looked into Yuurei's crimson eyes everything but themselves had ceased to exist. Time, the world and fate itself had coming to a screeching halt in those moments and now there was no turning back..

But Kakyou knew also that they must turn away. The agonizing images came back to him in a rush. The pain in the Watcher's eyes, and the scream.. It had almost ripped him in two. In a brutal wave of self- honesty, Kakyou understood that he had managed to hurt the one person that he had wanted to protect..

He wouldn't let it happen again.

Firm now in his thoughts, the dream-seer scanned the horizon of the oceans cape. He couldn't let Yuurei return to haunt his dreams any longer. Kakyou didn't want him to go through any more pain on his account. He would love the Watcher forever and he no longer wanted to cause him pain. Tears sprung anew into his eyes as he slowly and painstakingly began to seal off his dreamscape.. inch by aching inch…

"I am so sorry Yuurei." he whispered, his voice immediately snatched up by the breeze that had begun to grow stronger..

* * *

Satsuki shuddered slightly as the Kamui nodded to her before leaving, followed by a smirk from Seishirou as he too made his exit. She let out a sigh of relief that she didn't know she had been holding in as her two fellow Dragons swept out of the shop. The danger had passed.

Satsuki took a deep breath to compose herself and allowed her usual emotionless expression to slide over her face. She felt a bit foolish for allowing her emotions to run wild when the Kamui had attacked her. The girl listened silently as Kanoe talked to her; she still didn't feel up to making conversation yet. However, when the dream seer mentioned that they had to find the Kamui again, Satsuki couldn't repress a shiver. Find him again? Hadn't he done enough damage for today?

The girl was about to protest when a figure appeared in the doorway of the ramen shop and approached the corner where she was. _"Konban-wa, Satsuki-san. You look like hell," _Yuuto said with his usual cheerful politeness.

Satsuki looked up at Yuuto, relieved to see that he was alive and uninjured. However, instead of greeting him joyfully as any other person would do, she glanced up at him with an expressionless look. "Brilliant observation, San-san," the computer mastermind remarked dryly.

Satsuki listened gratefully as Yuuto voiced his dissent towards Kanoe's idea. Looking at the dream walker, Satsuki said, "There's no need to convince the Twin Star to join our side. He's already made quite good friends with the Sakurazukamori; he's as good as on our side already. And I agree with San-san, we don't need Kamui-san to be irritated at us. Besides, the Twin Star might be irritated as well. And irritating him isn't a good idea."

The girl lifted a hand to her face and gingerly touched her cheek to test for bruising. She winced in pain at the light pressure, and her fingers came away stained with blood. No doubt her face was covered with unsightly cuts and bruises; the rest of her body certainly was. She looked up from her position on the floor and smiled ruefully at her companions. "I think I'd like to recover for a bit before I face our Kamui again."

* * *

In many ways, Subaru was right. They were the same. But not in every aspect. In fact, Yuurei felt more like Seishirou than ever before. He had abandoned Kakyou for years, in a sense, and had left him with nothing but pain when the man needed him most. Was he cruel? Yes, it certainly seemed that way. He felt...wicked...worthless, depraved.

_"You never even told me your name..."_

The soft words brought him back to the present, and he glanced down again and refocused his eye. His expression was gentle but firm. That was the one thing he could not give. "My name is not important," he answered quietly. "You know me as Kantoku-sama. That will have to suffice for now."

He felt the tepid blood soaking the draping sleeves of his cloak. Subaru had been wounded terribly, and Yuurei could sense his diminishing life force. Afraid that another moment out on the street would present more danger, the Watcher carefully lifted the man into his arms like a frightened child and vaulted back into the air.

Through the sleeping city of Tokyo they traversed, until at last Yuurei landed at the doorstep of Subaru's temporary Tokyo apartment. Of course he knew where the young Onmyouji had been staying--it was his duty to keep tabs on all of their living quarters. So, using telekinesis to open the door from the inside, he entered quickly and shut the door behind them.

Once he found Subaru's bedroom, he lay the young man down in the bed and helped him remove his tattered trench coat. "I assumed you would rather not be taken to the hospital," he mumbled sympathetically, knowing all too well what Subaru's reaction to that would have likely been. Not waiting for a reply, he found his way easily to the kitchen and returned soon with a cold damp cloth. Placing it over the young Sumeragi's bruised face, the Watcher gingerly dabbed at the bloody gashes on the man's body. "Try to get some rest," he said slowly. "You're in no position to face the End of the World in this condition."

Subaru liked being taken care of.

His sister and Seishirou used to fuss over him all the time. _"You're not eating much," _Hokuto would say, when Subaru would come home and refuse to eat her dinner. _"Will you really not eat and insult your onee-sama's good cooking?!"  
_  
Even Seishirou would be concerned. _"You're not sleeping well, are you? You shouldn't work yourself so hard, Subaru-kun."  
_  
Even if never showed appreciation for those few moments, he really did enjoy it. And now, it had been so many years since someone had shown that much concern that it hurt him to feel it again, and know how it was like to live so long without it.

"You don't have to do this, you know," Subaru reminded 'Kantoku', although he was sure that Kantoku was perfectly aware of the fact.

Smiling down at the mangled figure on the bed, Yuurei took a seat beside him on the mattress and pressed the cloth to his battered neck. "Don't worry about it. I've already done too much damage to make amends now."

For a moment he stared out the window, his mind wandering briefly from the room. But quickly he shook himself and looked back down at Subaru. "Can I get you anything to eat? You look famished."

* * *

Fuuma smiled at Kamui, letting Sorata fall to the ground gasping. He approached Kamui with a eerie posture. He extended his hand. "Give me the sword Kamui...or I will take it by force."

Fuuma concentrated on a coil of rope inside, causing it to attempt to sang Kamui's leg and hold him in place. He stopped in front of Kamui and tried to seize the sword. "This is our fate, Kamui...For we are the same and only one of us shall live to see their future fulfilled."

Sorata fell to the ground, breathing heavily. "KAMUI! Get the sword away from you before it's too late!!" He could barely move, not even enough to save his girl...funny when you're close to death you admit things that aren't necessarily true. He smiled to himself and he felt the pain rush through him. Now wasn't his time to die...just his time to be knocked out...No...the barrier had to stay up...He struggled to use every last bit of energy to keep the barrier alive.

Mr. Monou moved toward the struggling twins. He was horrified that two so close were destined to hurt each other so. Nevertheless he had a duty to protect the sword and perhaps it's removal would restore the boys to their original selves...restore his Fuuma to the boy he loved. "KAMUI! FUUMA STOP THIS INSANITY!" He moved closer, ready to try to knock them both away...perhaps too close.

As Arashi sprang back to put some distance between then, Seishirou smirked and glanced at the battle that was commencing behind them. Fuuma had already made quick work of the punk kid, as was inevitable.

Chuckling darkly as he turned back to the female Seal, Seishirou let his arms hang loosely at his sides, discreetly preparing another mental attack. "Looks like your partner is in pretty bad shape. But I won't want to make you feel left out..." He lifted his hand and sent an invisible telekinetic blast at her, forcing her lithe body back and brutally against the wall of the shrine...

As Arashi was thrown against the shrine wall, a scream of pain escaped her lips. It was clearly seen that he wasn't going to hold back anymore. She didn't know if she would be able to move.

It hurt so much. She tried forcefully to pull her small frame away from the shrine. Sorata was really kicked up over there. She wanted to help, but she couldn't even help herself.

She slumped down, her body dragging against the rough wall. She'd just...stay there for a moment. She needed to think of something. But in the time it would take her to think of something, she could lose her kekkai.

Arashi would dodge. That was the great conclusion. She'd dodge his attacks for the longest time, until finally...she'd think of something better to do. "Now, now, I wouldn't want to take away my comrades fun. That wouldn't be very nice of me." she managed to say- nearly croaked it out. She pushed herself from the wall, jumping at Seishirou, slow, but she'd make it. Her blade swung down, barely missing him. Hopefully, it would be enough to scare him so she could swing behind him for a good blow...

* * *

Kamui's body trembled slightly as he gazed into Fuuma's cold hard gaze. This was nothing like the Fuuma he knew. This was someone else entirely...

He stumbled back, feeling something wrap around his leg. "What!?"

Kamui pulled his leg as hard s he could, trying to release himself from the rope. Getting no where fast, Kamui held out his hand and began to focus his powers on the rope. Almost instantly, it was torn to pieces and Kamui was free once again.

Though now he stared face to face with his best friend. Kamui wasn't prepared when Fuuma reached out for the sword. Nearly losing his grip, he struggled to keep the sacred sword in his possession.

"Let go!" he demanded. "Your not Fuuma...Your a monster! Tell me, what happened to Fuuma!?"

Fuuma grinned at his childhood friend. "He awoke to realize who he really was..." He noticed Mr. Monou getting closer as Kamui tried to jerk the sword away. Fuuma smiled as everything was happening exactly as it was foretold, the world began to move slowly...the heart beats of the two Kamui's was all Fuuma heard, hearing his rivals speed up as he struggled. It was then Fuuma let go of the sword allowing Destiny to take its horrid course as the pull of Kamui pushed him backwards.

Sorata's eyes widened as his heart started to beat faster. That horrid vision was beginning to play out before his eyes and he couldn't stop it...His pupils dilated as he screamed. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He watched the horror play out, too weak to move. Sorata had failed... _I'm sorry master...I tried. _Tears began to spill from Sorata's eyes, as his weak sobs filled the night air.

The blade struck Mr. Monou in the side, his eyes widened as he saw his son's smile. "Fuu...ma...why...?" He fell to the floor with sickening thud, gripping his side as the warm liquid spilled to the floor. The pain of his son's fate pained him more than the wound ever could...These were his final moments. He would never see his son and daughter...days of the time they spent together...raising them when his wife died yielding that monstrosity the two boys fought over. And now the curtain was about to fall on the first act...he had only played a minor role but he didn't regret it...

"I...love...you, Fuu..."He didn't finish as the world started to extinguished whatever flame kept him here...His last thought was of his daughter, who he loved just as dearly.

Fuuma's face became solemn. "You granted his wish, Kamui...I didn't think you had it in you. I must thank you." He smiled inappropriately at Kamui, sending a Telekinetic blast to knock Kamui into a wall violent. "Now release the sword before I grant your friend's wish..." His eyes were colder than before as he stared at Kamui, his smile only growing.

* * *

Subaru shook his head. "Iie. Daijobu." He was sort of hungry, but he never really kept food around the house. Yes, he had a few things, but nothing that could be mixed together to make a 'meal'.

Nowadays, he hardly even ate at all, so it really didn't matter.

His smile saddened. Subaru's tall, lithe form was terribly thin, and that smoking habit of his was not improving his condition. His eyes wandered aimlessly for a moment, and that was when he noticed how bloody the sheets were becoming.

"Ano," he said slowly, standing back up to rummage through the Onmyouji's diminutive closet. "Perhaps you should change into something cleaner. Those clothes you have on now are getting blood everywhere." He tried to make his smile look polite, but his concern was escalating. He could almost cut Subaru's pain with a knife, it was so thick and deep-seated.

Setting a few articles of clean clothing at the foot of the bed, Yuurei made a gesture toward the door. "Just give me those dirty things, and I'll wash them for you. I'll wait for you...out there." After all, he certainly did not want to impose or make the young man feel more uncomfortable than he already did...

Subaru looked down at the clothes Yuurei had chosen for him to wear and felt a sudden bout of nostalgia.

His sister would always force him to wear the clothes of her own design. This was one of them.

Subaru looked down at the clothes, then up at Yuurei.

"Don't go..." he begged. "Please...I don't want to be alone right now."

He paused and winced as Subaru said those words. Exactly what he was afraid of. Turning back around, he came to sit back down beside the younger man. Very prudently he put his thoughts into words. "I won't leave for the time being, if you want me to stay. But..." He met the man's forsaken dark eyes. "I'm not Seishirou. I know you're hurting, but I can't be what you want. I have duties to attend to."

Doing his best to smile softly, Yuurei reached out and gently brushed a tear from the young Onmyouji's eye. "Please try and get some rest...and eat if you can. I can wash those sheets for you later if you're too tired to change now. Just...try and sleep." He touched Subaru lightly on the shoulder and nodded politely, then moved to take a seat on a cushioned chair beside the bed.

Subaru didn't know what to make of the man's words. What did he mean by that?

Even now, he still couldn't figure it out.

"No, I'll change." Subaru turned away from Yuurei's eyes. He tried to pull the clothes from his flesh, but the dry and new blood combined to make a sticky mess that clung to his body like masking tape. He attempted to pull it off his shirt, but that only resulted in unimaginable pain.

Subaru winced; he never thought it would come to him feeling pain from pulling off clothes. He could save the world from destruction, but for some reason, he couldn't handle this little pain.

"Maybe not."

His expression softened with sorrowful melancholy as he watched the young Onmyouji struggle with the bloody clothes. Had he been too harsh on the man? The poor Seal had just barely gotten out of a battle in which the man he loved most had tormented and taunted him, using his innocent affections as a way to drive his heart into the ground.

Sighing in almost reluctant compassion, Yuurei stood and came again to sit beside the tormented young man. Picking up the damp cloth, he put a careful hand on Subaru's shoulder. "Hold still, this may sting a bit." He dabbed at the drying blood that was causing the fabric to cling to Subaru's skin, then gently eased the damp tattered shirt off of his lithe body. "Is that any better?" he added pensively after a moment, wiping tenderly at his ensanguined skin after tossing the ruined shirt to the floor. Subaru winced as Yuurei pulled the clothes from his body. A few of his wounds re-opened, and he found himself biting his tongue to prevent him from yelping out in pain.

"Thank you," he said silently, as he walked to the bathroom and grabbed some bandages from underneath his bathroom sink. He left a track of bloody footprints as he walked. He noticed this as he returned back to the bed and wondered how exactly he'd explain this to the tenant.

"Could you help me please?" Subaru asked, handing Yuurei the bandages.

* * *

When the Seal dodged and managed to escape his blast, Seishirou recalled his attack and got back on guard. Good thing, too, as the young woman charged him immediately, though quite clumsily at first. She was tired. Well, so was he.

He moved to the side to avoid the first blow, then tracked her follow- through until her back was to him. His opening in sight, he interlaced his fingers together to make one hammer-like fist, and smashed it with tremendous force against her spine. Not very suave-- not much his style--but apparently...very effective...

* * *

_"He awoke to realize who he really was..."_

Those words were haunting. All he could do was gaze into his eyes with disbelief. It was then that Fuuma had let go of the sword.

He fell back unable to keep his balance, the sword slipping backward...and impaling Mr. Monou.

"N-NO!" cried Kamui as he witnessed his body fall to the floor. There was nothing he could do. He stood there helplessly as he watched Mr. Monou pass from this world.

_"You granted his wish, Kamui...I didn't think you had it in you. I must thank you." _

Kamui wasn't prepared for what happened next. He flew back, crying out in pain as the blast hit him dead on. The pain was unbearable. Not just from the wounds, but from the betrayal. Tears began to swell up with tears as he stared up as his friend.

"F-Fuuma..." he whispered. He clenched the Shinken tighter, not willing to let go. He couldn't give it up to this monster. But he couldn't hurt his friend as well...

Fuuma saw this boy was still going to go against destiny, strengthening his push against the wall. "I will kill both of your seals if you do not surrender the blade..." Fuuma's smile faded as he got even closer to Kamui, grabbing his chin with his cold hand.

"You're delicate...Don't make me break you." He licked Kamui's cheek, finding a small open wound which allowed Fuuma to taste the boys sweet fluid of life. Fuuma did this as his hand pulled back and sent a punch directly at Kamui's stomach, attempting to knock the wind out of him.

Sorata sat in shock as he reflected on the events. Kamui wasn't able to defend against the twin star...it was like he didn't want to. Why was he doing this?! He needed to defend the world but he was too selfish to even save the father of the girl he loved. He struggled to get up, slowly pushing himself up against the tree. He coughed up more blood as he leaned against the tree. If Kamui wouldn't fight, Sorata would.

* * *

Just as he was about to thank Satsuki for supporting him, a sudden power-laden shudder ran down Yuuto's spine. Instantly he turned back  
to the door and looked out, already knowing what he would most likely find. And indeed, one--no, two--kekkai had been summoned in the distance. A battle must have been raging, and they were missing out on it. But who were the combatants? At least two Seals were involved, maybe more. And the energy was coming from the direction of the Togakushi Shrine.

Yuuto turned sharply back to Satsuki and Kanoe. "We'll have to put this discussion on hold for now," he said quickly, then gestured for Satsuki to follow him. "I hope you feel well enough to come along, Satsuki-san. It looks like we have work to do."

Without waiting to see whether she was coming with him, Yuuto sprinted out the door and leaped into the air, bounding from building to building as was his usual mode of transportation. But before he had gotten very far, he heard a frantic yelp from high above his head:

_"That box!"_

Before he knew what was happening, he lifted his head and instinctively held out his hands as a small jewelry box plopped heavily into his grasp. Studying it questioningly for a moment, Yuuto glanced up again to see two familiar figures racing down toward him: the fiery young red-headed Seal and the man in a business uniform wearing glasses and a tie.

Yuuto tried to smile despite the commotion he had been heading toward. "I take it this belongs to you?" he said as the man landed before him. Then he turned his head and frowned in the direction of the kekkai. "What's going on over there? Are your friends in danger?"

And that was when he noticed that neither Kamui nor Sorata was with them...


	25. Chapter 23: Breakdown

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Breakdown**

Kamui cried out as he was forced in the wall harder that before. His body slowly slumping to the floor. Though Fuuma's seemingly endless onslaught had battered his body, Kamui somehow still held the Sacred Sword tightly in his grip.

There was nothing he could do. He couldn't move, let alone defend himself. Once again he was helpless. Kamui's body trembled as Fuuma took hold of his chin. He actually seemed to be find pleasure in his pain.

Licking the blood clean of his cheek, Kamui let out a whimper as the warm saliva stung his wound.

Why was Fuuma torturing him? If he wanted the sword so bad, he could have just killed him from the start. Maybe there was still a chance the real Fuuma still existed in there. He had to try to reach that side of him. "Fuuma...Please stop."

He was cut short when Fuuma launched a devastating punch to his gut. He fell over to his knees, hacking and wheezing, desperately trying to regain his breath. It was then that Kamui could feel his face began to burn, his eyes swelling. Warm tears began to trickle down his cheek...and releasing his grip from the sword.

Fuuma snatched the sword from Kamui, smiling at the boy as he kissed Kamui's tears. "Our promised day is coming...Will you be ready to fight for what you believe in?" He brought his hand across Kamui's face violently. "You are now very weak...if I see you like this again, You will surely die, Kamui" Fuuma turned away from Kamui, walking toward the exit. There was no smile anymore, just a blank slate as he remembered who that boy was and why he had to die.

Sorata struggled to stay standing. "You're not going anywhere!! I won't forgive you! DAMN IT I WON'T FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS!" He tried to charge a lightning orb, finding it a lot harder in his current state of health. He could only smell the blood that this monster had spilled.

Fuuma looked coldly at Sorata. "You think a mere man can harm me when the messenger of God could do nothing? You never seem to stop entertaining me boy...This is why you have a choice. That girl over there is about to die...so are you. Your choice is drop the barrier or I will not stop my friend from killing her or myself from killing you." Fuuma's eyes pierced into Sorata's, sending his deepest sincerities.

Sorata cringed and looked over to Arashi. His life meant nothing but he couldn't let such a babe die like this. Sorata glared at Fuuma, he again had used a woman to make him back down...it was like Fuuma knew him and what made Sorata tick. Sorata called the barrier down, hating Kamui for being so reckless, Fuuma for calling his bluff, and himself for not being able to stop any of it.

Fuuma smiled slightly and bowed. "Thank you very much...Seishirou, I held my end of the bargain, let's go." He looked to Arashi. "If your opponent would please drop the barrier."

Hearing Fuuma's voice, Seishirou paused and glance at the progression of the other battle. A smirk crossed his lips. Kamui had fallen. And Fuuma seemed to be...certainly taking his time enjoying the victory.

Turning back to the fallen Arashi, Seishirou caught himself from attacking again and stepped back to admire his handiwork. "You heard him," he scoffed, placing one hand on his hip to glare down at her with a holier-than-thou glimmer in his eye. "Let down you're barrier and I'll leave you alive. You're in no position to defy me now." At her silence, he approached her and abruptly planted his boot into her gut. "Release your kekkai! Don't force me to kill you..."

Arashi fell. The pain was too much. If he killed her now, she wouldn't have to feel the pain anymore. No, never. She wouldn't give in.

Her eyes widened as Sorata's kekkai dissipated. What was he doing? She would have to yell at him later. Later, yes. She didn't even know if she had a voice box left. She waited a few moments. She would take her time, make him wait, and suffer.

Slowly though, the barrier came down. She hated herself for it. Arashi was never one to give up easily, but now...

"There." she managed to squeak out. "Be on your way, but this is not the end!" she hissed at him.

Smirking contemptuously in satisfaction down at the struggling Seal, Seishirou tipped his head casually. "You've made the right choice," he muttered in a voice that spoke nothing of death or torment or the desire to inflict pain on another fellow human being.

Shoving his hands into the tattered remains of his trench coat, he pivoted elegantly on the balls of his feet and came to stand beside Fuuma. A relaxed smile of genuine cheerfulness flooded his bloodstained complexion. "Now...what were you saying earlier about ice cream?" It was almost as though nothing had ever happened...as though no battle had just occurred.

* * *

Hesitantly Yuurei took the bandages, staring sadly at the tracks of blood on the floor. But he nodded compliantly after a moment and followed Subaru into the bathroom. Wetting the cloth again and ridding it of some of the ensanguined fluid, he pressed it against the young man's back to catch some of the blood from the newly opened wound. "Gomen nasai," he mumbled a quick apology, cursing himself for not being more careful with Subaru's injuries.

"Don't be sorry," Subaru said solemnly. "It's my fault for getting myself into this mess anyway." He looked up at Yuurei with sad eyes. "How did you know...about Seishirou...and I?"

Yuurei smiled softly. "I've been watching the two of you for a very long time. I've seen the way you look at him...and the way he looks at you. Even know...so long after...that incident." He paused, unsure of whether or not to continue. Finally he decided to go ahead. "Even then, I was there. If I could have stopped it..." What else could he say? It was such a painful topic.

Anxious to avert the subject, Yuurei looked around the small bathroom. "Do you have any ointment around here? These wounds could use a bit..."

"You could have stopped it?!" Subaru suddenly jerked towards Yuurei, his eyes filled with anger and accusation, mixed with disbelief. "Why didn't you then?!"

Yuurei jumped at the young man's reaction. He should have seen this coming. Putting his hands gently on Subaru's shoulders, he tried to calm him down. "I was forbidden!" he exclaimed in a harsher voice than he had intended. "Consider my name--Kantoku-sama. The Watcher. This is my position in Fate. I am cursed to observe and never interact, because to do so would mean to face a penalty worse than death. If I were the only one at stake, I would have broken that covenant long ago. Standing here now, talking to you, even that is a risk greater than I should have ever taken!" With anger at both himself and Fate, he released the young man and went back to dabbing at his wounds with forced gentleness.

"If you were the only one at stake?! Who else is at stake that hinders you so much that you can allow yourself to watch people die and suffer?" Subaru spoke in a low voice. He forced himself to calm down. There was nothing that could be done now, nine years later. There was nothing he could do but regret that he had never done anything. But why, then, was he taking it out on Kantoku? Even as he thought about it in his mind, he couldn't figure it out.

Every word was like a scalding acid on Yuurei's soul. Clenching his teeth, he could no longer hold himself up by will alone. He collapsed to his knees and glared icily at the floor. "Gomen nasai...gomen nasai..." He must have repeated those two words for over a minute before glancing up at Subaru's sorrowful face again. "I would have died for you...for her... But my Fate dictates that even if I make such a sacrifice, the deaths that I might prevent would then happen anyway, and Destiny would be carried out as though I had never existed at all...and it would be worse because I would not be there to fulfill my place on the Appointed Day."

He grimaced and shook his head fervently. "To Hell with the Appointed Day! I can't stand this cursed Fate..." He stifled an agonizing moan by placing a hand over his mouth. What was he doing? He was here to help Subaru, and now he was breaking down in front of the young man. Was there a bigger fool anywhere in the world than him?

Subaru suddenly felt really bad. Not only was he acting selfish, but he had hurt someone in the process. He leaned down and pulled Yuurei into his arms, bringing him into a warm embrace.

"No, it is I who am sorry. I didn't know...I'm sorry..."

Yuurei caught the gasp in his throat that tried to force its way out when Subaru pulled him into his arms. Smudges of blood rubbed off on his cloak and his cheek as he found his head being cradled against the younger man's shoulder. He also felt the young Onmyouji trembling from his injuries and blood loss. Guiltily he pushed away and got to his feet.

It had been a terrible mistake coming here in the first place. But now that he was here, he could not bring himself to leave. Subaru was hurting. If Yuurei were to get up and abruptly disappear, he would cause the young man even more pain.

Almost mechanically he went back to washing Subaru's bloodstained skin. Some of the marks did not appear to be the result of anything Yuurei had ever experienced in the way of physical combat. Had Seishirou tortured him? Had Subaru been abusing himself? Yuurei winced and tried to erase the mental images from his mind. Such a loyal, respectable young man did not deserve this horrible, tormenting life...

Turning painstakingly to the cabinet behind the mirror, he rummaged around until he found a tube of ointment. Squeezing some of the medicine onto his palm, he returned to the young Onmyouji and began to massage it into his marred, pallid skin...

Subaru could tell from the look in Yuurei's eyes that he had hurt him. He knew that even if he apologized, it wouldn't matter. Everything he had done had been done, and there was nothing he could do about it.

For a minute, he watched as Yuurei dabbed at his flesh.

"You don't have to do this, you know. I can take care of myself," Subaru lied. He didn't want Yuurei to feel obligated to stay after he had hurt him so badly.

Yuurei smiled and pushed his own troubles temporarily out of his mind. "I know," he replied softly, though it certainly did not look like the young man had been taking very good care of himself lately.

Glancing at the young Onmyouji's profile and saw something of guilt in the man's eyes. Was this guilt...for him? Yuurei would have scowled if Subaru had not suddenly taken to trembling again. As Subaru began to waver with whatever it was weighing heaviest on his soul, Yuurei sighed and held out an arm, letting the young man lean against his chest for support. "You really need to eat something," he said quietly but firmly. "What would you like?"

Subaru shook his head. "I'm not hungry."

It was true, too. He never had much of an appetite before his sister's death, but after she died, he hardly ate at all.

"...if you're hungry, I might have some cereal in the cabinet, and maybe a little milk in the fridge." Subaru's mind wandered to the last time he had done grocery shopping; it had been awhile. "You might not want to drink the milk, though..."

* * *

Fuuma's lips were as cold as his hands. There was no emotion in them, no sign of love or hate. Just emptiness. Was that what he had become?

Kamui sat there watching as Fuuma snatched away the sword and walked off with Seishirou. He wanted stop them, but Kamui hesitated to move. There was nothing he could do, not in this condition.

* * *

The night was cold as Okita walked down the park near the DIET building. He needed a evening walk after last night's show, its memory still fresh like the cool air that pressed on his cheek. The lights juxtaposed the night sky, the cheers of his fans juxtaposed the serene silence the park provided. He was dressed in a silky white shirt dress shirt and black bondage pants, the purple dye still coating his platinum locks. Somewhat he didn't care if he was found, someone to talk to would be nice even for a moment...The thought of a death threat kind of excited him to the extent that it was something to do...Something to make him alive again.

He remembered being lost in the music, not existing while the words came through his soft lips, while his hands struck the chords on his guitar. Here he physically didn't exist, it was a blissful state of nirvana as each note was created by the void. And he was the king of this nirvana... the master of it's destiny. Was it good or bad? He decided factually while others made opinions. And yet this wasn't enough for him...

Okita felt as if this was all...and if it was then what was the point? He continued to walk the park, coming closer to the diet building. He caught sight of a group of people he didn't know...nothing abnormal about them, crossing the street to get to the place he had parked his motorbike. He passed by those people who were gods of a game Okita wasn't apart of and didn't yet care about, giving a casual and polite "Good Evening," as he passed. Suddenly his violet eyes caught the sight of the kekkai, stopping to look at them, staring in wonderment...and then regarding them as pretty but not something to worry about. This was Okita, but to those who followed pop culture he was Shreek, Visual Rock Star of the youth.

* * *

Karen leapt after Seiichirou, following the brown-haired man on the way to the hospital. She noted as they were traveling, however, that her companion seemed a bit distracted. As she watched, Seiichirou removed what looked like a small jewelry box from his pocket and looked at it, first with confusion, then with horrified realization.

_"Oh no, my anniversary!"_

Anniversary? So Seiichirou was married? For some reason, Karen felt her heart sink at hearing that sentence. She then frowned to herself, puzzled at her own emotions. Why would she be disappointed that he was married? Surely she couldn't be interested in him; after all, she had only just met the man.

Her musings were abruptly interrupted when the jewelry box went tumbling from Seiichirou's fingers, falling into the darkness below. _"Shimatta!" _the man cursed, an appalled expression coming over his face. Karen's eyes widened slightly; she had never thought that Seiichirou would be one to curse. His wife must have been extremely important to him.

_"Kasumi-san, gomen nasai, but we've got to get that box!" _Seiichirou called to her anxiously.

Instantly, Karen went diving downwards towards the ground in pursuit of the falling object. "Don't worry, Aoki-san, I'll help you find it!" Karen called back to her companion as she leaped towards the floor. She thought she heard Seiichirou yell something else out to her, but she couldn't hear what he was saying.

"What did you say, Aoki-san?" Karen called to the brown-suited man.

It didn't seem like Seiichirou had heard her, though. Karen was about to repeat her question again when a very familiar figure appeared suddenly and caught the falling jewelry box. Karen stopped, landing on the ground in front of the man next to her fellow Seal. She slowly looked up from the hands to the face, smiling slightly in recognition.

"We meet again, sir," Karen smiled and nodded politely to the handsome blonde Dragon of Earth.

* * *

Satsuki's eyes widened, and she staggered back slightly as she felt the two kekkai' raised. She winced as the sensation of the magical auras pushed her off balance; she must have been weakened greatly by the Kamui's attack. Yuuto, however, did not appear to be affected as much as she was.

_"We'll have to put this discussion on hold for now. I hope you feel well enough to come along, Satsuki-san. It looks like we have work to do." _Without further ado, her fellow Angel charged out the door of the ramen shop and leaped off into the air.

Satsuki pushed herself off the floor and stood up with great effort. "Wait, San-san!" she called out, but he had already gone. The girl grimaced slightly and pressed at one of her wounds with the edge of her sleeve. She definitely wasn't feeling up to battling against the Seals, but she wasn't a quitter, either. It didn't look like she had a choice.

"We'll be back, Kanoe-san. Don't wait for us here. I expect you'll know where we are, anyhow." Satsuki nodded briefly to the dream gazer and jogged out of the ruined shop, bounding into the air after Yuuto.

It turned out that Yuuto hadn't gone very far, however; He was standing in an alley, facing a man in a brown suit and a woman with bright red hair. Satsuki stiffened; she recognized those two people from both their auras and the information that BEAST had given her. Dragons of Heaven.

Yuuto didn't appear to be in any danger from the two Seals at the moment, but the risk was still there. Noiselessly, Satsuki landed on the ground behind Yuuto and walked up to stand beside him, prepared for any attacks that the Seals might try.

Karen whipped around, following her magical senses to the source of the commotion. Kekkais! Two of them! And they were in the direction of the temple, where Arashi and Sorata were!

Something's wrong! Arashi-san and Sorata-san are in trouble!" Karen cursed herself for failing to feel their kekkai' as soon as they had been raised. Why hadn't she paid closer attention to her magical senses? Her fellow Seals could be in grave danger right now, and she hadn't even noticed!

"We have to help them, Aoki-san!!!" Karen cried out in alarm. Without waiting for a response, she started to leap off towards the shrine to aid her comrades.

"Wait."

Karen stopped at the unfamiliar feminine voice and turned around. A girl - a young woman, really; she looked slightly older than Arashi - wearing biker shorts and a yellow jacket had appeared next to Yuuto. She appeared to have been heavily injured, but she still maintained a cool, unruffled air about her. The newcomer looked emotionlessly at Karen and Seiichirou.

"You are one of the Dragons of Heaven, correct?"

The red-haired woman nodded, feeling scrutinized under the girl's cool gaze. "That's right," Karen said calmly.

In response, the young woman coolly gazed at Karen, her eyes boring into hers. "Then I'm afraid I can't allow you to help them," she said smoothly. "It is my duty as a Dragon of Earth."

Karen looked carefully at the girl. So she was one of the seven Angels. The young woman's statement forcibly reminded Karen of a fact that she had pushed aside to the back of her mind. She turned slowly to the blonde man before her.

"It looks like our truce has been broken by our teammates, sir," Karen said quietly to the handsome Angel. She paused and looked between the two Dragons of Earth before her, settling her gaze on the blonde man, the one whom she knew best.

"Does this mean we battle?"

Glancing behind him as Satsuki finally managed to catch up, Yuuto did not even see the fiery Seal nearly take off in the direction of the dissipating kekkai. But apparently his cohort did, for the young computer genius called out, and before he knew it, the two teams were again divided, and the argument had picked back up.

_"I guess this means our truce is off," _said the fire caster, meeting his gaze as he turned back to face her and her comrade. _"Does this mean we battle?"_

Tossing a pensive gaze in the direction of the Togakushi Shrine, Yuuto shrugged nonchalantly as a smug simper settled into his fair countenance. "I suppose it does. As much as I feign to care about your friends, we too have allies in that battle. So for you to go to them would ultimately put our side in jeopardy. I guess, then, that it was inevitable it would come to this."

He jumped back, hands casually in his pockets, to stand beside Satsuki. A glimmer that said something of menacing intentions ignited in his sky-blue eyes. "And I suggest you put up your kekkai while you still can, if you wish those residing in the vicinity to live..." Even as he said the words, he was already gathering energy for either an offensive or defensive attack, whichever might be needed first...

* * *

Okita wondered the hospital, grounds ignoring the nurses who eyed him as he walked by. ...Women were always eyeing Okita whether they knew who he was or not. He smiled brightly as the patients yelled "Shreek-sama!!!" As he passed. He waved in their direction...He truly cared about their pain because it made him forget how empty he was.

The nurse led him into the room. "And this one was brought in a few hours ago...She's doing better than when we first received her."

Okita looked down at the girl. He sighed and nodded. " I see...What's wrong?"

"A stab wound of some sort...WE think it's from a jealous boyfriend or something."

Okita blinked and nodded. "I see..."He looked down at the girl's chart and then her, smiling. "Get well soon Yuzuriha-san."

"...hh...e.." Yuzuriha suddenly felt light coming into her eyes. She moaned a bit; her chest was hurting her so much.

The nurse blinked. "She's coming to! Okita-san can you watch her while I get the doctor!"

Okita nodded. "Sure...I came here to do some good mom..." Smiling because this was the only nurse who obviously didn't see him as eye candy.

"W...where...?" Yuzuriha sputtered from her lips. She tried to force the rest of the sentence from her lips, but succeeded only in a paroxysm of loud coughs.

Okita watched the girl. "The hospital...Welcome back to the world."

"What..." Yuzuriha forced a deep breath before continuing, "...happened?"

"Umm not sure...I'm kinda just visiting patients and I'm watching you while my mom gets the doctor..." Okita scratched the back of his head.

For a minute, Yuzuriha blinked. The light seemed so foreign now, and she was sure she was seeing things. "...you look...just like...that J-Rocker, Shreek."

Okita blinked and laughed. "Oh? Would it make you feel better if I said I was him?"

Yuzuriha forced a smile. "I'm...sure...right now..., even Morphine... couldn't make me feel better."

Okita sighed. "You'll pull through...I mean you regained consciousness right?"

"Are you...Okita?" Yuzuriha inquired.

Okita nodded slowly. "Yeah...that would be me."

"It worked," was Yuzuriha's quiet response.

Okita smiled. "I'm glad...A girl like you shouldn't be in pain..."

"You're more handsome...in person," Yuzuriha breathed. "I'm sure...you get that...all the time...though."

Okita shrugged. "You would be surprised but it actually means a lot from you..."

"What...does that mean? Yuzuriha asked inquisitively.

Okita looked at her. "Well you don't seem to be like other girls I've met...and you don't look like the type to lie either." He smiled and laughed. " Plus you haven't jumped and rubbed yourself on me yet."

"Not that I could," Yuzuriha laughed. "I never though...I'd meet someone like...you...here."

"I come here a lot...Makes me feel good to meet some of my fans once in awhile...plus making people feel better is always a good thing." Okita smiled and sat beside her bed.

"You're...sweet. I always thought...most entertainers would be...Elite ...but you're...you're, different."

Okita looked at her. " Oh? I'm just a normal guy really...that's what I'm told anyway."

"So I hate to ask but how'd you get hurt?" Okita looked at her, smiling in a friendly manner.

"I...don't remember," Yuzuriha scratched her head. "I was hoping whoever ...it was...that brought me here...would know."

"I see...You don't remember anything?" Okita felt genuinely concerned, hoping she hadn't lost all of her memory.

"Well, I do...remember, I'm Nekoi Yuzuriha, fourteen years old, eighth grade!" Yuzuriha said, on a positive note.

He smiled brightly. "I guess that's good...at least you know what's important."

Yuzuriha smiled back. "I think it's more...important to know...what happened to me," she said thoughtfully. "I'm sure stuff like...this doesn't happen every day...especially in such a...crime-free place...as Tokyo.

"You're not from around here are you? This place is pretty rough if you're out at the wrong time of night. They said it might've been the work of a jealous boyfriend or something."

"Boy...friend...? I don't...have one," confessed Yuzuriha.

"Aww That's probably not true...a pretty girl like you must have 5-10 boys after her." Okita smiled down at the girl.

"Not...really," Yuzuriha blushed. Was he hitting on her?

Okita was oblivious to her thoughts. He looked at his foot. "Well that will come with time...They are probably too young to notice you."

"I'm young...too," Yuzuriha said pointedly.

Okita smiled and felt a smack in the back of the head. The nurse smirked at the boy. "No flirting with the patients!"

Okita winced and gave his mother a surprised look. "I wasn't...yeesh."

Yuzuriha giggled. "Is this your...mother?"

Okita looked at Yuzuriha. "Well it looks like I'm being kicked out..."

"Hmm? Oh yeah...She volunteers here...teases me where ever I go too."

* * *

Sorata stumbled toward Kamui, glaring down at the pitiful man he was. He quickly seized Kamui by the collar, letting this bastard see how pissed he really was. He backhanded Kamui, tossing him down disgustedly.

"YOU IDIOT!!! YOU SELFISH,ARROGANT PRICK! IF YOU WOULD"VE JUST LISTENED TO SOMEONE, MONOU WOULD BE..." Sorata paused and looked at the man's body, finding the sorrow almost too much to bare...such a sweet man was dead because of his inability to compensate for this boy. The tears were swelling up in Sorata's angry eyes. Sorata's face grew ever so dark as he stared at Kamui.

"I wish you weren't our savior, because I don't think I can trust my fate in the hands of someone who thinks of no one but himself. And whenever I think of this...I know that our side has already lost and that tomorrow I will die for someone who never cared for anything we did. If you don't want to fight then I'm just wasting my time."

Sorata turned away from Kamui, staggering toward where Arashi was. He didn't look back at the boy because in a sense he was back in that position as well...Forever shamed by his inability.

Kamui fell to his knees after Sorata's attack, holding his cheek as the stinging pain ran though his face.

"Savior...?" his voice cracked. "Is that what you think I am!? I never wanted any of this! I never wanted to be in this war! I never asked to be anyone's savior! Because of all this...Fuuma..."

He didn't know weather his words reached Sorata as he walked away. He didn't care. He just wanted to get away from all this.

Ignoring Arashi's words, Kamui rose to his feet and bounded off into the night.

* * *

Fuuma smiled at Seishirou, holding his new found possession respectfully. "Yeah there's this small shop just down the road..." He also didn't show any sign of the previous battle, putting on his usual bright demeanor. "It's a good night isn't it? Who would've thought tonight would be so much fun." He announced as he gripped the hand of the Shinken, unwrapping the canvas that covered it.

"And now I possess the Holy Shinken...the sword that killed my mother all those years ago. It's kind of ironic that it claimed my father as well...I suppose its baptism in their blood makes all the more appropriate I wield it." The blade shined in the street lights, contrasting the shadows that surrounded it's master.

* * *

Forcing up a dry chuckle at Subaru's cynical remark, Yuurei carefully finished applying the ointment and wrapping the bandages around the young man's slender chest and torso. After helping the Onmyouji back to his bed, the Watcher headed out the door for the kitchen. He was not particularly hungry himself, but his mind was set on getting something down Subaru's throat--the man looked like he had not eaten in a week.

Rummaging through the cupboards and refrigerator, Yuurei pulled out a few boxes of half-emptied cereal and a can of the infamous Japanese energy drink Pocari Sweat. The drink was a few weeks old, but like soda, did not spoil too quickly. Besides, Subaru could have used the carbs.

Yuurei was just dumping the dry cereal into a bowl when it happened. The pain in his head was set off, and instinctively his hands clutched at his temples and he crumpled to his knees with clenched teeth. Elbowing the box, the bowl fell from the counter and shattered against the floor, strewing crumbs of cereal all over the place. But Yuurei could not see the mess he had made; the scene had suddenly appeared before his eyes. -Togakushi.- The word flitted through his mind like a blazing arrow. He could see glimpses of it: Kamui and his Gemini, the first Shinken fated to be stolen...but by the Twin Star himself? And the kekkai that he suddenly sensed rising...not from Kamui, but from two others. Dragons of Heaven.

Duty abruptly thrust back into his foremost thoughts, Yuurei staggered to his feet and nearly darted back into the night without a second thought. But that second thought did come, and it caused him to halt. He threw a glance over his shoulder in the direction of the bedroom. He could not leave Subaru without at least a fair word of warning. Yuurei liked the man--respected him, even if he had driven himself to the brink of destruction.

The pain still throbbing at his temples and the bridge of his nose, the Watcher sprinted hastily back to the room. "Subaru," he addressed him shortly, bypassing the bed and heading straight for the window. Shoving it open, he gesticulated in the direction of the  
Togakushi Shrine. "It's the sword," he tried to explain quickly. "The time is now. My duty calls, but I would suggest you stay here. You're in no condition to face...him...again so soon." Yes, he had caught a glimpse of the Sakurazukamori's presence in the place.

He could wait no longer; the pain was growing rapidly more distinct, and soon he would not be able to suppress it at all if he continued to disobey. Nodding once again at Subaru, he turned and leaped out the window, back into the night...

Subaru stretched his arm out to Yuurei, only to catch the edge of his shirt and have it pull away from his fingertips.

The movement was painful; Subaru staggered, and fell to his knees, crossing his arms in front of his chest. When he pulled away, he found his arm stained with blood. Great.

There was no way he could allow Yuurei to face whatever he was to face alone. He snatched the Hokuto-designed shiny pleather shirt, threw on the black trench coat that matched it as he jumped from the window sill, and to the earth below.

* * *

As the scream that had filled the hall a few minutes before slowly faded, scared guests began to call the front desk. The woman at the desk tried to soothe the worried guests even though she herself had heard the cry and she was as frightened as they were. 

**Ring Ring. **The shrill sound of the phone, continued non-stop for a few minutes; each man or woman on the phone trying to get information and reassurance but to little avail.

"Hello, front desk, this is…no I don't know where the scream came from.. yes someone is going to investigate right now. Please don't panic."

Next line is just the same, "Hello, this is….no I can't explain where the scream came from….I don't think it is a ghost Sir. Yes, someone is going to try and locate where it came from. No, need to go to another hotel Sir, I'm sure it was just something outside that's all."

And so, these went on for about a half an hour, the harrowed lady at the front desk had become mono-tone by the end of it and when the calls finally subsided she flopped into a chair with a sigh, only to be called again by the manager and forced to re-phone most of the guests and tell them that it had been something outside….

Inside the locked room on the fourth floor, the scream echoed for a longer time. It had come from the lips of the man lying on the bed…

The room had become chilled as the sun had set. But the other reason was that the window had been opened. A light breeze wafted through, ruffling the bed hangings.

The dream-seer's body shuddered once and the beeping of the machines rose, as if something was making the dream-seer restless or worried.

As if given a signal, a long shadow suddenly detached itself from the gloom of a nearby chair. As the shadow crossed the floor on silent feet to the bed, for a moment the moonlight, bathed it in an eerie light. It showed itself to be a woman. She was tall with a black trench coat that fitted nicely to her slender form.

Walking as close to the bed as she possibly could get without being sucked into Kakyou's dream world, she stopped and stared at the tears that had started to run down the man's cheeks.

"You really are pathetic dream-seer." she sneered, her full lips pursing with contempt. Her maroon eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out what he was doing. It came to her quickly and at it her lips twitched into a tiny smirk.

"If you really think that will stop him then go ahead and do it. Perhaps I'll even give you a bit of help, though I do believe that I'll let him hurt you first." Her voice was low and a bit gleeful as she said this.

Returning to the chair she had been sitting in earlier, Mayouko Tamashii, settled down to wait for the show to start. Her eyelids drooped and with half of her mind she watched the inert dream-seer and with the other half, she kept her inner eyes on the barrier that Kakyou was producing around his dreamscape..

When Yuurei showed up, it would indeed be a very lovely little show. It was time to meet her brother face-to-face and this seemed like the right time indeed...

* * *

Yuzuriha turned to Okita's mother. "Anoo...do you know...who brought me here?"

The nurse blinked and thought about it for a second. "It was a man who was wearing a yellow jacket."

"A...yellow jacket?" Yuzuriha bit her lip. "You didn't get her name, did you?"

The nurse sighed. "He left in a hurry so no...but he said he would be back to check on you." She looked to Okita who was leaning on the wall next to the bed.

Yuzuriha scratched her head. "How long have I...been here?"

"About a hour or two dear." The nurse fluffed her pillow.

"Thanks. Did...he say what happened?"

"Something about a man doing this to you"

"A...man?" Yuzuriha blinked. "I don't really have many men friends. I know Kamui and Subaru but," Yuzuriha pondered, "...I can't really think...of anyone else. They wouldn't hurt me."

Okita nodded. "Well you're safe now...I'll check in on you if you want."

The nurse smirked. "Isn't that sweet...my little Okita."

"MOM!"

"That would be...nice," Yuzuriha smiled. "I'd like it if you visited me."

Okita turned back and nodded. "Any time..." He smiled cheerfully.

Yuzuriha felt something gnawing on her hand. She leaned over, only to see an unfamiliar wolf-dog standing there, wagging his tail happily. "Are dogs allowed in the hospital?" she asked, looking directly at the dog with quizzical eyes.

The nurse blinked. "What dog dear?" She looked at the girl as if she was crazy.

Okita blinked at the sight of the dog, noting that his mother couldn't see it. He remained silent.

"This dog, this one right here," Yuzuriha said, pointing directly at Inuki.

The nurse gasped. "Oh dear...she must've hit her head hard." She ran out to get some assistance.

Okita eyed the dog. "You might want to keep the Dog to yourself...I don't think anyone's going to see it"

"But...you can see it, right?" Yuzuriha looked up at him with big eyes.

Okita smiled nervously. "Yeah but I'm special...I see weird things a lot."

"So does that make me special?" Yuzuriha pat the dog as he licked her hand.

"Yeah...it does." Okita smiled and pat the dog. "Sorry to say it but I've got to go...I got a photo shoot early tomorrow." He yawned as he stretched. "I'll be back around here afterward ok?"

"That'll be nice..." Yuzuriha smiled. She then realized that Okita might feel pressured to come because she was sick, and quickly added, "But you don't have to, if you don't want to."

"Nah I want to...but until then you keep this dog a secret...A lot of people will think you're nuts if you broadcast this." Okita smiled as he walked toward the doorway. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ja ne!" Yuzuriha called out after him.

* * *

As he backed up to stand beside Satsuki, Yuuto glanced down at the little object in his hand. He had no reason to keep it from the man who had dropped it; there was no special power being emitted from its presence. Shrugging emphatically, he tossed it in his hand and caught it again tauntingly, eyeing the man in glasses with a teasing smile.

"This is yours, correct?" Without waiting for a response, he tossed it out lightly with a flick of his wrist, aimed in its lofty arch perfectly for the man's waist. "I envy the person lucky enough to receive such a gift," he added in an impish warning. "Don't drop it again."

* * *

Sorata sighed as Kamui left, turning back to Arashi. "You ok?" He seemed generally concerned about her health...As he forced a smile, blood trickled down from the side of his mouth.

"I'll live." Arashi replied, same as ever. Her monotone never changed. "You..?" it sounded almost like a statement. Without warning to herself, her hand reached out, and she wiped the blood from his mouth with her index finger.

Sorata's smiled broadened under her touch. "Fine, now that I know you're ok...I wouldn't forgive myself if I lost you."

"Why's that?" she asked. Her expression showed a slight bit of surprise. She withdrew her hand and looked at him.

Sorata smirked as he poked her nose. "Cuz you're the girl I've decided to give my all for..."

"What?" it was a simple question enough. She pulled her face back. She was extremely surprised at his touch. "What are you talking about?"

"You're the girl I'm going to protect with my life..." Sorata blinked at her sudden burst of shyness. She certainly had a lot of reactions for someone who was supposedly emotionless.

Arashi quickly regained her composure. "You life? Where does this come from?" was all she could think of to say.

Sorata smiled. "I'm a sap for those icy eyes of yours and I just don't want any harm to come to them or any other part of you for that matter." He leaned against a tree, using it to hold him upright.

Arashi just stood there, looking at him. She occasionally picked off bits of dry blood from her skin and uniform, but she stood thinking. "What do we do now?" she asked, changing the subject.

Sorata shrugged, changing the subject back. "We could go on a date." Sorata forced a grin despite his pain.

Arashi blinked. "A date? Shouldn't you get cleaned up first?" she asked, pointing a finger at him. Sorata smiled weakly." A date with a girl like you would make me forget the pain."

Arashi still frowned. "But you don't exactly look like you're ready to go on a date." Sorata eyed her. "If I was would you say yes?"

Arashi showed no emotion. How could she answer that? She thought awhile, leaning back against the shrine. "...Maybe..." Sorata smirked. "Then tomorrow night it is."

She raised an eyebrow at him. She had maybe, hadn't she? But she was too weak to argue right now anyways. "Fine..." she said with a slight sigh.

Sorata jumped in the air giving a excited "WOO!" coming back down and griping his arm as he felt the pain surge through it. This was great; a date with the Goth princess of his dreams.

"Hm." she breathed- an almost giggle. "Well, come on. You really should see a doctor."

Sorata smirked. "Lead the way, nothing can get me down now." He tried to walk, finding it very hard to move on his own. Arashi had started to walk off. She turned back, her hair swishing, and falling over her shoulder. "Do you need help walking too?" she asked, scanning him. Sorata smiled weakly. "Yeah I wasn't gonna ask but yeah I kinda do."

Arashi tilted her head to the side meekly. She had to help, he was a fellow Dragon of Heaven. "Alright." she muttered, walking back to him. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder, pulling him close. "This isn't exactly the suburbs, I think it'll be easier to find a taxi here..." she said. "I don't even know where to go to begin with.."

Sorata leaned against her, using her as a support as they moved. "We'll be fine I think...if we don't find a taxi, one of the seals is bound to come looking for us."

"Hai." She walked slowly, dragging Sorata along. She brought him to the gate of the Monou shrine and looked down the street. "I wonder where Karen-san went too..." she said to more-so, herself. "There!" she said a bit loudly, spotting a taxi. She waved her free hand to call it over.

Sorata waved after the Taxi, causing more pain than it should've. He sighed and eyed Arashi from the corner of his eyes. "You don't have to do all that. I've got it." she said coldly. She watched as the taxi pulled to the side of the street. Arashi opened the door, glancing at Sorata. "In." she ordered.

Sorata smirked. "aren't we motherly." He got in, sliding in so she could get in next to him.

She rolled her eyes slightly before ducking into the taxi. "I'm going to ignore that comment." she told him. "Driver, I need the nearest hospital." she told the man. He looked at the from his review mirror. She knew he was staring at the blood that soaked them.

Sorata smiled at the man. "Gang violence...they jumped me and my girlfriend here."

Arashi turned her head, a bit more violently than she meant to. "Girlfriend...hey..." she  
started. She frowned, glaring at Sorata. She glanced back at the man. "Yea...hospital, please." she repeated, before glaring back at Sorata. "Hai." the man replied, raising an eyebrow.

Sorata smiled. "What I meant a friend who happened to be female...You think I meant something else?" He laughed cheerfully.

Arashi sighed. She leaned back into the plush-ness of the seat. Her arms folded over her chest, she waited, scanning the scenery outside her window. She wouldn't answer him. Not at all.

Sorata saw her disgust. He sighed and closed his eyes, still smiling. He would see her smile...even if it was at his death.

"What hospital did Chan-chan go to?" Arashi broke out a few minutes later. The taxi stopped, and she creaked open her door. "Do you remember?" Sorata looked up at her. "Not sure about the name but it was the one nearest to the DIET building."

Arashi scanned the street. "I think this might be it.."

* * *

As he leaped along the building roofs and through shadowed alleyways, Yuurei's senses suddenly pricked at the presence close behind him. He did not need to glance over his shoulder to know who was there. Abruptly he stopped atop one roof and waited for Subaru to catch up. "I thought I told you to stay in bed," he said flatly, hiding his concern under a gruff tenor. "You're in no condition to do battle." 

Subaru's eyes wandered to Yuurei's bandaged face, and let his eyes wander there for awhile to emphasize his words. "And **you** are?"

Yuurei smirked and turned to continue his quick trip through the city. "I don't plan on fighting," he called back, sure that the young man was still right behind him. "You forget, that's not my job." He glanced over his shoulder to meet Subaru's determined gaze. "But I know you...and if you see him, you will make yourself known."

"Is it safe to assume we're going to be passing in the direction of Seishirou-san?" Subaru inquired with a smile.

Yuurei did not return his smile. "I've seen the situation. He's there." His brow furrowed as he kept his single useful eye locked on Subaru's battered features. "This is quite serious. I won't be responsible for getting you further injured. I suggest you turn back now."

"What's going on that you're so worried about me?" Subaru made no effort to hide his interest. "And why do you think that you can handle it, while I cannot?" Subaru was clearly irritated; he was not the child he was nine years ago.

Fervently Yuurei shook his head. "I don't intend to handle anything. I'm going to watch--so that I might make the correct decision when my time comes between the Kamui of Heaven and the Kamui of Earth. That's my Fate. If you come with me, you'll get yourself involved in a fight. As for being concerned about you..." He glanced away with a melancholy smile. "Of course I'm concerned. You are precious to me, Subaru. I could never forgive myself if something were to happen to you on my account."


	26. Chapter 24: Gamble

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Gamble**

Subaru suddenly felt a warmth radiating from his chest. It had been a long time since he felt like that.

"Thank you, Kantoku-sama, but...I can take care of myself," Subaru said, matching his paces to that of Yuurei's.

"Of course you can," Yuurei nodded, not at all fictitiously. "That's not the issue at hand." He stopped talking as they reached the scene at Tokakushi, and instinctively Yuurei drew his cloak about himself to withdraw into the shadows as so not to be noticed by those participating below. Fuuma already had the sword. Seishirou was with him. Kamui was leaving, abandoning an injured Sorata and Arashi to fend for themselves. _-The fools!- _he thought with a grimace. _-What are they thinking, letting the Twin Star just take the Shinken without more of a fight?- _He knew it was destined to be taken, but to give up so easily was a terrible sign of weakness.

Subaru squinted his eyes at the scene below. "What?! They're just going to leave?!" he hissed. "They can't…"

Yuurei clenched his fists. "It certainly looks that way." Warily he glanced at young man beside him, then down to his counterpart, the Sakurazukamori. "It was meant to be this way." Still... "So what are you going to do now?" This was the moment he had been apprehensive of ever since first telling the young Onmyouji to go back home.

"The future can still be changed." Subaru turned around to Yuurei. "I'm sorry, but...as a Dragon of the Heaven, I have to..." Subaru's voice wandered off. "Gomen'asi, Kantoku-sama..." he said, as he leapt from the building to the earth below.

"Subaru!" Yuurei called out the man's name on impulse and reached out to grab his arm, but too late. Furiously he knotted his fist and clenched his teeth. "Gambatte, Subaru..."

* * *

Meanwhile, just as he was about to follow Fuuma out for an ice cream after a long night of killing, Seishirou stopped suddenly in his tracks. Was that presence he sensed...his imagination? Slowly he turned around...and his single working eye fell to the familiar form of the same man who had fled his sight only hours ago. A smirk crossed his lips. "And so we meet again, Subaru-kun," he said softly, just loud enough for the man to hear.

"Seishirou-san..." Subaru growled. "Give me the sword." He knew that his words would be in vain, but for some reason, he couldn't help hoping maybe that maybe his words could convince Seishirou.

Seishirou stared at him for a moment, then burst into scoffing laughter. "And you think it's even mine to give?" Then his brow shot up as if experiencing some profound revelation. "Have you come here to fulfill your wish? To kill me, ne? Well, if so, I must say you're still in a pitiful state to believe you could fight me for very long. Seems...I almost have more will to live than you. Ironic, isn't it?" His gentle features could not hide the cold emotionless gaze that lay beneath.

"Not to kill you," Subaru replied. "I'm here only to take the Shinken to the true Kamui, as a Dragon of the Heaven."

But Seishirou shook his head with a dark chuckle. "I'm afraid that's impossible...unless you come through me. You see...this _is _the real Kamui...and he will change the world."

"If this is truly what you wish for, Seishirou-san," Subaru said. He looked upwards towards the sunrise in the distance and sighed. Such a beautiful day to be doing battle. He threw his arms into the air and put up his kekkai.

Glancing back at Fuuma with mock helplessness, Seishirou quickly returned his gaze to Subaru. "It seems our ice cream break with have to wait, Kamui-sama," he said with a sense of regret in his voice. To Subaru he added, "I have truly had enough of these kekkai and fighting for one day, but if you really want to die that badly, I would never deny your wish, Subaru-kun." He smirked and held up his hand. Soon sakura blossoms began to descend from the heavens as he collected his energy.

"I don't want to die," Subaru said, as he started powering up a shield. "I don't want to have to kill you, either. All I want is for the Shinken to be returned to its rightful master." A fully-formed pentacle formed in front of Subaru, spinning wildly as it formed a barrier between himself and Seishirou.

"Really, do you expect that to stop me?" With an uttered phrase, Seishirou sent the powerful shape of an inverted pentagram to collide with Subaru's and cancel out its effects. Before his adversary could react, he promptly sent shards of black glass-like energy at him like speeding daggers through the air.

"Kuso..." Subaru swore under his breath as the energy tore through his outfit and his bandages. Crimson-stained ribbons of bandage flew from his torso. "I won't let you win, though," Subaru smiled, wiping blood from his cheek.

Subaru clasped his hands together, closed his eyes and began chanting, changing the various positions of his fingers as he did so. The chanting grew louder and louder until Subaru opened his eyes, sending white bird-spirits flying towards Seishirou.

Seishirou could not hold back the cackle that insisted on being heard. "Pathetic," he snickered, shoving a hand into his pocket. "You are weak. If you can't even defeat me, how do you imagine you could fare against Kamui?" With that, he pulled his inverted pentagram back to shield him against the lovely white beasts, watching with a wicked simper as they shattered against his barrier. "You should have waited until you recovered to face me again." Dissolving his shield, he thrust out a hand with an ardent cry, using the same telekinetic blast he had attacked Arashi with and sending it powerfully at Subaru.

Subaru fell. He knew that as much as he wanted to defeat this beast of a man for whatever the reasons he had--whether for his sister, or for the he--he couldn't. Even as he willed himself to continue on, he knew there was no way he could defeat him. But instead of putting his kekkai down like he knew he should, he grinned with blood-stained teeth. "There's no way you're getting out of here. If you want to," Subaru said, stumbling to his feet. "...it'll be over MY dead body." Subaru didn't realize the irony of his words until after he said them, but for some reason didn't regret them. It was very suiting.

Seishirou only smirked and shrugged. "That can easily be arranged." He held out his hand, preparing to strike the man again into the ground with the same attack. He let out a grunt as he blasted the attack. But just as it left his hand and was a split second from colliding with Subaru's weakened body, a shadowed figure descended from nowhere and landed between the two, shielding Subaru from the blast with his own body.

Yuurei could not watch as Seishirou mercilessly butchered the man whom, only a few years before, he had sacrificed an eye to save. Doggedly--not to mention without really thinking about what he was doing--Yuurei leaped from atop the shrine and planted himself between the two opposing forces. His back to Seishirou, he hardly had time to put up a psychic barrier around himself. The impact of the blast nearly knocked him to his knees, but he remained standing, staring into Subaru's shocked gaze with a rigid grin of determination.

"Kan...Kantoku-sama!" Subaru gaped. "I thought...I thought you couldn't...interfere!"

Yuurei grimaced. Subaru had a very good point, and no doubt he would not be the only one to pay the price in days to come. But right now that did not matter. All that mattered was that Subaru did not die at this moment...his death would come at the hands of that emotionless barbarian, as Yuurei well knew, but not now. Not like this. Chuckling huskily and choking on what he was not sure to be either air or blood, Yuurei managed to shrug. "I think it's about time I started taking Destiny into my own hands."

Seishirou stood stunned at what had just happened. Who the hell was this guy? Interfering with a battle was one thing, but intruding onto their personal affairs...? "You!" he shouted vehemently. "Do you have a death wish as well? I would be more than obliged to grant it..." The anger in his face then melted away into a jeering simper.

Straightening his back and ignoring the minor pain caused by Seishirou's attack, Yuurei turned to face the smug Angel, a dark expression of adamant resolution imprinted upon his ashen features. He said nothing, only stared at the man standing twenty paces away.  
Careful to stay in front of Subaru, Yuurei made up his mind then and there that Fate would no longer control him. _-I've put up with Fate for long enough. Now it's Fate's turn to deal with me. Burn in Hell, Destiny. I have had enough.-_

Seishirou chuckled at the shadowed figure's persistence. He had seen the man several times before, but this action contradicted everything he had come to believe about the man. "Go back to your hiding place among the shadows," he breathed coolly. "You're not wanted here; this is not your battle."

Briefly Yuurei glanced at the ground, then assuredly back up at the Sakurazukamori. "No, you're right. It's not. However...I am making it my battle now." He flitted a hesitant eye at Fuuma. The powerful Gemini did not frighten him, but if both were to attack at once...

There was no way Subaru was going to let them get anywhere NEAR Yuurei. It wasn't Yuurei's job to protect him; it was Subaru's job to protect Yuurei-- and all the people of Tokyo.

"Yuurei...leave," he turned to Yuurei, his eyes filled with concern for the man. "I don't want you getting hurt."

"Kantoku-sama...leave."

Yuurei did not turn around, only continued to stare coldly into the eyes of the Sakurazukamori. One word was all he needed to acknowledge Subaru's plea. Just one word...more simple breath.

"Iie."

Indignantly Seishirou straightened himself and narrowed his eyes guilefully. "This is between Sumeragi-san and myself. If you don't step aside, I'll have no choice by to kill you." Not that it would be any real challenge of his morals, as he had just spent the night slaughtering random pedestrians with the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth.

Maintaining his defensive position with no more hesitation, Yuurei was careful never to let Subaru get into range of the bloodthirsty Sakurazukamori. Oh, he knew Seishirou was serious, but so was he. Lowering his head, he remained silent, his expression somber, but held up hand and beckoned the man with two long, callused fingers to try his worst.

And Seishirou was only all too willing to comply. Lifting an arm, he pointed one finger at the Watcher with a smirk, then sent a beam of scarlet light through the air at the man's chest. Judging from their earlier battle, he was not sure what to expect from this stranger, but he knew the man would not dodge and let Subaru take the blast.

Not for a moment did Yuurei think of stepping away. Holding up a hand, he concentrated until a sparking cloud of electricity formed against the pit of his palm. He caught the effulgent beam of light with a grunt, planting his feet firmly into the ground to avoid being knocked backward into Subaru. And though blocking the attack was fairly easy, he still could not bring himself to actually retaliate. That would be the final step, and he could never turn back...

A blade settled on Yuurei's neck, a exact millimeter from touching the watcher's skin. Fuuma had been moving toward the man as he exchanged pleasantries with Seishirou...using the shadows as a cover. Fuuma smiled at Yuurei. "I think I understand who you are now...You are the variable in Fate...one who shouldn't exist but does so it can remain a uncertainty...One who should stay off the actual stage but is too much of a fool to help walking on...Tell me when I'm warm.."

Fuuma's eyes met Yuurei's, locking with them as he changed the subject to one more appropriate. "You know this blade is special...not only was it created through the destruction of a human life but it's unusually sharp...for example if I was to move even in the slightest right now, like if you were to hit me with that attack and I jerked back, it would still cut you at this range." The man's smiled became even more friendly. "See this is why the sword is a tool of the end of the world. Why the blade is considered to be worthy of the messenger of god...Oh one more fact...This particular blade was born from my Mother so that proves that this particular blade belongs to me and not your pathetic little Savior...The blade is bonded to me by blood. Now, shall I show what it means to mettle or will you exit back off stage, watcher?"

* * *

Seiichirou caught the box and deposited securely back into his pocket.

"Arigatou," he said coldly to the Dragon of Earth, "I thank you on behalf of my wife."

The other man smiled back at him in an infuriating way.

With effort, Seiichirou shoved all thoughts of Shimako and his anniversary to the back of his mind. The present situation required focus and alertness. Karen's earlier statement regarding the broken truce could not be forgotten, nor could the hostility in the eyes of the opposing Dragons be ignored.

Plus, Arashi and Sorata were still in need of their help. Seiichirou could no longer sense the kekkai that had been put up earlier but that fact only made him more concerned. He had been the one that had suggested their visit to the shrine in the first place; if the two teenagers were no longer alive, it would be his fault. He would not be able to forgive himself.

These thoughts weighing down his soul, Seiichirou nevertheless prepared for battle. The wind was already beginning to answer his summons. It swirled around his hand, a flow of energy and power.

He looked to Karen, murmuring quietly, "I don't wish to resort to violence, Kasumi-san... But it seems that if they don't yield, we may not have any other options but to fight. I think it would be best if you put up your kekkai."

Turning his attention back to their enemies, Seiichirou met their hard, stubborn expressions evenly. The girl stared back coolly. Even the man, who had seemed a flexible, easy-going personality, appeared determined to hold his ground.

"I'm afraid we're pressed for time. I doubt our friends would appreciate our tardiness in coming to their aid. In any case, I'm afraid we're going to insist that you let us pass," Seiichirou tried to adopt an easy-going tone but his worry for Arashi and Sorata didn't allow that to be possible, "Please stand aside."

His voice, instead, had acquired a steel-like quality, "I won't ask again."

* * *

"Sorata..." Arashi started. She turned around, ducking her head into the taxi. 

"Come on." she said, extending her hand to help him out again. She sighed, looking at the driver. "Thank you." she said, as she dug in her pocket for some money to pay with.

"Let's get you inside. Can you walk there?" But it didn't matter if he could or couldn't anymore. A few white-dressed people ran out with stretchers.

"Don't move! We don't want to worsen the injury!" they said, quite calmly, as the loaded the two on to the stretchers.

"Really..." Arashi mumbled under her breath.

* * *

So consumed by Seishirou's threatening presence, Yuurei had failed to notice Fuuma approaching. But the next the he knew, the infamous First Shinken was poised at his throat and ready to kill him in an instant. 

As Fuuma spoke coolly with a mock sense of friendliness, Yuurei furrowed his brow and glanced fervently from the sword to the young man's eyes. When at last the Twin Star paused for a breath, he spoke at last.

"I know who Monou Saya is," he snarled in a low voice. "I was there to watch her die. You're right about my Fate; I don't deny that. But you are mistaken if you think I have already made my decision in Kamui's favor. You are as much of a pawn as I am, but I choose now to make my own decisions against Fate's will. You, on the other  
hand, are helpless to act of your own free will. Do you think I'm wrong?" He smirked. "Then you're welcome to try and kill me..."

But before Fuuma could make a move, Yuurei had already gathered the bolt of golden lightning into his fist, and in that moment he formed a brilliant sword of magnificent electricity and brought it up to clash against the Shinken without so much as moving any other part of his body. And now that his upper half was free to move without immediate danger of being decapitated, he stared into Fuuma's eyes defiantly as he fell back into a firm defensive stance. He knew his summons was nothing compared to the power of the mighty sword of prophecy, but he also knew how to fight against it. He had dreamed of this moment only too many times.

"I am the factor which will manipulate Fate. Now...what was it you were saying about showing me what it means to meddle...?"

Seishirou pulled back the reigns of his power as Fuuma stepped in to handle the menace. He smirked. Now the stranger would learn what it was to interfere with the Dragons of Earth...particularly "Kamui."

His gaze then fell to a still-fallen Subaru, and a wicked simper crossed his pale, thin lips. Subtly shoving a hand back into his pocket, he strode gracefully around the Twin Star and the Watcher to meet his old adversary face to face.

Gazing down at him out of his single working eye--the other an eternal reminder of what could have been but would never become truth--he reached down with a single hand and grasped the young Onmyouji's shoulder. And with a short taunting laugh, he threw the man violently back to the ground a few paces back.

"Come, now, Subaru-kun," he called, his voice an imitation of welcoming friendliness. "The battle is ours again. Shall I kill you now, or will you turn and run again?" A cold chuckle arose from his throat as he watched the young Sumeragi's face...

* * *

The wounds inflicted upon Kamui weren't as bad as they seemed. Compared to his last crop of injuries anyway. His legs were still stable as well and a good majority of his power had been retained. That was at least good enough. 

It wasn't like him to run to off like that, especially after a fight. But the pain hurt so much. He couldn't let anyone see him like that. Not in this state.

He hadn't gone very far after that fight. Hiding out in a tree branch, he felt almost invisible to the outside world. He didn't want to deal with any of this. The end of the world, being a savior, this was all nothing but a big joke. That's what he wanted to believe...

Destiny. His mother and even Hinoto said that all this was his destiny. What a cruel fate all this was. The old Shrine man is now dead and Fuuma had forever changed. And Kotori, was it her destiny to die like Hinoto predicted? He couldn't give in to all this. There had to be a way to change it.

The high pitched sound had once again rung in Kamui's ears. Not to far from where Fuuma had left. Had someone confronted him? Leaping down from the tree, Kamui bounded off towards the direction of the fight. This was it. He had to try to retrieve the Shinken from Fuuma on last time. And hopefully bring him back to his senses. He owed it to Mr. Monou.

Blasts of energy could be seen thrown about the field. Two unknown figures stood against what appeared to be Fuuma and that man from before. Kamui's angry rose as he gazed down at him, remembering how he attempted to kill him and Kotori.

Now was time for revenge. Leaping up from behind Subaru and Yuurei, Kamui fired at blast down at Seishirou before landing nimbly on his feet.

Subaru pulled himself up, panting hard from the lack of breath. He was breathing heavy now, and his bad habits really weren't happing his lungs now.

"K...Kamui," he gasped, hunched over. "This fight...this fight is mine. If anything, you should help Kantoku-sama," he said, motioning in Yuurei's direction.

Subaru looked back over at Seishirou, a playful glint in his eye.

"You won't win."

Just as he began to advance toward Subaru again, a flash of power blocked his way. Instinctively Seishirou leaped back and surged his energy forth to block the primary part of the attack. When the effects subsided and the smoke cleared, he found himself staring into the infuriated eyes of the Kamui of the Dragons of Heaven.

Straightening himself defensively as Subaru spoke, Seishirou nodded in agreement. "Yes, this is a personal matter. Not that I'd recommend interrupting 'Kamui's' battle at the moment...but it's your risk to take." He snickered huskily and glanced menacingly back at Subaru...

Yuurei held his ground and stared rigidly into Fuuma's wicked eyes. But at that moment he was a bit distracted by the fact that Seishirou had managed to slip around him and get to Subaru. For now he could only pray that Subaru would be able to hold his own against the vehement Sakurazukamori. Bitterly he tried to concentrate on Fuuma's form...his every move, his every intention. He may have been defying Fate, but Yuurei refused to strike the first blow.

Suddenly a surge of power split the air behind him, and Yuurei did not have to look over his shoulder to know whose ki had emitted such a potent blast. Kamui of the Dragons of Heaven. He was relieved and terrified at the same time. Now Subaru had a better chance of surviving, but what of Yuurei's conflict with Fuuma? Now that Kamui had arrived, could he retreat into the shadows and continue his duties of watching?

No. The answer was there before the question had even formed within his mind. If he left Fuuma to Kamui, then Subaru would still be in danger. Yuurei had already entered the fight. He would not back down now.

"Stay with Subaru!" he called out behind at Kamui. "I don't care if he says it's personal. I won't forgive you if you let him die, Kamui!" And with that, he forced his lightning blade against Fuuma's Shinken until the tips of both swords were touching the ground...

"Kamui," Subaru looked at Kamui with softened eyes. "Protect Kantoku sama. I can take care of myself. You know my power." Subaru felt a drop of blood fall from the tip of his nose and land in a collecting puddle beneath him.

Subaru pressed a bloodied hand against Kamui's face. "It is my duty, as a Dragon of the Heaven to do this. Please understand me, Kamui."

Subaru's hand slid off of Kamui's face, leaving a scarlet streak of blood across his face.

He turned to Seishirou.

* * *

Fuuma's eyes narrowed as Yuurei's intentions grew all the more serious. Suddenly a thought came to him as a evil smile grew with his icy glare. He concentrating on using his power to hold Yuurei in place. It was then that Fuuma used half of his strength to attempt to lock Yuurei's blade down and the other half to ram his body into Yuurei, hopefully knocking him off balance into a building.

"I think you forgot one little detail, boy...You see if you think I'm locked within destiny's iron grip then you should know that by entering it you are bound by it's rules and by pure logic that means Kamui is the only one who shall kill the other Kamui...You are truly a fool, Watcher. This is why you're fate is to die. To die for going against that very iron grip that binds me. Simple when you examine it through logic."

Fuuma had sensed Kamui had arrived. It was a pity the boy was not sound enough to heed his once beloved friend's warning. No matter...Fuuma would end the world on the beginning of this day if Kamui was such a fool...Pity, he had almost wished for a more grandiose ending.  
_  
Kamui, let this blade pierce your heart for the greater good.  
_

* * *

Okita sped up on his motorcycle. It wasn't like him to be out this early...man how was he going to look for the cameras? Eh, it wasn't his concern, it was his manager's...A smile came from under his helmet. And how she was going to freak when she saw how horrible he looked. It was these kind of rebellions that made his days filled with adventure...yet in reality he felt like something was missing...like something he forgot to grab at as he flowed down the river of life...

A sigh returned to Okita's face as he watched the surroundings. Suddenly catching a sight of a rather bizarre gathering...almost as if out of a movie...Okita skidded to a halt, removing his helmet as he watched from a distance. Somehow it didn't bug Okita as much as the casual observer...he was used to the supernatural.

* * *

Sorata laid there, staring up toward the heavens...or as much of the heavens as the car roof would provide. He caught sight of Arashi, his vision beginning to blur to accent the light around her. Only a few more hours until his promised date..._ugh I'm in so much pain but only a few more hours until the date..._Man the wait was killing him more than the pain was...though the pain was making him a bit woozy! **NO,** He would be strong for this girl...girls liked strong guys...no wait it was sensitive guys, he should show his pain...wait what if he was wrong and came off as a cry baby...wait what if he was wrong again and he came off as a jackass...GAH! This was giving him a headache...

He saw the people in white seize him and lay him across the stretcher as if he were being whisked away to heaven...and all he could say was. "I'll see you tonight! Don't forget!"

Arashi was instantly lifted onto the stretcher. She turned her head slightly to listen to Sorata as he called to her. Despite herself she had to give the tiniest of smiles. He was so determined... if a bit reckless and over-zealous. She chose not to acknowledge that she heard him, so she turned her heard towards the men in white coats about her. She said much of nothing as she was made to lay down and random tests were preformed as she was hurried into the hospital.

* * *

Even though he was distracted by the events in back of him, Yuurei was still concentrating enough to sense Fuuma's movements. The stalwart body came crashing into him, a mental command keeping the Watcher's summoned blade frozen in place. But Yuurei was not so easily thrown; his skills as an expert martial artist had taught him to be on guard even when his mind was elsewhere.

Turning to the side abruptly, he released the hilt of the energy blade and let it dissipate back into nothingness. At the same time, he forced his elbow outward, making brutal contact with Fuuma's ribs. The sudden contact was not what he had expected, but it was  
too late to back down now. Intent on getting the Twin Star out of immediate range of attacking him, Yuurei caught his balance quickly after being practically body-slammed, then instinctively dropped to the ground and swung his leg around aggressively in an attempt to briskly sweep Fuuma's feet out from underneath him.

"So maybe I'll die," he smirked when he had room enough to do so. "It's quite likely that what you say is true, and I'll be drawn into the trap of Destiny that surrounds you and the others. But that's a chance I've been long-willing to take." His gaze narrowed, and the simper fell from his face. "I know you, Fuuma, and I've been watching you since the day you were born. And you don't know everything about my Fate. You're welcome to keep guessing if you wish, but you might want to save your breath for fighting me instead. Because until you kill me, there's still the chance that you're wrong." The smirk returned, and he leaped back to his feet...

* * *

"Subaru!?" Kamui was astonished to see his friend here fighting, but he should have guessed as well. Wherever this man went, Subaru was always no to far behind. 

He brushed a hand along Subaru's as he touched his face, wanting to grip it in his own, but let it slip away. He couldn't let his friend face his man alone, especially in his condition.

But this was his destiny after all. They were fated to fight each other to the end. Wiping the blood off his face, he looked over to Subaru. "You better come back after alive after all this," he told him. "We still have a lot of things to talk about..."

Acknowledging his friends request, Kamui leapt away and towards Fuuma. He already seemed to be locked in battle with another man._"(Its him...)"_

"I don't know what the hell your doing here," he said landing next to Yuurei. "But this is between me and Fuuma. Stay out of it..."

"Fuuma!" Kamui called out. "I cant let you take the sword. A lot of people were hurt today because of it. I owe it to them to retrieve it. Especially Mr. Monou..."

His hand began to charge with energy as he aimed a blast towards Fuuma. "I don't want to fight you! Just give me the sword...please. I really don't want to hurt you Fuuma..."

Fuuma smiled at the sudden attention by Kamui...but it was at a time he felt wasn't in destiny's best interest. "You're right watcher...maybe I'm just guessing but isn't it chilling I've being guessing right all this time?" Fuuma smiled at Kamui's demands. "My my...I thought I warned you dear friend..."

He concentrated on a near by car, it squeaking as it lifted from the ground. He backed away from Yuurei, grinning darkly. "Too bad I'm not in the mood to keep my promise my friend...So I'm going to make this short. FLY!!!" He hurled the car at the ground in front of Kamui, not intent on hitting him but causing a nifty distraction.

Fuuma smiled as he leapt into the shadows and started to run. Destiny wasn't in Fuuma's favor here...plus another sensation was beginning to come to Fuuma...With all this use of power, fatigue was gradually slipping upon Fuuma, he wasn't used to this power yet...nor would be if Kamui caught up to him. Fuuma laughed to himself as the glory of youth filled his icy heart.

* * *

The fight was cut short. But before Yuurei even had the chance for either relief or apprehension to settle in, the fiery pain ignited in his head with full-blown fury, and he had to force himself from collapsing to his knees. 

Suddenly a sharp pain split his side, and he looked down vaguely to see something metal-glinted fly past him. Blood leaked from the new rip in his cloak, and he staggered back, finally giving in to the urge to grasp his throbbing head. If his mind had been clear enough for him to think, he would have cursed himself for defying Fate so thoroughly. This was precisely what he had asked for, and he was only receiving his just rewards.

_-Subaru...- _He had no idea why the young man's name flitted through his mind in that instant. Perhaps it was because in the back of his mind he heard Fuuma calling Seishirou's name. Whatever the reason, Yuurei forced himself to look up at where the two had been facing off just a moment before.

They were gone. _-Oh, God, don't let me be too late!- _his thoughts cried as he staggered toward the shrine. He tried to sense their life forces, but his mind was too overwhelmed with the searing agony. Wearily he stumbled to the building, but he had not gone far before he fell in excruciating torment against the gate. It was no use. Subaru would have to survive on his own.

And with one last conscious breath, he could only manage to get a single word past his dry throat.

"Kakyou..."

* * *

He found himself treading languidly through the never-ending abyss of his dreams. But at least now the pain was gone, and he could think clearly again. And he knew where he was going. 

But something was wrong. Where was Kakyou's dreamscape? All that remained was an eternal wall of solid nothingness. He stared at it from a distance at first, shocked at its very existence.

_-What the living...?-_


	27. Chapter 25: For the Good of Love

**Chapter Twenty-Five: For the Good of Love**

Snickering at Subaru's angelic smile, Subaru tightened his grasp until his dull fingernails were biting into the younger man's pale flesh. Brutally he jerked the lovely Onmyouji forward, shoving him toward the entrance of the infamous Togakushi Shrine. "I don't think you quite understand," he said in a low snarl. "When I said you lost the bet seven years ago, I meant that you belong to me. Somehow it doesn't seem I've gotten my point across clearly enough as of yet." Again he shoved Subaru violently up the steps and yanked the door open, never letting his brutal grip on the man's shoulder loosen for a moment.

Subaru bit his lower lip and tried to yank himself free from Seishirou's grasp. Unable to usurp his body from Seishirou's powerful arm, he began chanting.

Seishirou had anticipated this, and his shield for his defense was already prepared at his command. Uttering the words that triggered it, brutally he slapped Subaru across the face, using his nails to leave little cuts along the fair skin of the man's cheek. His enchantment seared into the essence of Subaru's own Onmyoujitsu technique, canceling out the effect. With a laugh, he threw the door closed behind them and entered the deserted shrine.

Once inside a secluded room, Seishirou relentlessly flung Subaru to the floor, snickering as the man's head made a satisfying thud against the wooden floorboards. "The way you touched him...," he said, thinking again of Kamui and the streaks of blood left by Subaru's fingers. "Did you think he'd return the gesture? Do you honestly think anyone could love a pitiful animal like yourself?" He let out a husky chuckle as he watched his adversary's lovely face...

"I...ie," Subaru stared up at Seishirou with blood-stained eyes. "Kamui...Kamui wa Kamui. Kamui to watashi...wa toothache desu...Kamui to watashi wa tomodachi." He stuttered his words, not knowing what to make of Seishirou's sudden dominance. He was expecting this to happen, but he wasn't mentally prepared for it. He felt a mixture of confusion and hate, of love and inferiority.

A pang of depraved satisfaction hit Seishirou's gut as Subaru stuttered his confused words. Maintaining his snickering grin, he approached the fallen Onmyouji and promptly fell to his knees, landing one right in the center of Subaru's tender stomach. At the man's inevitable gasp, Seishirou reached out and grasped his throat, leaning over him with debauched whims glistening in his false right eye. "You said just hours before that you wanted me. You haven't...changed your mind, have you?" Before Subaru could answer, Seishirou buried his mouth ferociously against Subaru's, biting the younger man's tongue wickedly and chuckling as he sucked at the droplets of leaking blood.

Subaru's eyes filled with terror; this was going to be the end. He had convinced himself that he wouldn't be afraid of death, but now, as he literally faced death in the eyes, he was afraid. He had lied to himself.

_'Screw it...' _he thought to himself. _'There's nothing I can do anymore, but let him take myself.'  
_  
"No."

Seishirou scoffed. "I thought not. You always were weak, Subaru-kun. You never really had it in your heart to fight me. Because like I said...you belong to me." With that he leaned over and began to plant tauntingly affectionate kisses against Subaru's bruised face, one hand working simultaneously to rid the man of his flimsy tattered shirt.

"What...what are you doing?!" Subaru shuddered under Seishirou's touch.

Seishirou smirked. "What does it look like?" Pausing for a moment after unbuttoning Subaru's shirt, he reached down and grasped the man's tender groin, twisting it brutally in his callous clutches. "Isn't this what you wanted?" he added jeeringly.

* * *

After multiple checkups, Kotori was finally able to leave her room. They wouldn't release her just yet though. She had mumbled aimless thought of someone in her brother's body... 

"Ms. Monou, we need to get a number to call. We'd rather have someone come pick you up."

She nodded, giving them her number.

"No one is answering."

"That's strange." Kotori said. "Maybe father's in the shrine. I'll be okay. I'll just walk around for a bit."

She turned from her room, and started walking down the hall. She didn't exactly **-like- **hospitals, but she was used to them. Her bloody dress...it had been replaced with a clean hospital gown. She walked past a room, and stopped. She backtracked, looking in on a girl. She was familiar. Wasn't she at the DIET building earlier?

Yuzuriha recognized the girl right away.

"Kotori-san!" she yelped out. "You're Kotori-san, Kamui-chan's friend, right?"

"H-hai!" Kotori said a bit quickly, and surprised. "Have you seen my onii-chan, or Kamui-kun?"

She looked at Yuzuriha, walking into the room. "Oh my, What happened to you? Are you okay?"

"Iie," Yuzuriha shook her head. "I have no idea what happened, I just ended up here," she smiled, sweat dropping.

"What about you, what happened to you?"

Kotori walked over and sat down on the edge of a chair by Yuzuriha's bed.

"Oh, it was the normal for me." she said calmly. Yet, her voice held some sadness in it.

"Weak heart. Everything that was going on today freaked me out, I guess, and I fainted." She smiled. "I should be okay."

"What about you? You're going to be okay, right?"

* * *

Smirking with satisfaction as the businessman caught the ring box, Yuuto closed his eyes and lowered his head, shoving one hand back into the pocket of his beige trench coat. The other hand began to radiate warmly, the energy of his hydraulic powers surging through his veins and gathering at his fingertips.

"We have friends of our own over there," he said nonchalantly. "I have nothing against you aiding your own comrades, but please understand, the risk to our people would be too great. I'm sure you'll accept my deepest apologies..." He trailed off with a husky, smug chuckle, glancing over at Satsuki for a signal that BEAST had the nearly cables and electricity under control and ready to attack...

* * *

When his concentration had brought him into the dream world, Yuurei was startled to find his path blocked by an impending fortress-like barrier. But it was not in his mind that it  
was formed, nor over the entire world of dreams. Only...around Kakyou's subconscious.

Yuurei placed his hands against it to try and sense its making. Nothing. But he had the feeling he knew who was behind this. "Mayouko...," he grumbled, clenching his fists. "Stop this now, Mayouko! What do you think you're doing?" Fervently he pounded his powerful fists brutally against the wall.

Mayouko sneered as she heard Yuurei's words within her head. Her dear brother thought it was her. Little did he know. "Sometimes, dear brother, you really don't think straight when it comes to your dream-seer. I had nothing to do with that barrier."

Kakyou felt the pounding but did not move from the seat he had taken on the rock ledge. He continued to stare straight out at the sea, though he wanted to open the way. He forced himself to drown out the sound of the pounding and concentrate only on the harsh music of the gulls and the lapping of the sea.

Yuurei did not turn his head, but his senses pricked at his spine when he heard the voice. "How can I trust anything you  
say? Why do you even care about my affairs? We've never even met beyond our dreams." But even as he said it, he kept himself from flinching as he knew the same was true of his relationship with Kakyou.

Mayouko snorted. "Is it not the same with your precious dream-seer? Really, Yuurei, think about why not I but he would do something like this."

Clenching his teeth, he closed his eyes and pressed the flats of his hands against the wall. With every fiber of his essence, he concentrated.

...And then he felt it. Only for the slightest fraction of an instant, but it was long enough to feel the lovely dream seer's energy. Then, for some reason he could not understand, his temper flared, and he pounded an energy-laden fist against the barrier. "Kakyou! What the hell are you doing?" His voice was demanding and cruel, but he could not stop himself. "Don't be a fool! I know you can hear me!"

Mayouko, satisfied that Yuurei had gotten the message, now turned her thoughts and eyes back onto the inert body lying on the bed. She moved as close as she could get without being pulled into Kakyou's dream and settling herself against the wall. It really was too bad that she didn't have a bit to eat, because she had a feeling this was going to be a long and very wonderful show.

Kakyou winced as the banging fist echoed through the landscape. Yuurei shouted, and though each word fell to his ears like needles, he pursed his lips and refused to answer. The voice from the other side was cold and demanding, and it heightened the dream-seer's resolve to keep Yuurei out of his dream.

When his words did not work, Yuurei resolved to take more drastic measures. Kakyou was being foolish. They had just been reunited, and the man had gone and sealed him out. But why? Blinded by fury, Yuurei called down an electricity attack and seared the wall with an ardent battle cry. "Take this thing down, Kakyou!" he shouted, dropping the usual affection "kun" suffix. "I'll break it apart if you don't!"

Mayouko smiled coldly as the monitors surrounding the bed began to rise ever so slowly. The heart-rate sped up and a sheen of sweat began to cover the dream-seer's brow...

Kakyou closed his eyes as a single tear ran down his cheek. A sudden blot of pure energy shot along the length of the barrier, and Kakyou breathed deeply, trying to hold the barrier together. And when Yuurei shouted again at him to take it down, he instead strengthened it. A single sentence spilled from his lips, "I cannot let you in." Unsure of whether the words reached the Watcher or not, Kakyou again strengthened the barrier, flooding it with his willpower and his own mind...

So Kakyou could hear him. His words were fuel to Yuurei's rage. This was ridiculous. Kakyou was being a complete fool. Yuurei had already decided to break his Fate. Why would the dream seer not comply? Furiously he summoned his life force into his forearms and slugged the barrier with an expertly executed martial punch. And he was satisfied to hear the sharp crack as the wall began to show its first signs of his eminent victory.

As the first crack in the barrier appeared, Kakyou was suddenly and violently jerked, as if a pair of hands had grabbed him on the shoulders from behind and pulled in one swift motion. He moaned out loud as a crack mirroring the barrier exploded into his mind. And yet he was determined not to let Yuurei in. Forcing himself to sit up straight, he continued to pour himself into the barrier, until there was almost nothing of himself left. All that was left was the shred of that one wish of death...

The monitors took a sudden leap into the danger areas, and yet Mayouko did nothing to help the inert figure on the bed. Instead her mind turned back to her brother, full of his rage and the aggression that he was taking out on the one person he loved most. Her voice was low and mocking as she said to him in his mind, "Oh, very good, Onii-chan. With your rage this high, he will be dead in a matter of minutes..."

As the crack appeared, everything from inside began to seep out, and for the first time, Yuurei could sense Kakyou's life force. Mayouko was right. It was terribly weak. What was he doing? Suddenly some resemblance of reason came back to him, and he sank to his knees wearily. "Onegai...Kakyou-kun. Please let me in." He pressed his hands against the cleave and could feel his pain. Yuurei had been its cause. How could he have done such a thing? "Don't do this, my friend. I need to see you." Digging his fingers into the crack, he prepared to bring it open if Kakyou refused him. He did not want to do it, but he had to get inside.

Kakyou refused to see that Yuurei was there. He kept his eyes forward and tried to sit up as straight as he could, even though he felt like a heavy object had just fallen on top of him. He sighed. "I don't want to see you hurt because of me. I am so sorry, Yuurei," he whispered, tears springing to his golden eyes again. He then began to try and repair the damage that Yuurei had caused. The cracks began to heal themselves, and the small portal began to close.

Yuurei grimaced and clenched his teeth. "I'm hurting now!" he called back, trying to suppress the anger that was rising again within his breast. "Every moment away from you is torture. I can't live without you, Kakyou-kun. I love you!"

Suddenly the crack began to seal, and Yuurei had to pull himself out of his reminiscence to catch it. Grasping the edges firmly, he shook his head with determination. "Iie, I won't let you get away that easily. I don't want to hurt you, but I can't let you do this to me...to yourself."

Kakyou's heart sung at those words, but still he could not get the image and the echo of that scream out of his voice. As his repayment came to a dead halt because of Yuurei's hands, Kakyou moaned again and curled into a tight ball. "Stop it," he said weakly. "Let me be. I...I can't hold much longer." Leaving nothing but the last little bit of life in him, Kakyou forced the barrier closed.

The barrier closed, and at the same moment, Yuurei's heart closed with those words. He slumped to his knees, tears welling in his crimson eyes. He never cried. But now...he had no will to hold back anymore.

"You never loved me, did you?" he said quietly, not knowing whether Kakyou could still hear him. But he did not care. "You only said that because I was there and you were lonely. But you never meant it, did you? You never loved me...you never wanted me." He sat with his back against the wall and laughed contemptuously. "I should have known better. Your obsession over Hokuto should have shown me otherwise. But I was so desperate to believe you..." He should his head as a tear slipped down his ashen cheek. "Gomen nasai, Kakyou." Leaving that suffix off again, he got to his feet, focused his ki, and disappeared.

Kakyou tried to block his ears from hearing Yuurei's words. Each sentence, each word, cut into his soul like diamonds, tearing it apart. Tears began to stream down his face again.

"No, Yuurei, it's not like that," he whispered. He slowly uncurled himself, and now for the first time looked at the place where Yuurei was...no. had been. Kakyou moaned. "Yuurei...I still love you! I just can't bear to see you hurt by me." He buried his face in his hands and mumbled into them. "I love you too much to hurt you..."

Suddenly, Kakyou felt as if he had no energy left. He crumpled to the ground again, and in an instant the shield was dropped. He was too weak to keep it up any longer...

For the first time Mayouko almost frowned. The monitors now went lower then ever. Kakyou's heart rate dropped into almost non-existence. She continued to lean against the wall however.

Yuurei appeared in darkness in the middle of the dream world, aimlessly wandering wherever his mind might lead him. He felt...numb...wicked. Angrily he shouted into the nothingness, "Are you happy now, Destiny? Is this what you wanted? I hope you burn in Hell for this!" He did not care that his words made no sense. He cared about nothing.

Mayouko shook her head. The dream-seer was dying with tears running down his cheeks, and for the first time in her life she wasn't sure what she thought about it.

At least Yuurei wasn't going to go to him anymore. That's all that mattered really. Suddenly his voice echoed in her head. She gave a tiny sad smile. He was in pain...and lots of it. Deciding it was time to keep him from getting back to Kakyou, she closed her eyes and entered the dreamscape. She'd probably be out for a week since dream-seeing wasn't her specialty, but she decided that for her older brother it was worth it. She entered about the place where he had been wandering, and standing in the shadows for a moment, she watched him. He looked so lost...

Stepping out into his line of vision, she said quietly, "You seem lost, Onii-chan."

In the real world, Kakyou's body was no longer inert. His mind was almost gone, and he was in pain. His heart rate was almost non-existent. He was shuddering violently, and unheeded tears were running down his cheeks...and he kept murmuring a single word over and over and over.

"Yuurei..."

Yuurei jerked his head up at her voice. A putrid scowl covered his shadowy features. "I know exactly where I am, as do you, by the looks of it. And you should be very happy by this outcome, though I have no idea what concern it is of yours."

Mayouko crocked her head at him and almost laughed. "Now no scowling at me, Onii-chan. Perhaps I am happy by this outcome, but then again...we cannot have the dream-seer dying on us, now can we...?"

Yuurei stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes widened, and he felt as though he had just choked on his own breath. "What did you say?"

Mayouko grinned. "You heard what I said, Yuurei. But I cannot let you go. He will pull through, of course. It is not his destiny to die at this moment, but he is broken...defeated." She stepped closer to him and grinned.

_Broken...defeated. _Those words echoed through Yuurei's mind like shards of glass. "Kakyou-kun..." His almost inaudible whisper escaped his lips inadvertently. All of this was his fault. Yuurei had done this to the beautiful dream seer. "Oh...God...what have I become?" And he was suddenly overcome by the certainty that he had to get back to Kakyou now, or he would lose him forever.

He shook himself and refocused his single unbandaged eye on those of his forlorn sister. "What do you have against him?" he demanded, his voice fueled by a mixture of anger and desperation. "Stand aside! If you try to keep me here, I will not hesitate to force my way through."

Mayouko shrugged and said non-chantilly, "I have nothing against him, dear brother. What I'm against is the thought of you waiting for him...loving him. He is a dream-seer who, like Hinoto, has no life in the real world, and yet you still wait for him." She planted her feet and shook her head. "I cannot let you pass." Giving a slight movement of her hand, in an instant a gleaming silver dagger became present, and she twirled it deftly. "If you want to save him then you will have to go through me."

Yuurei snarled and backed into a potential offensive stance. He had no weapons with which to defend himself, but there was no need. "My life does not concern you. Where were you when I was cold and broken? You have no right to stop me. I don't care if Kakyou doesn't love me; I will always be there to protect him." With that he lunged a swift hand out and caught her dagger-armed wrist with callous fingers. Then, leaning in to where his lips nearly brushed her ear, he whispered with deadly clarity, "Stay out of my way." And with a swift motion, he struck her moderately in the back of the neck with his elbow.

Mayouko took the blow hard, and her vision started to go fuzzy. Locating her other dagger with her free hand, she pulled it out and slashed at his shoulder. Gasping she sneered, "You are so thick, Onii-chan, it amuses me sometimes."

Yuurei saw the glint of metal coming at him. Lifting his free hand swiftly, he caught the dagger between his fingers. His face failed to so much as flinch as drops of blood spurted from the wound, and he twisted the weapon out of her hand with a low grunt. "Hn, but you fail to amuse me, Imouto-san," he replied in a husky murmur. Wrenching the other weapon from her hand, he wrapped his arms around her and poised the tips of the daggers at her heart and throat. "Do not patronize me. I have not had a good day."

Mayouko smirked. Her life was on the line, and yet she found that she didn't really care. "I'm not patronizing you," she said, her throat flexing along the dagger as she talked. "I'm merely making an observation. And a very correct one at that." She grinned then, and with a tilt of her head back, brought the back of her skull smashing into his chin. Knowing he would be caught off guard, she brought up her hand and with a tiny grunt twisted the hand holding the dagger at her heart.

Yuurei stumbled back in surprise but did not relent. When Mayouko grabbed his hand to free her dagger from his grasp, he released it carelessly, while hurtling the other deep into the darkness. And while she fumbled with getting a hold back on her weapon, he spun around and lifted his leg, letting his shin make brutal contact with her spine. He would not regard her as his sister, and he would not waste any more words on her. Kakyou needed him, whether the dream seer knew it or not. Yuurei could not afford to bother with this futile skirmish a moment longer.

Mayouko groaned and fell face-forward onto the ground. She turned toward him as best she could and gave him a smirk wreathed in pain. "So be it," she gargled. "You may go and save your precious dream-seer this time, but we will have this discussion again." And with that she vanished.

* * *

Back in the hotel room, Mayouko opened her eyes and groaned. Slipping to the floor, she gasped in pain...

* * *

Wasting no time in remorse for the young woman, Yuurei collected his wits about himself and raced back through the darkness. He knew where he was. More importantly, he knew where he was going. It no longer mattered that Kakyou was only in love with Sumeragi Hokuto. The forsaken dream seer was dying thinking Yuurei hated him for his deeds. The Watcher could not let that happen. He loved Kakyou, more than life itself, more than Fate itself. 

Kakyou was slipping away too quickly; Yuurei could sense his dwindling life force as he neared the Yume-mi's lonely dream world. _- Hold on, my dear friend,- _he whispered into the empty abyss. _-Please, just hold on a little longer.- _As he drew closer, the dreamer's pain began to consume Yuurei's consciousness, and it took every ounce of his concentration to keep from collapsing to his knees at the images of the younger man's agony.

At last he reached the boundary of the dreamscape, and he was surprised to find that the barrier no longer encompassed the world. But this was not a good sign. It meant that Kakyou must have had too little strength remaining to keep it in existence. Desperately the Watcher entered the familiar terrain and raced in the direction of the jagged cliffs overlooking the illusory ocean. Kakyou always went there to think...to reminisce.

And then he saw him--a trembling wreck of a man, curled over himself almost motionless. Even from such a distance, Yuurei could see the ocean of tears streaming down the dream seer's ashen face. Was he too late? An aching beyond the worst physical pain pierced his soul and caused him to gasp heavily. He had been such a fool, not for revealing himself in the first place, but for leaving his beloved when the man needed him the most.

He stumbled and caught himself as the soles of his thick boots beat against the jagged ground. And in a terrified voice that spoke everything of love and concern and deepest regret, he screamed at the top of his lungs in two prolonged syllables, "Kakyou!"

Kakyou had begun rocking back and forth in a constant motion. The pain in his chest and head were beginning to become unbearable. Everything was a blur...he couldn't even see his own body anymore. Everything was just colors and vague shapes. He couldn't feel anything. A darkness was descending over him at a rapid pace, and it was in those moments that Kakyou understood he was about to die. And the sad thing was that he welcomed it. He whose wish had just changed, now again wanted to die...

A shape, he was unsure whether it was real or a dream, began to come toward him. A woman's voice called softly to him. "Kakyou...Kakyou..." His mind somehow put a name to the voice. Hokuto... He wanted to call out to her, to say her name, but his voice would not come. His lips were frozen.

It was then that another voice, stronger and more powerful echoed through him. It was more a scream then anything. And Kakyou with a jolt recognized that voice even quicker then he had Hokuto. Yuurei... Even as he thought this, the image of the woman began to fade, and the dream-seer opened his eyes to slits...only to see Yuurei running head on toward him.

"Yuurei..." he mouthed, though no sound came from his lips.

Their gazes met, and Yuurei's un-bandaged crimson eye widened and quivered as he saw how weak the pale young dream seer had become. Disregarding how clumsy he might have looked or how pitifully desperate his actions may have seemed, he pushed off of the ground and sprinted the rest of the distance to Kakyou's side, falling to his knees beside the man he loved with every fiber of his being.

Gently he gathered the lovely Yume-mi's feeble body into his arms and cradled him lovingly to his breast. Grinding his teeth together in anger at himself and grief at seeing Kakyou in such a terrible condition, Yuurei released the frantic hold on his tears. Sobs wracked his virile frame, and the tears spilled down his face and fell to Kakyou's silvery tresses. Leaning over the weakened Angel, he ran the fingers of one callused hand through his precious friend's silky hair and over his clammy face again and again. He could hear the dreamer's shallow breaths, feel the palpitating of his fragile heart.

Then first thing that caught Kakyou's eye was the bloody bandage binding Yuurei's forehead, covering one eye. Suddenly terribly afraid that the Watcher had gone out and gotten himself injured somehow, the dream-seer searched for the strength to reach out and touch him but failed miserably. He could barely find enough strength to say two raspy words. "Your eye..."

Yuurei paused as Kakyou spoke and almost had to hold his breath in order to hear his weak voice. "It's nothing," he said, trying to reassure his dear childhood friend of the frivolousness of the battle wound he had received from Fuuma. "A skirmish with Kamui's Gemini. I was a fool to attempt such a feat...just as I was a fool to hurt you and then leave you when you needed me the most."

His lips brushed against Kakyou's cheek, his tears falling aimlessly to the rocks. "I won't leave you again," he whispered with utmost resolve, teeth clenching fiercely as he embraced the man affectionately. "It's all right if you don't love me. It's wise of you not to." He forced up a choked laugh. "God, how could I hurt you like this? I won't ask your forgiveness; I don't deserve it. But I see now that it never mattered what you thought of me." He smiled faintly in the light of his revelation. In the back of his mind, he had known it all along. "I will always protect you, Kakyou-kun. You are the reason I have strength to get through each day. My duty means nothing to me if you are not there, even if I can only watch you from the shadows. Fate can burn in Hell. You are the one I will give my life for."

The anger at what the Twin Star of Kamui had done was momentarily forgotten, and before the dream-seer quite knew what was happening, the blurred shape that was Yuurei had come right up to him, and he was promptly gathered into a pair of strong arms. He could feel the vibrations of the Watcher's chest as he heard sobs that were not his own spill out. He tried to lift his hand and touch the tear-stained cheek. He found though that he couldn't, he didn't have the strength. That saddened him. And when he felt lips against his own pale cheek, Kakyou felt his heart begin to beat again. And the words Yuurei spoke rang in every fiber of his being...a balm to his aching soul. What had been broken by the same voice was now being reformed. And it was being reformed stronger and more in love than ever before.

As his words stopped, Kakyou now found the strength to lift his hand. The tears began to slow as he touched the Watcher's cheek gently. He opened his mouth to try and speak, but no words came. Closing it, he swallowed as best he could and then tried again. "There is nothing to forgive. It is I who should be asking for your forgiveness, not you for mine." He stopped for a moment and swallowed again, trying to rid his throat of the lump that was lodged in it. He then continued on, his voice still gruff with the remnants of tears. "I know you will always protect me, and for that you have no idea how grateful I am. It is true what I said earlier...I love you with every part of my body and soul. That is why I tried to keep you out. I could not bear to see you hurt because of me...I couldn't bear to hurt you..." His voice trailed off.

The breath caught in Yuurei's lungs. After everything he had done, after everything he had believed in the back of his mind to be true, was it possible? Did Kakyou truly love him? Had that been the cause of the beautiful dream seer's pain--that he had been afraid to hurt Yuurei? Had they actually gotten caught up in one another's pains? It seemed so contorted.

He wanted to speak--to question the claim that seemed too magnificent to ever be true--but found that his voice was gone in that instant. He could do nothing but stare into those heavenly, radiant golden eyes. A tear slipped innocently from his cheek and fell to Kakyou's satiny forehead. Yuurei leaned down to follow it. Tenderly he pressed his lips against the silken skin of the dream seer's brow, slowly planting affectionate kisses down the side of his face.

At last his lips touched the corner of the Yume-mi's slender mouth, and gradually he brushed the very edges of his lips against Kakyou's. But unlike last time, he did not yield. Even if the pain had come, he would not have let it overtake him. Ever so gently, he pressed his lips over the younger man's soft opening, relishing each humid breath as it was exhaled into him. And with loving eagerness only possible through purest devotion, Yuurei eased his tongue slowly into Kakyou's hot mouth, pulling his lithe body closer with tender affection.

Golden-eyes widened, and a breathy gasp issued from his lips as a trail of kisses rained down his face. And when Yuurei's lips brushed on the corner of his mouth, Kakyou almost stopped breathing. His hand moved from Yuurei's cheek to his neck and curled around it as his head tilted back to receive the Watcher's kiss. With each tender touch, a bit more strength returned to the dream-seer, and when Yuurei's tongue slipped into his own mouth, Kakyou welcomed it with a shudder.

Though just a few moments ago on the brink of death, the dream-seer was now in heaven...perhaps he had died after all. But no...the warm body holding him, their tongues dancing... It was real...so real that Kakyou was almost in pain... Both he and Yuurei were defying Fate, and Kakyou was reveling in it with a passion that surged from his very core, making his blood run warm and his heart speed up...

So different from that first kiss so many years ago...or even the one from earlier that very day. Childish friendship...hopeless desire. But this...this was the beginning the purest, most beautiful love. Mature love. Yuurei had never even had the courage to dream of this moment.

In the back of his mind, he did not want to hurt Kakyou again. It had been his fault...all of this. But at the same time, he wanted to make Kakyou happy...to give himself to fulfill the dream seer's most desperate wish. Yuurei had never lived for himself. But now, at this moment, he knew that he only wanted to live for Kakyou.

With gradual movements, never breaking the precious kiss, he gently tugged at the Yume-mi's long jacket and slid it off. He paused after that to run his tongue along the roof of Kakyou's mouth, pulling the younger man's tongue back in and suckling at it gently.

But his mind was never overtaken by lust. He wanted Kakyou, yes, but he loved him more. He would never purposefully hurt the man. He would move slowly.

Kakyou closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose. And when Yuurei removed his coat, Kakyou only helped by twitching the sleeves off his arms and then returned both hands to the Watcher's neck, and with a gentle forefinger began to trace random designs along the back of Yuurei's exposed neck. His head tilted back even more and he shuddered with pleasure.

As Kakyou tilted his head back, Yuurei gradually released his lock on the delicious kiss, lowering his head to the dream seer's pallid neck. He pressed his lips against the tender flesh with affectionate passion, kissing him and running his tongue lightly along the little lines of his throat as his nimble fingers began to work at the buttons of Kakyou's shirt.

Kakyou would have protested to the loss of Yuurei's lips, but was swept up on another swift breath as the Watcher's soft lips moved lower and began to caress his neck...

And as Yuurei's hands moved to unbutton his shirt, Kakyou could only manage a shaky breath. His hands of their own accord it seemed, moved to the front and carefully unfastened the heavy cloak. He pushed it off the man's shoulders and it floated to the ground...

Yuurei shuddered as his cloak fell to the illusory ground. He was not used to being without it; losing it almost made him feel naked. But as Kakyou moaned softly at his touch, Yuurei forgot all about his own insecurities and laid the man gently on his back, all the while caressing his neck and smooth chest with his lips.

After a moment had passed, he paused to move his lips next to Kakyou's ear. "Is this what you want?" he asked softly, one hand on the dream seer's slender waist. "All you have to do is tell me to stop, and I won't be offended. I...don't want to hurt you." He backed away for a second to stare into Kakyou's deep golden eyes, as much as he wanted to continue savagely without waiting for a response.

Kakyou smiled up at the Watcher from his position on his back. He placed a hand on Yuurei's still-shirted chest and said softly, "I think I've wanted this from the first moment I understood what it was to love...what it was to love you." His golden eyes were wide, and there was nothing there but a wealth of love and the kindling of desire. Kakyou didn't want to turn back..

Those words might have swept Yuurei into the heavens if Kakyou had not been holding onto his shirt. He knew it was true then: Kakyou loved him. Leaning back down, he cupped the beautiful dream seer's head with one hand and planted his lips deeply into Kakyou's. Then, after maneuvering his arms subtly as to relieve himself of his heavy trench coat, he let his free hand fall back to finish unbuttoning Kakyou's shirt.

Kakyou's stomach contracted with each brush of Yuurei's fingers as button after button was undone. He gave a tiny moan through their pressed lips. This time it was Kakyou who ran his tongue along Yuurei's lips, seeking entrance... The hand at Yuurei's chest suddenly dipped and began to tug to try and loosen it from the tight waistband. The other hand curled once again around Yuurei's neck, and a barrier appeared that kept the Watcher's head mere inches away from Kakyou's...

The warm hand reached up his chest, and Yuurei let out a low groan of sheer pleasure as Kakyou traced his tongue along the Watcher's lips. The hand that was resting on the dream seer's waist then became active, trailing down to the man's naval, and then... Tenderly Yuurei pushed his palm against the sweet Yume-mi's groin, slowly enclosing his hand around it, massaging it with utmost care. At Kakyou's inevitable jump, Yuurei wrapped his other arm around the man's broad shoulders and pulled him closer, deepening their kiss.

Kakyou did indeed jump and then shuddered with pleasure. The shirt had come undone and now the dream-seer's hand began to lightly caress the skin underneath. Their tongues danced and Kakyou closed his eyes, moaning in pleasure. So this was what it's like to be in heaven, he thought to himself..

Yuurei chuckled deeply into Kakyou's gasp, then separated his tongue long enough to brush the dream seer's cheek with a light kiss. Then, lips still barely touching, he whispered quietly as he kneaded the man's groin a little harder, "Are you all right? You're trembling..." Smiling as he waited patiently for a reply, he began to kiss Kakyou's chin and lips softly, tracing his tongue along every nook and crevice.

Kakyou nodded mutely, unable to find his voice. He continued to shudder lightly, and when the intensity of the caress increased, he moaned again.

Yuurei grinned in satisfaction at Kakyou's weakly reply, then moved his hand from the dream seer's legs to unfasten the belt of his pants. Maneuvering his hand expertly down, he brushed his fingers delicately over the warm, hardening length before taking it into his hands and kneading it lovingly. His head also moved downward, and he planted tiny kisses onto Kakyou's lithe chest until his lips reached the man's nipple. Running his tongue over it, he took it into his mouth and nibbled at it gently, taking immense enjoyment as the dream seer writhed and moaned under his touch.

Kakyou's whole body lifted off the ground of it's own accord as Yuurei's hands and mouth worked their magic. His hands dug into Yuurei's muscled shoulders, and be began to shake his head back and forth, panting all the while...

Pleased by Kakyou's reaction, Yuurei twisted the dark nipple in his mouth one more time before moving downward again, leaving a trail of kissing all the way to the brim of the dream seer's pants. His free hand came to the hemming and pulled at it until they slid down Kakyou's smooth pale legs, exposing his body in full light. For a moment Yuurei sat up and gazed down at him, covering the breath-taking beauty with his single useful eye.

As the light breeze caressed all of his exposed body, Kakyou took a moment to take a single long shuddering breath. Not that the breeze helped any, of course. In fact it was making it all the more sensual. Kakyou shuddered, and then, staring up at Yuurei with wide and pleading gold eyes, sobbed out his name. "Yuurei...please..."

When Kakyou sobbed his name, Yuurei tilted his head and smiled. It had never really struck him until now that they were going to carry through with this. It was happening, and he would not draw it out just to taunt his lover. Yes...his lover. That was exactly what Kakyou was.

Gradually he bent down again, still kneeling on one knee while lying his torso along the man's pallid lower body. His fingers fell again to Kakyou's erect member. And after stroking it gently while chuckling inwardly as the man let out another moan, he kissed its head and promptly took it into his mouth.

Kakyou began to shudder violently again, and the sobbing continued, but there were no words this time. Arching his back even more, his hands scrambled for something to hold on to. Grasping the folds of his trench coat, he squeezed as hard as he could. His senses were reeling as his head continued to swing back and forth, and the sobbing increased.

Salty-sweet...almost a hint of bitterness. That was what Kakyou tasted like. Drops of juice like sweet perfume trickled onto Yuurei's tongue, and he swallowed eagerly. Kakyou was close; Yuurei could feel it.

Anxious to bring him all the way over the edge, Yuurei ran his mouth all the way down to the base of Kakyou's length, and the dream seer filled his throat. His size was not quite big enough to make it a tight fit, but snug. Yes, that was the word. Yuurei suckled at him more feverishly now, relishing every moment as the trembling Yume-mi grew closer and closer.

As Yuurei's pace increased, Kakyou knew he was lost. With a last violent shudder and a cry that echoed out over the water, he convulsed around the Watcher, falling back to earth with a long and happy sigh.

As Kakyou released himself into his mouth, Yuurei slid back just enough to take it all in and swallow in satisfaction. He felt the dream seer's body go limp, and slowly he sat up and pulled himself along the ground until he was staring again into Kakyou's exhausted golden eyes. Smiling almost devilishly, Yuurei leaned down and kissed the man deeply again, reveling in the lovely Yume-mi's every impotent shudder.

Kakyou's hands unclenched themselves from the folds of his jacket with one last shudder of pleasure. The dream-seer gave an exhausted smile and after kissing the Watcher again, tried to sit up. He found it impossible however. His limbs seemed to be made of something other than the solidness of flesh and muscle, and he flopped back down into the trench coat. He smiled again and whispered. "I don't think I need to go looking for heaven any longer..."

Yuurei chuckled and caught the dream seer in his arms. Brushing his lips against Kakyou's ear, he murmured sensually, "Heaven? We haven't even gotten to the best part yet.

Kakyou raised a delicate eyebrow and couldn't help but give a smirk. "Heaven is going to have to wait a little longer then, perhaps." And with more strength than the golden-eyed dream-seer thought he had in himself, he placed his hands on Yuurei's chest and shoved him down.

Caught off guard by the Yume-mi's suddenly persuasive movements, Yuurei could not hold back the light-hearted laugh that had been building within his throat. As he let himself fall to the ground, his back against the rocky shore, his laughter died away, and only the sincerest expressions of affection remained. Lifting a hand to run a callused finger along Kakyou's jaw line, Yuurei tenderly stroked a stray strand of silvery hair behind the man's pale ear. He would have said something... anything to ease the sudden tension in his gut...but his mouth was dry, and he could not speak.

Kakyou reveled in that light laugh. And when Yuurei's hand stroked his cheek, he leaned into it and gave the man another dazzling smile. Bending down he whispered right next to the Watcher's ear, his voice soft and sensual, "It's only right that I return the favor..." And without waiting for the man to reply, made a trail from ear to mouth with his tongue and then kissed him.

As Kakyou whispered in his ear, a sharp shiver ran down Yuurei's spine. And when the dream seer's tongue met his lips, he eagerly pulled it into his mouth with a husky moan. Rubbing his hands over Kakyou's broad shoulders that were still clothed with the open shirt, he let his fingers trail down to the man's slender waist. His heart was in his throat; he could barely breathe. And the dream seer's words only made the knot in his stomach grow tighter.

At Yuurei's groan, Kakyou would have smiled again, but his mouth was too busy to really do anything at the moment. He shuddered as Yuurei's hands trailed down his back and cradled his waist. The dream-seer gave a shrug of his shoulders, and the shirt fell off and bunched up at his lower back, since his arms were still in the sleeves.

One of his own hands trailed down the Watcher's still-shirted chest, and taking the bottom, began to tug at it. With a groan, he broke the kiss and then smirk at Yuurei. Tugging the shirt again, he said huskily, "This needs to come off."

Smiling compliantly up at the gentle dream seer, Yuurei brought his hands down from Kakyou's waist and fingered his own belt for a minute before unfastening it and untucking his ebon tee shirt. Lifting his back off the ground momentarily, he gathered the hemming of the fabric into his hands and pulled it off over his head, revealing his scarred, muscular chest. Tossing the article of clothing aside, he laid back down and smirked up at Kakyou. "Is that better?" he murmured coolly.

Kakyou found that all he could get out was a very breathy, "You're beautiful..." He ran a light hand over the bare chest, tracing each scar first with a finger and then following it with his lips, kissing each one as if it were a temple made for worship.

Yuurei exhaled sharply as Kakyou traced his battle-scarred chest long since marred from past combats. The dream seer's words pricked at his spine, and he could not help but smile. Gently he cupped the man's head and held him to his chest, not wanting to lose this feeling of such absolute tranquility.

Kakyou could feel the smile Yuurei gave through his skin but he didn't stop. And when the hand touched his skull, the dream-seer paused to smile lazily and then began to process over but this time with his tongue.

He worked his way upward, inch by inch until he reached one of Yuurei's taut nipples. He swirled it with his tongue and then bit it lightly. He stopped there however and lifted his head to place a searing kiss on the Watcher's lips.  
Yuurei lurched his head back as Kakyou bit down on his nipple, then let out a soft moan as the dream seer left his chest and brought his lips back up to mingle with his own. Anxiously Yuurei complied, drawing the younger man's tongue into an intricate and beautiful dance, but in the back of his mind, his body wanted more...

As their tongues danced, one of Kakyou's hands like a snake began to move lower and lower... He ran a light finger over the bulge that existed there and breaking the kiss, smiled. Sliding his whole hand over it he gave a gentle squeeze and watched through hazy golden eyes at Yuurei's reaction.

A gasp ruptured through Yuurei's clenched teeth. He had never been touched like this before...and he was almost alarmed at how thoroughly he was enjoying it. Trailing one of his own hands down his side, he placed it over Kakyou's and pushed a little harder, wrapping his other arm around the man's shoulders to complicate their deliriously intoxicating kiss.

Kakyou would have himself gasped as Yuurei's hand pressed his, had it not been for the Watcher's lips crushing his at that instant. He didn't protest however, as his hand started to squeeze gently.

Yuurei felt Kakyou gasp into the kiss, just as he felt himself growing harder and more anxious by the second. He could not wait another instant. Blatantly he parted the kiss and shoved Kakyou off of him and onto his back. Grinning just a little menacingly, he sat up on his knees and stared down at his sweet dream seer with probing eyes as he effortlessly unzipped his pants and rid himself of their burden. His gaze once again scanned Kakyou's entire breath-taking pale body. Such perfect innocence...all his for the taking. He leaned over and ran his hands up Kakyou's lithe body from his hips to his shoulders, smiling cunningly into his eyes. He did not need to say anything; the dream seer's expression told him Kakyou knew exactly what he was thinking...

Before Kakyou could really gather what was happening, he was suddenly once more on his back. He gazed back at Yuurei, golden eyes hazy with love and desire. As lithe hands traveled up his body, he shivered. He said nothing but gave the Watcher a tremendous smile and opened his arms...

Yuurei smiled more kindly and reached up to intertwine the fingers of one hand with Kakyou's. Reaching deep within himself, his hand began to radiate with power, and an object started to take form. Taking the slender syringe firmly, he lowered himself over Kakyou and gingerly felt his way down the smooth skin until his finger rubbed against the man's opening. Gently he pushed the tip of the syringe into him and emptied its contents, and just as suddenly, the object vanished.

Now his grin turned more devious as he wrapped one arm around the dream seer's slender waist, placing the other against his hip to give himself proper aim. Lifting the delirious Yume-mi's lower body slightly off the ground and directing him toward his lap, the head of his length nuzzled precariously against the younger man's entrance. Yuurei's single eye glistened and almost seemed a bit taunting as he watched Kakyou's wanting reaction...

Kakyou watched the process as if not really seeing it. But as Yuurei was poised at his entrance, he felt a second tide start to wash over him. And all he did was give a tiny moan...

At Kakyou's wistful sigh, Yuurei cocked an eyebrow and let out a low snicker. Subtly he pushed himself against the dream seer's opening just a little harder, but instantly backed away again. Leaning down to Kakyou's ear, he breathed against it sensually and said, "What's the matter, Kakyou-kun? Don't you want me?" Again he pushed himself closer, just enough to make the man squirm, and then brought himself back. "Hn?" He then brushed his nose against the dream seer's cheek and nibbled gently at his earlobe.

Kakyou whimpered as Yuurei flexed himself at the dream-seer's entrance. He panted as his earlobe was bitten. Forcing himself to speak past his dry throat, he whispered, "I don't think I've wanted anything more in my life..." As if to justify his statement, Kakyou flexed his own hips, forcing Yuurei's hardness closer, as his arms clamped around Yuurei's waist, keeping him there...

A chuckle escaped Yuurei's throat as he felt Kakyou tremble against him. The words he whimpered in such an innocent voice triggered a madness the Watcher had never known before. And when the dream seer grasped his waist, Yuurei knew he could not wait any  
longer. Gripping Kakyou's hips with steady hands, he thrust himself deeply into the Yume-mi's delicate body with tremendous might, gasping as his length was swallowed in a tightness so narrow he had never dreamed of something so pleasurable. For an instant he lost himself...and muffled a gasp against Kakyou's sweaty neck.

Kakyou mirrored Yuurei's gasp as the Watcher's length slid into him. Suddenly moved by a force that Kakyou was sure was not himself, his legs wrapped around Yuurei's sinewy waist, and his hands traveled up in a sensual pattern to clasp once more around the Watcher's neck. He gasped again as the sensation changed with the position, and he feverishly kissed the soft spot where neck met shoulder.

As he gradually came back to himself, Yuurei felt the tangle of arms and legs wrapping around him, and he nearly collapsed with the intensity of it all. But he did not quite fall, just lowered himself enough to wrap his arms around Kakyou's middle and pump himself in and out of the man's lithe body at a leisurely pace. He moaned as Kakyou buried his lips into his neck, and his eyes almost rolled back in his head as indescribable pleasure overtook his pulsating groin.

Kakyou murmured incoherent words with each thrust of the Watcher's member. It was mostly Yuurei's name, being said over and over and over, and after each another dry kiss...but this time he started an upward path, finally meeting once again with Yuurei's lips. He groaned with pleasure and started to move with Yuurei's own motion...

Yuurei could not hold himself for much longer. As Kakyou began to move with him, he rocked himself back and forth faster and with more power behind every thrust. His breathing became frantic as he pumped himself in and out of the dream seer's trembling body, forcing himself deeper and deeper with expert movements until it was impossible to push himself any farther inside. And he could feel Kakyou tightening and growing dangerously close as well. At last, when he could not hold out any longer, he gave a sharp cry as he released himself powerfully inside the lovely Yume-mi, then all but collapsed on top of him, shaking terribly.

Kakyou began to pant harder with each thrust. He grew tighter and tighter by the second and each second was a mix of both pleasure and pain. Kakyou cried out just as Yuurei did, spilling his own seed onto the man's bare chest. As the Watcher collapsed on top of him, Kakyou pulled him closer, legs still wrapped around his waist and arms too clamped around his midsection. He began to take in huge gulps of air. And when his breathing had slowed, he kissed Yuurei's forehead, and inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of sweat and recent love-making and whispered, "Now this is heaven..."


	28. Chapter 26: Fate Abandoned

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Fate Abandoned**

"I'll be fine, they say," Yuzuriha smiled. "I'm just not feeling very good right now. I should probably get some sleep, but I'd much rather have some company."

"If you want to rest, that's fine." Kotori said. She smiled softly.

"I'll stay here even, if you want. Until you fall asleep, or whatever." She leaned back, allowing her body to sink into the plush chair.

"Thanks." Yuzuriha felt comforted by the young girl's words. They hardly knew each other, and she was being so nice.

"So when do you get out?" Yuzuriha felt a faint smile draw across her face. After all, she was making the hospital sound more like a prison than a place to get better.

"Your welcome." Kotori said kindly. She adjusted herself in the chair. Though she had only fainted, she had a few bruises.

"I get out whenever someone comes to get me." she said. "My father isn't answering the phone, he must be in the shrine. And my onii-chan..." she stopped. Her head bent down.

"When are you getting out?" Kotori asked, looking at the tiled floor.

It was then Fuuma entered the room, dressed in a white tee-shirt and black dress pants. He smiled brightly at his sister. "Well good news, Kotori...Father sent me to pick you up..."

He didn't seem to have any of the features of the Dragon at this moment, leaning casually against the door.

Kotori looked up from Yuzuriha. "Onii-chan!" she gasped. She jumped up from the plush chair and stood, looking at her brother.

"Where's father been? No one was answering the phone." She tilted her head, and spoke in a concerned voice. "Are you okay, now?"

Fuuma smiled and tilted his head back. "Yeah he's just busy...you know him..." He blinked at her sudden interest in him...not seeming in the least to know what she was talking about. "Of course I'm fine? Was I ever not fine?"

She pointed forward at her brother, her hand poised in front of her. Her mouth opened, and then she closed it again. Could it have been...? "Nothing." she shook her head. "It must just be my imagination again. Fainting does that, you know." She looked over at Yuzuriha. "Will you be okay? I'll stay a bit longer if you need me."

Yuzuriha felt a burning inside of her head. All of this seemed so familiar. Even this guy that she couldn't recognize...it seemed like a case of Deja vu. She looked up at him, her eyes locked with his, and felt herself grow sicker by the moment. She pulled her arms to her mouth, fearing that she might throw up.

"Yuzu-chan? Are you okay?" Kotori cried out, falling to the side of her bed.

Fuuma eyed Yuzuriha oddly, he didn't show in the least he knew her...He looked at her concerned. "You ok?"

"Fuuma, maybe you should call a doctor!" Kotori told him. Her eyes were set, locked with Yuzuriha's own.

"I..." Yuzuriha looked up again, her left hand still covering her mouth. Suddenly, an image flew through her mind. That man...that man...with his sinister grin, how he smiled as she fell back into a pool of blood... Inuki growled at Fuuma, preparing to lunge at him at any moment.

"We need a doctor!" Fuuma called down the hall. He stood stiff near the door, eyeing his surroundings. He noted the dog, smiling at it.

"Yuzuriha? What is it?" Kotori eyed her brother. Her hand placed itself on Yuzuriha's forehead.

"Y...you," Yuzuriha felt her head palpitating as if it were going to burst. "You..." She pointed accusingly in Fuuma's direction.

"Kotori...I don't mean to be rude...but there are some things that prevent us from staying." He grew serious. "Things that I don't want to tell to people outside our family… Me?" Fuuma glanced at her oddly as if he didn't know.

"You're not leaving!" Yuzuriha shouted.

She pulled herself from the bed, and the various IV wires that were stuck inside of her were pulled carelessly from her body.

Kotori jumped back at Yuzuriha's rashness. "But what did he do? He just got here." Kotori stepped back. "Yuzu-chan!"

"Oh? You misunderstand then...Kotori, we can't talk here but something happened with Kamui and father..." Fuuma didn't let his composure slip in the least.

"He..." Another image frisked inside of Yuzuriha's head. "He tried to kill me!"

Fuuma stared at the girl like she was crazy, cold toward her lies." You are mistaken..."

"He what?!" Kotori screamed. She turned her lithe body to her brother. "Onii-chan, did you do that?!"

"Kotori, No...I would never do something so horrible! You know your own brother right?" Fuuma looked at her as if he was hurt he was being accused.

Yuzuriha pulled herself further from the bed, and closer to Fuuma, tearing more IVs from her body. "I won't allow you to leave." She ignored his words.

She took her step back to Yuzuriha's side. If her had tried to kill her, then...then what she saw before she fainted was real.

"I do know my brother!" She said. She paused, her voice lingering. "And I know what I saw back there with Kamui-chan."

"Sister...How can you trust her...She was with Kamui...and he..." Fuuma looked at her with tears in his eyes. " HE KILLED OUR FATHER!!"

"KAMUI WOULD NEVER DO THAT!" Yuzuriha threw her small arm at Fuuma's face. Startled by her outburst, she stared at her hand for a minute before looking back up at Fuuma. "You know it...

Kill? The word, as soon as it hit her ears, the thought of her mother popped into her mind. "What?! Kamui-chan wouldn't do something like that!"

Kamui would NEVER, EVER do something like that to you OR your sister!"

"And Yuzuriha was here.." Her mother...The body of her mother, splattered onto the walls..

Fuuma eyed the girl, taking the slap. He concentrated and sent her glimpses of what he saw. Kamui and the sword...the sword hitting their father...forgetting who was wounded and who had the sword... He looked Kotori. "Do you believe me now sister?"

She stepped back, further away from her brother. Kotori grabbed her head, trying to push them...those...pictures to the far reaches of her mind. "Nooo!" she screeched.

Yuzuriha grabbed Kotori. "It's not true. It's not true." She kept repeating those words to Kotori, hoping that she'd be able to calm her down. Bits of blood from Yuzuriha's newly-opened wounds fell to the floor in a crimson puddle.

Her knees, they were so weak. They finally collapsed under her, bringing her to the ground. "Chan-chan...they're in my head..."

It was all she could manage to muster from her lips. "Onii-chan, why would Kamui do something like that?"

Fuuma sighed and closed his eyes. "Sister...it all would've been easier if you would've accepted the illusion...so much easier." Fuuma suddenly using his power to toss the dog against the Wall, HARD. "You would've been happy..."

Fuuma smiled darkly. "Because Destiny told him too...and he's selfish and wants mother's sword for his own."

Yuzuriha was pissed; it wasn't often that she got angry, but now she was starting to piece things together. That dog over there, the dog only certain people could see, there was a reason only certain people could see it. That man, he was the reason why she was in the hospital. He had powers. He hurt her. Then that guy who had come into the hospital earlier, did he have special powers, too? And what about herself? Yuzuriha ran over to Inuki, who was slowly struggling to his feet.

"How can you hurt a helpless animal like that?!" Yuzuriha yelled out.

"Onii-chan...Where is Kamui now?" Kotori asked. Her hands her still pressed tightly against her head. Her knuckles her growing white. Kotori's head snapped up. Animal? "What?"

"The animal was ready to strike...you don't bare your teeth to something you don't intend to attack...This is how the animal kingdom works.." He smiled at Kotori. " Come sister..."

Yuzuriha gently petted Inuki, trying to soothe him and calm him down; she really couldn't blame him for being so savage. The dog took no time; he lunged at Fuuma as a white beam of energy. Yuzuriha blinked in surprise; this dog, did he also have powers?

"Onii-chan..." Kotori whispered. She slowly brought herself to stand. Or she tried. But she was still weak, and automatically fell back down again.

Fuuma took the hit, kneeling in pain. He smiled darkly at the girl. "You see and I was so nice as not to kill it? " He cringed at the pain...so ironic his first real wound was the one he first wounded. "Kotori...Come with me...Why won't you trust your own brother?" He felt a spot of crimson under his shirt.

The dog made himself materialize next to Yuzuriha's side. He nuzzled his face into his thigh, as if encouraging her.

"Because...Onii-chan...don't you remember? It was a few hours ago, that you.." she didn't know how to phrase it. "Someone was in your body!" Even if she had wanted to stand, she couldn't.

"Kotori..." Yuzuriha looked at the girl pleadingly. "Don't go...with him."

Fuuma moved to her and attempted to lift her into his arms. "No one was inside me sister...I just understand now..."

"Understand what?" She asked as Fuuma lifted her up. She looked at Yuzuriha, wondering if she knew more.

"The world..." He smiled and moved toward the window, keeping her in front of him. "Well I guess we shall go home."

"The world?" she asked, even more confused than before. "I can't go until Yuzuriha-chan says it's okay. I promised that I would stay here with her." she protested.

Yuzuriha sighed in relief.

Fuuma smiled at his sister and then the girl. "But she is okay...and she will ruin the surprise I have for you."

"Surprise?" she asked. She looked up at her brother with big eyes. His personality changed all too much. "What kind of surprise?"

"You'll see when we get there.." He said this as he smiled. "Hold on tight..." He held her close and leapt backwards through the window.

WAIT!" Yuzuriha held her arm out, trying to catch the edge of Kotori's dress. No such luck.

"Yuzu-chan!" Kotori shouted. Her hands flew out to the girl. But she quickly retracted them, clinging to her brother.

She fell to the ground, shaking in a puddle of blood. "You there! What are you doing out of bed!?" a doctor shouted, running into Yuzuriha's room. "I need backup!" he called into the hall.

"Onii-chan!!" Kotori cried. "We'll fall!"

* * *

A peaceful sigh escaped his lips as he lay on the rocky shore, swaddled snugly in cloak and jacket, his damp skin pressed closely against Kakyou's soft, bare body. His arms enclosed tenderly around the steadily breathing beauty, drawing the hem of his cloak closer around them.

Perfect, unimaginable bliss. He knew it could not last long, but right now all that mattered was this moment, even if it was only to be just this once. They were one, of body and soul, in perfect unity. He could sense Kakyou's every breath, every heartbeat, every time he blinked.

When it came--and the pain did always come--it flashed through the back of his mind that he was grateful it was only a slight twinge instead of a searing bolt. He smothered a flinch and gently rubbed a callused hand over Kakyou's pale shoulder. Closing his good eye, he waited for the usual glimpses of events transpiring in the real world beyond this place to appear just inside his eyelids.

Fuuma was moving again...this time...something to do with Kotori. Did he have her? Yuurei tried to bring back the images to get a better look, but they were already gone. And there was something else...eternal sorrow, pent-up rage... Subaru. Dear God, he had nearly forgotten the reason he had been stricken unconscious in the first place.

But had he the will to move, he still would have hesitated. Despondently he stroked Kakyou's smooth cheek lightly with his knuckles, brushing stray strands of silver out of the man's lovely golden eyes. Softly he spoke, "There's need of me in the real world. I've already broken my Fate, and so I assume my end is sealed. But I can't abandon them now, not after coming so far, after making so many changes." He spoke these words slowly, languidly, almost as though he could not bear the thought of going back. And perhaps he could not. After all, was this already not everything he had wanted? He was finally with the one he loved now...but he knew the answer. He could not leave the others.

And still he did not move or make as if to get up in the least. He simply made this statement and continued to hold Kakyou close, dreading the moment that would separate them once again. Closing again his crimson eye, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against the dream seer's satiny forehead. In moments he knew he would have to get up and leave this beautiful dream, but now, in this instant, he could only manage to murmur three soft-spoken words in the midst of his internal anguish.

"Ai shiteru, Kakyou-kun..."

* * *

Fuuma touched off the ground and began leaping building to building. "We're fine..." His cold eyes returning. "You are safe now,sister."

"H-hai..." Her grip never one loosened on her brother's neck as he continued building hopping.

"Where are we going now, to the surprise?" she asked. She looked over her brother's shoulder, still worried about Yuzuriha.

"Yes...to the surprise dear sister." He continued leaping, passing far from where all that nights action occurred. He landed in a run down church's yard...here was a well that was chained and sealed. The church itself looked humble in it's old age yet not quite too dilapidated. "Welcome home, Sister."

"Home..." It was a question and a statement at the same time. Kotori looked around the yard, her eyes flowing over everything, and nothing at once.

He carried her inside the dark chapel. It was cold within those walls...cold to match his eyes...and dark to match his aura. "Yes, Home, Sister."

"But I don't understand." she mused. "This isn't the shrine. Fuuma, are you sure you're okay? Did you forget where we live?"

"No sister...This **IS** home now" Fuuma set her down at the head of the church. He stared at her.

Kotori was placed down, but automatically she pushed herself to where she was nearly sitting. "What?! We can't do that! Fuuma, I want to go back home, to the shrine. Where father is..."

"Father is dead..." He stood in the shadows. "Kamui killed him."

"But still! We have to go back, and give him the proper burial. You know he would do it for us, and you know mother would want it..." She wouldn't let her mind process **WHO** killed her father. She bent over, her head hanging." Fuuma, please. I don't want to talk about this. Let's just go back." she said, feeling sick.

Fuuma approached her slowly. "No...Sister...That is where Kamui will find us...He wasn't get in the way of your wishes." His eyes couldn't be seen...they were covered by shadow.

"Wishes..." she scowled. That's what everyone was talking about today. "Onii-chan, Kamui-chan probably didn't mean it. He would never hurt anyone purposely. We have to go back eventually..."

"Eventually sister...it might be there though...The world will be reborn, healed from this dreadful cancer that consumes it...This is what Humanity is..."

"Fuuma, stop this talk." Kotori scolded her brother. "Just stop, please?" Slowly, she brought her head up to face her brother. "I don't like who's living with you in that body."

"Ah but you would you believe me if I told you..." He smiled wickedly and seemed to be dancing around her. He Suddenly jumped to land close to her left side. " It is me...but it's not...but also someone is and someone isn't."

"Ee!" Kotori blinked at her brother. She jumped from her seat. "You're scaring me! I'm going home." she protested, proceeding to walk off.

Fuuma caught her arm. "Your wish Sister...You want Kamui's love?" He smiled darkly, his eyes now within her view. They were almost playful...seeming to enjoy his sister's fear like all brothers did during their childhood...yet these lacked the innocence of a child.

She spun around, facing her brother. Her eyes, they danced almost, scanning, moving back and forth across her brother's face. "He promised me..."

He smiled darkly. "Promised you his heart...Sister you do not understand what I am? I'm Kamui..." He began to pull her to him, locking eyes with her.

"You are not Kamui-chan. You are Fuuma." she said softly. She looked at her brother. She wanted to draw her eyes back, but she couldn't. "You're my brother, Fuuma."

"No...You don't comprehend yet...I'm Kamui...And I will make your wish come true sister...I shall give my heart to you." Fuuma seized her lips with his own, stroking her soft cheek with the hand which wasn't clutching her.

Kotori's eyes widened, and she struggled to get away from him. "You're my brother! You're not Kamui!" she tried to shout at him. His touch was cold...he really had lost his mind...

Fuuma overpowered her, deepening the kiss. She was his...He pushed her forcefully down on the alter. "You are mistaken...you will understand in time, Kotori."

She was scared. Her heart, it beat so rapidly. Kotori hit her brother's arm, asking for release. But she couldn't. Her back arched over the back of the alter as his kiss became more forceful. _'What is he trying to do to me?'_

Fuuma eyed her with a smile, stroking her hair. It was very fitting how all the crosses were reversed for this ceremony of the damned. He began to tenderly caress her body through her hospital gown.

It was then that she realized it. She wasn't in her dress, and what she was wearing was unmorally thin. The older males caresses made her shudder, but it was far from pleasurable. Her brother wouldn't really touch her, right? Not with the eyes of the one, true God above them!

She pulled her head away, turning it sideways. Her breath was thick. "Fuuma! What ARE you doing!?"

Fuuma silenced her with a kiss, reaching under her thin clothing to touch her skin. He was intent on granting her wish...when she saw him as Kamui, she would thank him and be forever happy.

She was weak. Pushing him away became harder to do with every ounce of breath she lost. She never once ceased on hitting him though, trying to free herself. Squirming like a sick worm.

He leaned down to kiss her neck, freeing her from the thin cloth that restrained her. He smiled darkly down at her, as if enjoying her "pleasure".

Tears threatened to fall from the corner of her eyes. His lips...so cruel. She couldn't enjoy this even he wasn't her brother. She didn't know where they were. Would anyone hear...? "Help!" she called.

It only echoed through the church. The gown was lost, and she felt more than violated. "Anyone!?"

"We are alone...I made sure of that Kotori...After all I killed the minister when I got here." He leered over her, touching her body in the most intimate of ways. A hand started to caress her inner thigh lecherously.

"How could you kill someone?!.. Don't you have any feelings? You're not the Fuuma that I know!" She pushed her leg away. If only she could gain control of her body again...

Fuuma smiled as he ceased her once more. "You are right...I'm more now." He held her down with his will, starting to undress to match her condition.

Kotori squeezed her eyes shut. This was not... "This isn't happening..." she groaned. She pushed herself back against the alter, her until she was in pain. Her hands lashed out, trying to strike her brother. "Don't take those clothes off!!"

Fuuma smiled oddly at her, in such a inappropriate way that it would sicken Kotori further. "Why not sister...I'm going to give myself to you..." His hand began to stroke her lower thigh again, reaching the delicate flower. "You are very warm, Kotori."

"Errrr..." she moaned. Hacked almost. "Stop that! Stop it right now!" Her tears overflowed, now streaming from her shut eyes. "You're so sick..."

"You are the one I love most Kotori...this is my gift to you." Fuuma's icy claw touched that flower's petals.

"I don't WANT your gift. I don't want YOU." she said harshly. Once again, with her last bit of strength, she pushed at her brother, trying to knock him back. He was too cold...

Fuuma glared coldly at her, forcing his strength against her "You are truly blind Kotori...when this flower withers...You will see." His hand become more forceful, pulling at those delicate petals...it was a wonder the flower still lived.

Kotori moaned. With a shiver, she gave up. She leaned back against the alter, her golden locks lost around her. She stared at her brother meakly.

Fuuma smirked down at the girl. He moved his body to meet hers and viciously tore that flower to pieces with a stab, repeating the process as the excitement of its death made him shiver...

Her wet tears still on her face, Kotori sniffed. And she moaned nothings at her brother. "Fuuma..." she mustered. It hurt. Her brother, how vile...

Fuuma continued to thrash what little innocence was left in his sister, pressing her body closer...He felt her warmth begin to meld with the coldness of his body...She was happy...He was truly making her happy.

She was far from pleasure; her brother was ripping her to bits. "Hn, Fuuma..." she tried. Her vocal cords barely worked, much less the rest of her body. Not that she knew what was happening to her body to begin with. Another, loud moan escaped her as she pulled closer.

Fuuma grew ever so swifter to please Kotori...a sickening moan escape him. "Kotori..." He smiled at the music of her voice.

"Ugh...Fuuma...Fuu-..." Kotori's voice was so rash. So hoarse. She couldn't move. The movements of her brother's body tuned to her...sick. So deathly sick. "St.."

Fuuma felt his world begin to brighten, pure bliss surged through him. Was this his reward for his sister's happiness? He felt warmth transfer into Kotori, he loomed over her...silent.

Kotori's stomach churned, her body convulsed, lurched forward. She felt so sick. Her fell against top of her brother with a small cry of pain, coughing.

Fuuma stared down at her, lifting off of her and placing his shirt over her. "Your wish has been granted with love Kotori." He smiled darkly at her.

"That was not love..." She sniffed, pulling the shirt tighter around her. "That was hate. So much hate..."

"You don't understand then Kotori..."

She buried her face in her hand. Kotori choked on her sobs. "You don't understand..."

Fuuma smiled and got dressed. "Oh but I do..." He pointed to a trapped door. "Down there is your room...I'll get you a bed tomorrow..."

She grabbed at her gown, frantically getting dressed. "I'm not staying here."

Fuuma glared at her with a smile. "No...Sister you aren't going to escape."

"I won't stay here! I want my father!"

He sent the images of his death in graphic detail, seizing her wrist again, kicking open the trap door.

"No! Stop it! FUUMA!!" As weak as she was, she struggled. She wouldn't go down there. She wouldn't be held here. "KAMUI! KAMUI!" she cried out. Her body moved about, her feet trying to freeze her in place. "Ah!" she screamed. Her brother raped her, and her father dead...This was insane..

Fuuma pushed her down the stairs. "I'll let you out when you've had sometime to think...Until then this will be home..."

"Onii-chan! You can't do this!" She fell down the stairs, landing with a hard thud. "Ouch!!" Her head hurt, her body ached. She looked up at her brother's jeering face.

The increasing daylight finally revealed Fuuma's form...he was now dressed completely in white. He looked almost angelic as he smile devilishly at her. "I'm sorry, dear sister, but this is a necessity...before my mission is over we will have a ceremony for father... after all it was his wife who gave me the weapon I shall use to slay Kamui...Slay him to bring the Planet back to life."

"You're insane!!" she screamed at him. "You're insane!" Her eyes blazed. "How can you treat your family like that?!" She pulled her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth. "You're crazy..."

Fuuma sighed and shut the trap door, locking the latch that would hold it close. "I'll be back to bring you food dear Sister." He went to a pew and laid down, smiling. He was the speck of light who controlled the universe...and later today...he would make that cancer die a death based on it's selfish desires. ...He felted himself whisper "Goodnight, Kotori," as he fell asleep.

"Crazy..."

* * *

Subaru screamed out in pain. He tore at Seishirou's hands, trying to pry them away from his body; he scratched, he clawed. He suddenly regretted confront Seishirou. Perhaps Kantoku-sama was right... 

At the young man's cry, Seishirou's chuckle darkened. "That's it, Subaru-kun, scream as loud as you can. No one can hear you. No one will save you. Do you think anyone even cares?" Excessively aroused at the sight of the innocent Onmyouji's pain, Seishirou tightened his grasp and fervently tore off the man's shirt with his free hand. Immediately he let his head fall to Subaru's bare, sweaty neck, burying his teeth into the delicious pale flesh.

Seishirou's words hit...HARD. Now that his sister was spirited away, now that Seishirou had become...this demon, did anyone care about him? Would anyone care if he died? Worse yet, did anyone care that he lived?

Perhaps he should just succumb to Seishirou's wish. Perhaps he should just die.

He felt Seishirou's teeth bite into his flesh.

As he screamed, he only wished that death would be less painful than this. The man he loved torturing him like this...was much worse than death.

Blood dribbled down Seishirou's throat as his canines scraped dangerously against the man's delicate jugular vein. With every fiber of his being, he could feel Subaru's anguish. And it enticed him deliriously, nearly to the point of physical pain.

His hand at Subaru's lower half moved up to fumbled with unfastening the belt clasp. And slowly he managed to pull away from the man's neck, staring menacingly down into those dark frightened eyes. "You know you want this as badly as I do." As he said it, he tugged Subaru's tattered slacks down to his knees.

Subaru didn't know why he didn't move. He knew that he should reach for his pants and pull them back on. He was paralyzed. He didn't know why; was it from fear? from the injuries he had sustained? or was it something entirely different.

"Seishirou...-san..." He forced those words from his wind-chapped lips in a coarse whisper.

Those two words reached Seishirou's ears and caused him to pause. His expression turned sober, and he tilted his head a bit as he gazed down at those terrified emerald orbs. So many times in the past Subaru had called him that...more affectionately, in times of need, or just in a friendly gesture.

Slowly--almost gently--he reached down and stroked the young man's ashen cheek, wiping away a streak of recently spilled blood. "I've made you hate me," he said quietly, "on so many different accounts." Then he went silent again, tracing a finger from Subaru's throat, slowly down to his naval.

Subaru suddenly felt comforted by Seishirou's words. It had been the first time in a long time he had said something that wasn't offensive or threatening. Was he trying to comfort him before all this ended?

Subaru hadn't been touched this is a very long time; in fact, it had been nine years since he could remember being touched this way. He drowned his thoughts in nostalgia, and realized that in these last nine years, he avoided human touch completely. Was it because he enjoyed it? Could he not stand letting himself feel pleasure when his dead sister could not?

Subaru ignored himself. He wanted to stop trying to find logic in everything for once. All he wanted now was to take everything as it is; he didn't want to waste time trying to explain everything. If he'd stop focusing on the details for once, maybe he could finally enjoy something again.

Seishirou's fingers contradicted his change in personality; his touch was soft and gentle, and it almost tickled. It almost seemed like this was the familiar touch of the Seishirou Subaru knew so many years ago.

Subaru almost felt tempted to usurp a kiss from those lips. While they were stained with blood, they seemed to beckoning for something more than that.

When he could move, if he could move, if he survived this all, he decided...

That's what he was going to do.

The terror started to fade slowly in Subaru's eyes, and Seishirou had to force himself not to smile. It was indeed like old times, but that was years ago, and this was now. Perhaps...even if he did not intend to be gentle throughout the course of this act...

Gradually he lowered himself down to where his lips brushed Subaru's cheek. "You are mine," he whispered tenderly. "You have always been mine." With that, he began to plant affectionate little kisses down the man's face, neck and chest...

A solitary tear fell across Subaru's cheek. This is what he wanted, right? He wanted to feel important to someone longer than for the few minutes the exorcism took. He was Seishirou's...

He inhaled, exhaled, inhaled, exhaled. Every breath he took seemed soft and light, and every kiss felt tender.

He felt love.

Was Kantoku-sama right? Did Seishirou really love him?

Subaru shook the thoughts out of his head. There was no need to focus on the details now.

He wanted to enjoy the moment while it lasted.

Seishirou's teeth fell to one of Subaru's taut nipples. Running his tongue over it lavishly, he chuckled inwardly as he bit down on it...hard. The hand that had slid the Onmyouji's pants down to his knees then trailed back to slip discreetly into his cotton briefs. Cold hands probed the young man viciously, when just a moment ago Seishirou's words had been soft and full of sweet promises...

Subaru's breath grew heavy as Seishirou brought his lips to his nipple and rolled his tongue over it; a few seconds later, the pleasure was eradicated, as Seishirou's sharp teeth bit into him. Subaru tried to pull back, but couldn't.

Subaru found himself regretting the thoughts he recurred only seconds before. Seishirou's hands seemed to find fault in every crook of his body and for that, he believed, he was being punished. He wasn't perfect enough.

Keeping his own urges rigidly in check, Seishirou traveled farther down still until his mouth brushed against Subaru's naval. Fingers prying back the hem of the young man's underwear, Seishirou glanced back up at his adversary's again-frightened face. Without looking back down, he ran a coarse thumb along the length of Subaru's member and smirked at the young man's reaction. "You like that...don't you?"

Subaru would never confess to enjoying something like this. Even years later, Subaru was still a bashful young man. "Ii...e..." he managed to gasp out. He blushed. It was evident in his expression, the way he was taking his breaths, that he enjoyed it. The more he tried to hide it, the more evident it became. He wished Seishirou would take his eyes off of him so he wouldn't feel so self-conscious. If he could, he wished he could immerse himself in this unspoken pleasure for a few moments longer.

The young man's innocent facade was quite apparent, and Seishirou chuckled huskily as he lowered his head back to Subaru's body. Extending his long, powerful tongue, he made a slow swipe across the head of his adversary's hardening length. And then once again,  
taking immense pleasure in taunting the sweet young man by depriving him of the full enticement of the act, he lifted his head and stared at Subaru's face. "You're lying," he whispered cunningly. "You're trembling at my every touch. Just say it, Subaru-kun. Say that you like it, that you want more, and I'll stop these childish games." His smile grew steadily more guileful.

Subaru refused to give in so easily. He pulled Seishirou's hand away from his warm member. "Do you think...that little of me?" Subaru chose his words carefully. "That I can't control my desire? I'm not you, Seishirou-san." He said those words so conspicuously that Subaru himself was positive that Seishirou wouldn't fall for such a fabrication.

But Seishirou easily brushed Subaru's feeble grasp away. With his hand free again, he lowered it to press into the young man's scrotum, gently at first, then more brutally. Again he ran his tongue along Subaru's length with a deep chuckle, not quite taking it in, just lightly enough to torment his adversary. And then again he pulled back...grinned devilishly. "No, you are not me," he replied, assured of his words. "You want me, though. You've always wanted me. I can see it in your eyes; I'm not completely blind, you know. Just...in one eye." He emphasized these last words, distinctly pressing the memory of that fateful day back into Subaru's mind, as Seishirou simultaneously brushed his lips against the young man's erect member once more. "All you have to do is admit it, and I'll give you what you want..."


	29. Chapter 27: Revelation

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Revelation**

As the two Dragons of Earth faced off against their adversaries, the two Dragons of Heaven, Yuuto winced as a warm ray of light fell across his vision. Squinting his eyes and shielding his face with an arm, he looked toward the East, the horizon almost completely barricaded by tall office buildings and apartments. Murky clouds blanketed the eastern sky, a montage of pinks and oranges and purples glazing the atmosphere in an almost sleepy manifestation of ominous beauty.

The kekkai was still up over Tokakushi. But...it was different. Had there not been two the last time he looked? This one belonged to neither of the previous Seals, its shape being a distinct five- pointed star. The insignia of the Sumeragi clan. Yuuto smirked. Wherever the young Sumeragi head was, the Angels' own Sakurazuka Seishirou was sure to be nearby.

So what had happened? That tremendous force that could have only belonged to the Twin Star himself was no longer present, though another powerful energy was beginning to make itself perceptible, perhaps just having recovered from some terrible injury. Whatever had occurred, the majority of the battle was at an end.

Yuuto reverted his gaze to the fiery Seal and her cohort. "So it seems we may all be too late," he said with a smug simper, seemingly not at all concerned for the well-being of his comrades. "But that makes no difference. It's a shame we must battle like this..." His eyes fell to the lovely red-headed Dragon of Heaven. "...Seeing as how I really do like you." And his potential energy buildup continued to collect within his palms...

Karen bristled slightly as she felt the blonde Dragon's eyes roaming over her. Without further ado, she lifted out her hands in front of her and summoned up her kekkai. The shield quickly expanded and enveloped the entire area. Karen turned back and glared at her opponent.

Satsuki watched Yuuto, her face expressionless. But inside she felt a twinge of...something. Jealousy?

Glancing around them at the perimeter of the kekkai, Yuuto shoved his hands in his pockets and let out a low whistle, then nodded his head with a smirk. "Ah, so now we get down to business, ne?" With that he finished collecting his energy in the palms of his hands, satisfied that it would be more than enough to hold off the enemy for the time they needed.

Karen glared again at the blonde Dragon of Earth. "Don't say it was my fault. This wouldn't be happening if you would let us go."

Yuuto shrugged. "Our friends are taking part in that battle as well. I can't very well just let you go and risk their safety, now, can I?"

Satsuki let her gaze fall on the red-haired Dragon. "We are Dragons of Earth. Of course, we can't let you do anything that might hurt our comrades. You would do the same for yours."

Karen glared angrily at the two Dragons of Heaven. "Well, let's get this over with quickly so we can go help our friends, then."

Yuuto nodded and tossed a casual charming grin at Satsuki. Then just as quickly, his mischievous gaze returned to the Seals. "Yes, of course. So...what do you say we get this party started?" Within the space between his palms, a giant orb of hydro- energy began to form.

The fiery Seal summoned up her flames between her palms and threw her hands toward the Dragons of Earth, the flames heading towards both Angels simultaneously.

Thrusting his hands outward, Yuuto released a torrent of waves, canceling out the effects of the flames. "We've played these games before, ne?" He smiled guilefully at the fiery Seal.

Satsuki leaped from her position on the ground and landed atop one of the building next to the alley. She leaped off to behind the Seals, at a reasonable distance. She had to be careful; she was aware that she was vulnerable without BEAST to help her.

She took out her cell phone and quickly pressed a code into the button panel. Immediately, the streetlights lining the alley began to shudder. They broke apart with a crack, revealing the cables inside. The black wires immediately shot towards the Dragons of Heaven.

Yuuto stayed where he was. There was no point in moving. Inwardly he commended Satsuki's performance, ceaselessly impressed by her technological skills. Facing the Seals with a simper on his fair complexion, he muttered simply, "You must admit, you're at somewhat of a disadvantage..."

Karen snarled at Yuuto as he blocked her attack. But he was right; they were right; the female Dragon of Earth could control technology, a power that was difficult to surpass. Karen heard the loud crack of the streetlight breaking, and the sound of cables whipping through the air behind her and Seiichirou. Karen turned and threw out her hands in front of her, flames shooting out to block the attack. But she forgot that she had left her back unguarded...

Gingerly he reached behind his back and revealed a long slender whip, as though from out of nowhere. Wielding it expertly, he leaped backwards to gain adequate aim and lashed out, directing the rod precisely for the woman's back as she guarded herself and her partner against Satsuki's masterful attack.

Karen was holding off the cables' attacks when she felt the slash of a whip, cutting into her back. She fell forward with a cry of pain, and her block of flames vanished as she fell.

The black cables shot forward and wrapped around Karen and Seiichirou, knocking both Seals to the floor. Karen cried out in pain as the wires cut even more deeply into her wounds. She struggled desperately to break free from the cables.

Yuuto stifled a grimace as he pulled the whip back. What was this he was feeling? Was it...guilt? The twinge of pain that bit through his being at the moment the fiery female Seal cried out caught him off guard, and he was almost inclined to tell Satsuki to recall the attack. But...no, this was his destiny. So he forced a snicker up through his throat. "Seems this will be a painfully short battle..."

The blonde Dragon's offhand comment stirred up a feeling of desperation in Karen's heart. Were the Angels actually going to kill her now? Would they kill Seiichirou as well? No, she couldn't let that happen. She had to break free.

Concentrating all of her effort, Karen summoned up as much of her power as she could. Flames licked around her body, radiating intense heat. The fire singed and burned the wires binding her, fraying them until they snapped.

All Yuuto had to do was to fire a water attack on the wires, and the two helpless Seals would be electrocuted. It was that simple. He could almost sense Satsuki's glare telling him to do it, but he could not...for some reason he could not grasp.

The cables that bound the fiery Seal frayed under the efforts of her flames. Karen gasped for breath, breaking free of the now weakened cables that were holding her. She immediately tried to push herself up, but fell forward and collapse to the ground again, exhausted by her efforts.

Shaking himself sternly, Yuuto concentrated his water attack to form in his hand. It had to be done. It was Destiny. With a deep grunt, he released another surge of water to douse the remaining flames, somehow hoping that the potential electrical shock would not kill the Seals completely...

Satsuki coolly watched the scene from her position atop the roof behind the Seals. So, the red-haired Dragon of Heaven wasn't as weak as she looked. But her effort to break free was in vain. She watched emotionlessly as Yuuto sent a blast of water towards the now-helpless Seals...

Karen's eyes widened in horror as the water barreled towards her and Seiichirou. Seiichirou was still bound by the wires! He would be electrocuted! Without thinking, Karen released a blast of flames that crossed in front of her fellow Seal. The barrage of water fizzled and evaporated as the flames collided with it. But in her effort to save her companion, Karen had left herself defenseless.

Once again this woman had sacrifice her own well-being for that of her comrade. These Dragons of Heaven...they were not all bad, not all raving lunatics. Now Yuuto had the opportunity to finish off the life of this courageous Seal and put his side at a definite advantage for the first time in the game. But as he stood there, hand outstretched, fingers spread and palm faced outward to direct the final blast, he found that someone at the very core of his essence forbade him to attack. Confounded, he summoned his power and again attempted to release it. Still no use. He could not kill her...

...But glancing furtively up at the rooftop above them, he knew Satsuki could...

* * *

Mayouko groaned as pain enveloped her whole body. She would have curled into a fetal position on the hardwood floor but she found that if she moved even an inch, her spine screamed out in pain. Instead she stayed inert on her stomach, trying with some success to focus on the legs of a nearby chair so that the darkness wouldn't threaten to rise and meet her..

Sweat shined on her pale skin and her maroon eyes were fogged over. Her breathing came in harsh gasps and with each intake of breath a grimace came over her features. She forced herself to continue concentrating on the chair legs, staring at them as though they were suddenly going to vanish right before her eyes.

Slowly her eyes began to clear and she willed herself to push the pain out of her mind. When she could tolerate the pain, Mayouko began to slowly slid herself across the floor on her stomach. She couldn't move her arms that far forward but she somehow managed to pull herself across the small expanse of floor toward the chair that she had been staring at earlier.

Stopping she took a few deep breaths to regain her wind and then placing her hands on the legs, began to slowly pull upwards. Slowly she reached up and grasped the chair, pulling herself up with what strength she had, till she was standing shakily on her feet. Sweat now poured down her face and she swayed back and forth like a drunkard. Her maroon eyes were still fogged with pain but they were becoming slowly clearer.

Through the haze that still blurred her vision, she fixed her eyes on the bed and immediately the fires of anger blazed. Had she had the energy she would have screamed and began to smash whatever she could grasp. However, right now Mayouko was only aware of trying to keep her balance and to stare at the inert body on the bed…

And as her eyes focused on the motionless figure, she suddenly had the urge to retch. She didn't need to ask herself twice what was going on in that dream of his. It was right there staring her in the face. Mayouko spun around quickly, and regretted it a moment later. Her head suddenly pounded and her body screamed in protest. She fell into the chair and closed her eyes. Only to open them again a minute later, her thoughts confirmed and her anger on the rise.

Yuurei, her brother had defined his fate.. What Hinoto had told him never to do he was now doing and he had no regrets. Mayouko hissed through her teeth. If there was one person that would make Yuurei regret his actions it was the priestess located under the DIET Building.

Standing painfully, Mayouko stole over to the window on still wobbly legs. Turning once more toward the bed, she spit out, "Enjoy it while you can Brother." Her eyes flashed like glowing embers in a fire, "For it won't last long. The price to pay for defying Fate and Hinoto is more then most can bear."

And with these words she climbed out as gingerly as she could and leaving the window open to the coming of dawn jumped to the ground. She landed on her feet and taking another few deep breaths, faded into the shadows of the hotel.. heading for the DIET Building and the blind priestess who Mayouko was sure wouldn't like this turn of events….

* * *

"You can't keep these habits of yours from messing with your priorities can you?" Okita's publicist fumed as she saw his tired expression. It was obvious he had been out all night again...like usual. Partying?...probably but She didn't care because it was still messing with his schedule. "You are over a hour late for this shoot! You know what kind of things I had to say to cover your ass?!"

Okita lied back on the couch, smiling weakly as he listened to her tirade. He was used to her like this and it wouldn't be quite as comfortable if she wasn't yelling at him. "I just over slept a little...I'm sorry if I can't keep these morning appointments you keep making me do."

"You're the one who wanted this kind of publicity! All of these obligations come with your goddamn job! You think I enjoy chasing your pretty ass around the city, reminding you have a interview at 3, a commercial shoot at 6...do you really think I want to do this every damn day?!" She rested on the arm of the couch, sighing heavily to relieve the pressure the stress was building inside of him. This wasn't her day.

"I'm sorry Kaori...Look I'll do better next time, You know I really appreciate what you're doing for me..." Okita sat up and smiled a little brighter. Even if the fame didn't mean anything to him anymore, The people who had got him here were among the closest of his friends.

"You better!" Kaori sighed and reclined slightly, not bothering to look at the innocent expression Okita always seemed to have when he screwed up. "Listen you're done for the day...Go home and get some damn sleep so you don't collapse on the street or something. I don't need the most famous man in Japan drooling over my office Sofa because he has to go out every damn night."

Okita rose to his feet and laughed nervously. He grabbed his guitar case and motorcycle helmet. "Hai hai! I'll be seeing you then." He went to the door, touching the cold handle...how many times had he touched that handle? Did it mean anything then? Or was he always this empty about his life? His eyes narrowed before he turned the handle, and started to leave Kaori's office.

"REMEMBER,SLEEP!!"

"Hai!" Okita called back, heading outside toward his bike. It was then he caught sight of it...that glowing pillar of light...The one he saw last night, where he saw those strange people fight. Here was another fight, he just kept running into these strange people. He smiled and set his helmet on his motorcycle, he would be back for it after he knew what was going on.

Okita took a jog into the barrier of light, keeping his guitar with him.

* * *

He froze in his tracks. Not that he had been really walking to begin with, but when the sudden interference with the cross-shaped kekkai hit his senses with a dire vengeance, Yuuto's every muscle became rigid in his body. Though outwardly he still appeared to maintain his casual, indifferent demeanor, inwardly his heart was racing. An intruder? Another Seal? Or a fellow Angel? But this felt like neither...

Slowly--nonchalantly, it seemed--he turned his head. A young man had just entered the perimeter of the psychic barrier and was walking steadily toward the conflict between Heaven and Earth. No, the figure was no more than a mere boy, and a beautiful one at that. And he looked...vaguely familiar.

The realization struck him before his thoughts had even registered within his mind. He nearly had to catch his jaw from dropping to the ground. _-Masaka...- _That was just impossible. Momentarily forgetting about the life-and-death battle he had been briefly engaged in, Yuuto now turned his entire body to face the lovely young man. Tilting his head, a smirk of amusement tugged at the right corner of his mouth and glinted obscurely in his sapphire eyes.

"I know you," he stated plainly, as though the occurrence happened every day. "I've seen you before. You're that musician...that 'pop teen sensation.'" He said these last words with emphasized cynicism, and his stride took him forward to meet the boy halfway to the battle arena. "Besides the obvious question of how you came to be able to be here, I have only one thing to say." He lowered his head and gazed into the youth's crystalline eyes...

...As his starry eyes lit up with almost childish excitement... "Can I have your autograph?!?!"

* * *

So many thoughts went through Subaru's head. Was this REALLY what he wanted? He wanted Seishirou's love, but did he want this sort of love, too?  
He knew that he wouldn't mind it, but would he regret it? Was this something that he wanted NOW?

But if he didn't take the opportunity now, then what would happen to it? What if this was his last chance?

Subaru looked up at Seishirou, his lip trembling. "I...don't know."

The rigorous hesitation was evident in the younger man's eyes. Seishirou let out a smirk at the feeble reply. He would get what he wanted; he could read Subaru's mind like a book, it was so obvious. And he knew just how to go about it...

Composing himself with an emotionless shrug, Seishirou continued to gaze at the young Onmyouji's quivering features as he got to his feet. Looking down at the vulnerable man still laying supine on his back, Seishirou gave a nonchalant chuckle. "You don't know...," he repeated quietly, "or you don't want to know." Another shrug. "It makes no difference to me. Just another sign of your weakness...being forever indecisive. So be it. You are useless to me, anyway."

He turned his back and made as if to leave. Slowly he took one step at a time across the room. But a guileful simper had made its way across his ashen, virile countenance. He knew Subaru would not let him leave...

"Seishirou, wait!" Subaru threw himself as Seishirou's back and hugged him tightly from behind. A soft pitter-patter of blood could be heard as the young man clung to the man he loved most. "Please...Seishirou-san...please, don't go."

Seishirou stopped and smiled inwardly. He stood perfectly still, ignoring the arms around his waist and the desperate trembling body that clung to him so hopelessly. Apathy clouded his eyes and his voice. "So...you want me, then?"

Subaru nodded numbly, never releasing his grip from around Seishirou's waist. He felt like a little lost puppy, desperate for love. He still wasn't sure if what he was doing was what he truly wanted, but with Seishirou around, Subaru was sure that he wouldn't have much time for regrets.

Seishirou felt Subaru's feeble nod against his back, and satisfied with this answer, he gently pulled the young man's grip from around his midsection and took Subaru into his arms. Kneeling slowly, eyes locked, he smiled almost affectionately as he laid Subaru on his back and caressed his hair playfully. Leaning down over the pale, lithe body, he again pressed his lips against the young Onmyouji's, but this time he did not force his way in, only made gentle gestures at seeking entrance to the younger man's mouth.

Meanwhile, his hands covered Subaru with tender touches and sensual caresses. Sliding one hand down the man's naked torso, Seishirou ran a callused palm over Subaru's firm buttocks and along his outer thigh, drawing the man's knee upward toward his side and his legs gradually apart.

Subaru had never experienced anything like this before; even when he was a teenager and kids his age were all curious about things like this, he was never interested. He was too busy for these sort of things. But now, he regretted it. If only he had spent a little more time figuring things out, he wouldn't be so clumsy and ill- knowledge now.

He decided to let things go with the flow. "Sei..shirou-san, what do I do now?" he fumbled to keep the position Seishirou put him in, as uncomfortable as it was.

Seishirou chuckled as he separated from the young man's lips to gaze down into those still-frightened emerald eyes filled with fear and wonder. "You don't do anything," he said with a dark tone to his voice, as he slid himself down Subaru's body like a sensual snake. Without another word on the matter, his hands gripped the soft flesh and muscle of Subaru's sinewy inner thighs and forced his legs apart even farther.

Leaning down over the young man's beautiful trembling body, Seishirou kissed the lithe stomach and filled Subaru's belly button with his tongue for only a moment before traversing farther south. Pleased to see that his adversary was still quite aroused, Seishirou ran his tongue over the head of Subaru's warm member before taking it lavishly into his mouth with great force.

Subaru felt ecstasy rise into his swollen member. It had been almost instantaneous; the milky liquid spilled from him and into Seishirou's mouth in two quick spurts. For those few seconds, Subaru's mind cleared. It had been so long since he had been so care-free.

But afterwards, he felt embarrassed. Subaru pulled his member from Seishirou's mouth. He was suddenly self-conscious. He tried to hide himself, avoiding Seishirou's eyes. He really didn't want to see Seishirou's expression, especially after THAT.

"Gomen'asi..." Subaru said, gazing blankly at the floor, his face streaked red.

Swallowing the salty substance eagerly in a single gulp, Seishirou let Subaru pull away. A cunning smile cross over his thin lips as he lifted himself over the young man's trembling body. Gently but firmly he cupped Subaru's face and forced their eyes to meet. "There's no cause to be sorry. I've already said you don't have to do anything, and that includes holding back." He chuckled at the young man's embarrassed expression. "You really are very cute, Subaru-kun..."

Subaru pulled his head away and stared down at his naked body. "I should...get dressed," he said softly.

But as Subaru began to move to get up, Seishirou shook his head and shoved him sternly back against the floor. "It's too late to back out now, Subaru-kun. We're not done here yet." His hand moved back to Subaru's inner thigh, and with a bit of his life energy behind each fingertip, he raked shallow gashes along the pale flesh and shivered with ecstasy as he watched idly as the droplets of blood dribbled slowly down to the wooden floorboards...

Subaru cried out in pain. "Sei...shirou-san...dame!" He tried to pull away, but Seishirou was much too strong for him. "Seishirou- san...onegai shimasu...!"

But his cries only aroused Seishirou more. His heart beating faster with each of Subaru's screams, he maneuvered his hand to the young man's exhausted member and pinched its head forcefully. And as his finger moved down the length, a searing tear followed, and sanguineous fluid spurted from the tender flesh. "We'll be finished only when I say we're finished..."

Subaru cried out in pain. For a moment, he almost considered throwing a spell at Seishirou, but with his member in his hand, there was no way he was going to risk it.

Instead, he hoped his words would get through to him.

"Sei...shirou, onegai...onegai..." Subaru bit his lip until blood seeped onto his tongue. "Onegai...onegai..."

Subaru was quite certain that he wouldn't last much longer at this rate. If Seishirou wouldn't be the end of him, he'd be the end of himself.

He looked up at Seishirou with tear-filled eyes. "Onegai shimasu...?" his voice quivered dubiously.

It was almost as though Seishirou could feel himself growing immensely harder and harder with every pitiful whimper Subaru released through those luscious, trembling lips. "That's right," he murmured menacingly. "Keep begging me. I will have you with or without your consent. You've already admitted that you want me..."

A triumphant simper spread across his ashen face. Taking a moment to single-handedly unbuckle and unzip his own pants, he quickly slid them down his legs and freed himself of their hindrance. His single working dark eye roamed Subaru's beautiful mangled body, and the insane throbbing of his erect member nearly caused him to choke...he wanted--no, he needed--to make Subaru his own once and for all.

With a cold hand, he ran his palm over the young man's smooth anus, and a probing finger found the opening, slipping into it brutally. Using that and his thumb to spread and examine the narrow entrance, Seishirou shuddered at the realization of how severely tight Subaru was. His other hand pressed down harder on the man's panting chest, his gaze filled with violent passion. "You belong to me," he said seething, stimulated by every sadistic word. "I'll tear you apart from the inside-out." He ran a finger over Subaru's flushed cheek, his voice almost reduced to a gentle whisper. "You will submit to my every whim...my little rag doll..."

Subaru tried to hold in the tears as Seishirou probed him with his finger. Even something as small as Seishirou's finger hurt him. "Seishirou-san...dame...onegai? Onegai shimasu?"

For a moment Seishirou complied, pulling back and gazing down at Subaru as he put his finger to his lips and licked it slowly with a sensual chuckle. Then, when he could stand waiting no longer, he leaned forward and grasped the lovely young man's slender hips, lifting the lithe Onmyouji's lower body onto his lap and positioning himself for entry. He let out a low groan of jeering pleasure as he rubbed the head of his already leaking member against Subaru's small opening. Then, leaning down over the young man, Seishirou smirked one last possessive simper of dominant victory, and slowly sank himself inside Subaru's body.

Instantly he was overcome by the thrilling sensations. Eyes wide, choking on his own breath, he reveled in an experience of such excruciating pleasure as he had never before encountered. It was as though his entire essence had been swallowed and consumed. Clutching Subaru's waist brutally, he broke the painstaking silence of the moment with a grunt as he began to force himself repeatedly in and out of the Onmyouji's delicate entrance.

Subaru cried out in pain as Seishirou thrust himself inside of him. Tears fell down his cheek; this was the worse pain imaginable. He tried to pull himself away from Seishirou, but Seishirou's strong arms kept him in-position as he pumped himself inside of Subaru.

Honestly, Subaru had gone through a lot in his twenty-four years of existence. His flesh had been shaved off of his body. He had bled so much that he was sure there was more blood outside of him than out. He had been brutalized so many times, so many different ways.

But this pain was more than just physical. Was that all he was to Seishirou? A mere puppet? A toy?

Subaru took it as he came, wincing with every movement. There was no pleading anymore; no one would hear him scream.

More than ever, he wanted to die.

Minutes ticked by like hours, and Seishirou lost track of time. But he felt himself building every second, and at last he could no longer hold back. With an ardent cry, he lurched forward and spilled himself into the Onmyouji's trembling body.

He nearly collapsed. Nearly. But he managed to catch himself inches above Subaru's sweaty face. Smiling with satisfaction, Seishirou leaned down and stole one last debauched kiss from the young man before tearing himself away just as abruptly to dress himself. His legs were a little shaky, but he hid it well as he finished pulling up his pants and fastening the buckle around his supple waist. "It's been a pleasure, Subaru-kun...truly." He smirked with a raised eyebrow at the mess of a man that lay panting weakly on the floor in a bath of blood and sweat and worse. Then, without so much as a good-bye or even a trace of kindness in his face, Seishirou turned and walked out of the temple, hands shoved in the pockets of his trench coat, as though nothing had ever happened.

* * *

Satsuki was ready to let loose a barrage of cables upon the Seals and finish them off when she suddenly sensed another presence enter the kekkai. Surprised, she looked down into the alleyway and saw a young man with a guitar standing there, looking confused. Yuuto approached the newcomer and spoke to him, sounding excited. Satsuki couldn't hear what they were saying from where she was standing, but she could catch bits and pieces of the conversation, like "musician" and "pop teen sensation." So, Yuuto was a fan of popular music? Somehow, it seemed quite appropriate for him. Satsuki smiled slightly, amused by Yuuto's behavior.

Karen jerked up her head in surprise towards the new presence. She regretted it a second later as her head began throbbing painfully. The Seal collapsed back onto the ground where she had been lying, her wounds smarting. Who was this person who had entered her kekkai? Only someone with extraordinary magical powers could do something like that. Could this be another Dragon of Earth?

Alarmed, Karen pushed herself up into a sitting position as slowly as possible, so as not to injure herself further. She peered up towards the figure standing at the edge of the kekkai. It was a very handsome young man, looking decidedly bewildered. For some reason, Karen thought that he looked awfully familiar. In fact, he bore a strong resemblance to that singer who was always on the covers of those magazines at the supermarket checkouts, Okita-something-or-other.

Well, that wasn't important now. What was important was getting Seiichirou free and escaping before the Dragons of Earth killed them. Karen turned to her fallen comrade and began tugging at the wires binding him. Predictably, the cables wouldn't budge. Karen scanned the ground with her eyes, searching for some sort of sharp object that she could use to cut Seiichirou loose.

Satsuki's eyes narrowed as she watched the red-haired Seal pathetically struggling to free her comrade. Now that certainly wouldn't do. The Dragon of Earth casually flipped open her cell phone and pressed another code into it.

Karen hissed in pain as thick black cables shot from out of nowhere and coiled tightly around her wrists, cutting into her skin. Well, she could forget trying to free Seiichirou now; she had to get herself loose first. Karen began summoning up her flames around her bonds, hoping that the heat would cause the wires to fray like before. As if reading her mind, more cables suddenly appeared and wrapped even more tightly around her wrists. By all appearances, her struggle for freedom seemed useless. Feeling defeated, Karen slumped back to the ground, hoping that another Seal would appear to help them.

* * *

Kakyou had closed his eyes and was dozing lightly, the sound of Yuurei's strong heartbeat echoing in his ear. He had never felt so at peace in all his life, waking or otherwise. For these moments, they were one, and though the dream-seer knew it would have to end, both he and the Watcher were changed.

As a hand rubbed his shoulder, Kakyou's golden eyes opened slowly and he gave Yuurei a tired half-smile. He watched the Watcher's eye close and though he couldn't see what was going on, the dream-seer could feel. A struggle seemed to be going on in the man's mind.. and Kakyou knew what it was. He didn't need Yuurei's words to confirm it. He just knew.

Leaning into Yuurei's hand by tilting his head, Kakyou gave the Watcher another smile but this one was tinged with sadness. As Yuurei leaned forward to kiss Kakyou's forehead and whispered those three words, the dream-seer let out a long sigh.

"And I love you." he whispered quietly. As the Watcher's earlier words sunk in, the dream-seer let out another sigh. They both knew that Fate wouldn't change even if something like...this…happened along the way. A single tear spilled down his face. "Why does the world have to end this way? Why must Fate always head down one path..?"

* * *

Okita jumped slightly as the once ominous man sprung to him for a autograph...it kind of figured, even magical barriers he was pounced by fans. He recovered his composure and took out a pen, looking for something to autograph. "Sure but do you have something for me to sign? I kind of don't have anything I can give away on me." He suddenly caught sight of the girl...his eyes locking on her. Those glasses...that cold look on her face...wow. 

Okita snapped back to reality as he finally caught sight of the woman and her companion...Lovers? Okita sighed and knew he might regret getting involved, removing the guitar from his back and turning on the amp. He didn't say anything as he tuned it and finally let the fans have what they wanted...a solo. The sound waves began to violently attack the rubble near the wires, blowing a large chuck off and cutting the wires as it fell on to them. He smiled from his playing. "Ok kiddies...lets break up the fight...You two on the wire...leave...and the other two leave the other way...And if I catch either of you attacking anyone, you're dead. Got it?" He smiled cheerfully. "Come on go have fun with yourselves."

He didn't know who was wrong...he didn't care for that matter...

As Yuuto rummaged around in his pockets for something the infamous Shreek could sign, he was blatantly cut off by a resonant strum of the musician's electric guitar. Stifling a wince, Yuuto nearly had to cover his ears...he could have sworn the sound nearly burst his eardrums. And when he turned around to see where Okita was directing his smug words, he was shocked, to say the least, to find that the mere vibrations of the strings had caused Satsuki's cables to snap, releasing the two Seals from BEAST's deadly hold. This kid's power was immense...the control of sound waves. Was Shreek involved with the End of the World as well?

Not pausing to consider his half-hearted relief that the fight might just be cut short, Yuuto's pride took over and he snapped his attention back to the rock star, his eyes a blaze of ominous fury. "And what business is it of yours to interfere?" he questioned with a smirk, his previously star-struck gaze now cold and sharp. "This is a battle between forces you couldn't possibly understand, by the looks of it. Though as powerful as you obviously are, I suggest you stick to your own affairs in the world of pop culture. This quarrel has nothing to do with you."

* * *

As he exited the Togakushi Temple, he watched with satisfaction as his adversary's kekkai began to dissolve around the open space. The injuries--both physical and psychological--must have finally gotten to him. And though Seishirou let out a low smirk of satisfaction under his breath, he was faintly aware of the twinge of pain the notion set off within his stalwart breast.

So he had taken what he wanted, then left Subaru for dead. Only one little detail still bothered him concerning what he had done. If this was what he had truly desired, then why was it killing him inside to think of the lonely, forsaken Sumeragi head lying on the floor inside that temple, wishing for death and weeping sorrowfully over what had been done to him?

He knotted his fists within his pockets as he left the perimeter of where the pentagram-shaped barrier had stood only moments before. Part of him wanted to turn back and take Subaru into his arms and caress his wounds and banish that loneliness. But that part of him was weak, and he muttered a frustrated curse under his breath. In the very back of his mind, he had a feeling he knew why he was doing this. Subaru was in fact more than a lovely toy rag doll to him, so much more than he would have ever admitted openly, even to himself. But Seishirou was the Sakurazukamori, and he could never turn back from the path he had chosen long ago. So in order to punish himself, he turned to torturing the only person in the world he cared about, because inflicting pain on his own body was useless. Only Subaru's suffering could make the very essence of his soul ache.

His stomach quieted and stopped churning; his breathing remained perfectly under control. Sakurazuka Seishirou was not one to be overcome by mere outward circumstances. Clearing his head of the recent events of the past night, he stared into the early dawn in the East and realized how hungry he was. Maybe some ice cream would do him some good...

* * *

_"KAMUI! KAMUI!"_

The morning light shined through the branches, blinding Kamui as he awoke violently from his slumber. Somehow he maintained his balance and didn't fall out from the tree.

He gazed around wildly, trying to find the voice that called out to him. "K-Kotori...?" There didn't seem to any kind of answer. Sighing heavily, he rested against the trunk of the tree. Was it all a dream?

Kamui had hopped, but the harshness of reality had hit him when the memories of yesterday began to flood his mind. After Fuuma's disappearance, Kamui had went to the hospital to check on Kotori. He couldn't even get inside. The police had surrounded the place, investigating the disappearance of a girl. It was a huge shock to find that it was Kotori...

He had spent the rest of the night scouring the city madly for Kotori. In the end, it was all in vain. Kamui ended up passing out from exhaustion in the park.

This was all like some kind of horrible nightmare. Nothing was making sense anymore. Mr. Monou was dead, the Shinken lost. Kotori and Subaru were both missing, and Sorata, Yuzuriha, and Arashi were injured. And Fuuma...he had changed forever.

Everything that was happening, all this was because of him. Because of his inability to act. Everything that Sorata had said that night was true. He curled back, cradling his legs. He wanted to cry, wanting to release all this pain, but he couldn't. None of that wouldn't help right now.

* * *

He did not answer Kakyou's forlorn words. Truth be told, he could not find his voice enough to speak. The pain in his head was growing steadily more acute, and his body was beginning to grow numb to the dreamscape. He was being recalled.

Clenching his teeth with bitter reluctance, Yuurei gently pulled Kakyou's lithe arms from around his neck and sat up. With a pained expression he grabbed at his clothes and pulled them back on hastily. For several moments, he still could not gather the energy to say anything. When he could speak, his voice was low and raspy.

"Too much has happened in my absence," he managed to choke out. "I'm being pulled back, but..." He finished dressing and turned back to the dream seer, still lying naked in his jacket with melancholy eyes turned up at Yuurei. Leaning forward to cup the gentle man's face with a hand, Yuurei kissed the corner of his mouth tenderly. "Nothing--not Fate, not Death, not reality--can keep me away from you forever. I'll return to you. But please...," he added with a forced smirk, "...no more walls, okay?" Stroking the damp wisps of silvery hair back behind Kakyou's pale ears, Yuurei stood up, held out a hand in front of his face, concentrated, and vanished.

* * *

His head seemed to throb worse now than ever. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut until bright colors appeared in the blackness, then opened his good eye and waited for his pupil to dilate and refocus. The pain in his head subsided as he struggled to his feet, but a new pang was set off immediately following. Instinctively he gripped his side and looked down. Blood caked his palm. It took a moment to remember the car that Fuuma had hurled at him only hours earlier. It was already dawn. How long had he been out?

Using the focus he had gained during his years of training, he put the pain out of his mind and strode with confident steps out of the alleyway. The kekkai was gone. Worry pricked at the back of his neck. Yuurei had seen Fuuma in the glimpse of his vision...with Kotori. But there was still something that needed to be done here, though at first he knew not what it was. Lowering his head with a narrow scowl, he let his mind wander freely to find it.

Yes. Inside the shrine. Yuurei threw open the doors and stalked inside with long, heavy strides. The life force he had sensed grew closer as he made his way through the rooms, and when he reached a secluded chamber in the back of the building, the Watcher nearly turned away to retch at what he saw.

Young Sumeragi Subaru lay in a trembling wreck on the floor, covered in blood and sweat and...worse. Tears streamed down his ashen face, and he seemed to stare off into oblivion, not attempting to move or cover himself or even look up as Yuurei entered the room. The young man's clothes lay strewn all around him, tattered and left in shambles barely resembling anything wearable.

Yuurei's expression darkened, and his upper lip twitched until a ferocious snarl set into his wicked countenance. _-Sakurazuka...- _It was all too obvious. How could the wretched assassin do such terrible things to the one he loved most? After all his watching, Yuurei still could make no sense of it.

But that did not matter, not now. Sorrow returned to his face, and hurriedly he entered and dropped to one knee at Subaru's side. "Subaru...Subaru!" he murmured plaintively in a careful voice. No reaction. Removing his dark crimson cloak that had been slightly sliced and ensanguined, Yuurei draped the heavy cape gently over Subaru's bloody, naked body. And when he gathered the man into his arms, the severe trembling of the broken Onmyouji caused him to cringe and clench his teeth again. "Subaru...it's all right. I won't hurt you. You're safe now. Subaru..."

* * *

Arashi had been put to sleep soon after entering the hospital. When she awoke she found that she couldn't see. She realized soon after that it was because of bandaging around her eyes. The young priestess sat up, and unwrapped her head from the gauze. She could see and her eye's no longer hurt so wickedly. She looked about herself and found that she was in a hospital room, wearing no more than a hospital gown. An IV was set into her right arm and a few more bandages covered her legs and arms. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood. The IV stand was on wheels.

"Might as well look for Sorata..." She murmured, her eyes darting around the room. Perhaps she'd find Yuzuriha as well.

She exited the room with no hassle and started down the hallway. She scanned the little labels until she found Sorata's name. It was quite the little walk from her room. She decided to see how he was- if memory served her correctly he'd been injured badly as well.

Arashi walked in, "Sorata?" She called lightly, the usual edge in her voice gone. She walked to the bed to see if he was asleep.

Arashi had indeed found Sorata...lounging in the bed like the lazy punk he was. He was busy eating various types of junk food as he watched late night television. He didn't look hurt at all...save the small Sailor Moon bandage on his face. He was even dressed in usual tacky attire, glancing over at Arashi as approached his bed.

"Hey there sexy! You ok? Wanna join me?" He grinned widely, patting a spot next to him.

Deep inside Sorata he dreaded close contact...the wounds under his shirt were still causing him great pain behind that smile.

Arashi glanced towards the spot Sorata offered to her. She then ignored the comment, and stood next to the bed. She released the IV pole and looked him over quickly. "I just came to make sure you were alright." she stated evenly. She knew he was more hurt than he seemed- he was just a good actor and knew how not to show it.

* * *

Okita sighed and looked back to Yuuto. The man obviously was peeved at Okita's sudden involvement...he had every right to be. Yet Okita wasn't going to back down because one fan made a quick turn coat move. 

"I just don't want to see any bloodshed right now...Maybe I'm not part of this little light show but I don't enjoy seeing women get beaten for any reason." Okita put away the guitar, crossing his arms and staring at Yuuto's eye innocently, as if he didn't have inkling that this man would indeed kick his ass. "If you're the type of guy who enjoys beating women, then by all means fight me...I'll die sure...but I'm going to at least ruin that nice suit you have. Maybe not even cause you a scratch but that suit...no that's going to be in shambles." He smiled with confidence...especially when he admitted he would die...Maybe this was his chance, his true concert...a chance to die in the flames of a battle.

"So no hard feelings ok? I'll be glad to hurt those two over there if they attack you...Because I really could care less who it is… " Okita shot a gaze to Karen and Aoki, waiting for some kind of acknowledgement. He quickly turned back to Yuuto. "Now you want me to sign something or did I just lose your interest. If I did, I'm deeply sorry." He bowed low but quickly, getting ready to dodge anything that came toward him...keeping a eye on that all around cute chick with glasses.

Yuuto stood perfectly still, shocked at the young man's words. Such nobility...such perfect chivalry. Yuuto himself had felt the same way about attacking the fiery red-headed Seal. Well, not battling her, per say, but the idea of hurting her when she was already down daunted him and had caused him to hesitate. For a prolonged moment he stared down with narrowed eyes, examining the young pop teen sensation scrupulously for every ounce of truth.

Then suddenly his star-struck expression returned, and he knotted his fists as a silly grin crossed his usually suave complexion. "Man, you are sooo cool!"

At the mention of the autograph, Yuuto snapped his fingers and grabbed the tail of his coat, sending a bit of energy through it to severe a piece. "Just sign this!" he said, handing it over. "For an autograph from the infamous Shreek, one suit is easily worth  
it. We might even have to battle some time just for fun, but as a great lover of women myself, as well as your music, I could never bring myself to kill such a great gift to humanity." His voice had become dramatic and sentimental, but now it receded to some semblance of seriousness. His eyes cleared somewhat, and his gaze became sober. "You must understand, what I do now...is only my duty. No, not even that. It's...my Destiny."

Okita blinked at the sudden use of the man's suit, quickly signing it with a nervous smile. "I'm not that great you know...I just do what I do because I enjoy it." He chuckled in a very cute manner, finally coming back to the serious situation at hand. "Yeah you don't look like the type to beat up beautiful women..." His eyes diverted to Satsuki again, darting back when he thought she was looking at him. He wanted to ask about her but what chance did he have with someone like that...this from the guy who was wanted by half the women of the nation. He didn't let this fact sink in because without the fame he was truly nothing but a smiling idiot with a death wish.

"...Destiny is destiny I guess." He said finally with yet another smile. "Just like it gave me everything I could ever want...It might give you a purpose that I could never understand." These words were partially true… he already understood that these people had some power he also had... They were like him in a way he couldn't grasp firmly yet. He leaned against a rock, eyeing the weird sky.

Nodding at the young man's plaintively spoken words, Yuuto noticed Okita every once in a while threw a glance somewhere beyond him. After several times this happened, Yuuto finally turned around to see what on Earth he was looking at. And Earth was right...it was Satsuki.

Yuuto let out an amused chuckle as he turned back to Okita. "You don't have to worry about that one getting beaten up, but I wouldn't suggest you get your hopes up, either." A smirk slipped passed his lips. "She's colder than ice, I assure you. And...I don't think she's much into the whole pop culture bit..." He watched with understanding patience at the young man's reaction...

* * *

Kakyou could find no words as Yuurei stood and began to dress. A faint headache was forming in the back of his mind and Kakyou wondered why he would have one but the thought floated away when the Watcher leaned down and kissed the corner of his lips.

The dream-seer let out a tiny sigh and then gave Yuurei a weary and sad smile. "No more walls.." he said quietly, as the Watcher's hand brushed against his ear. Before Yuurei could get up and vanish however, Kakyou suddenly grasped the Watcher's hand in his and sitting up looked into the crimson eye. Their entwined hands began to glow faintly and when Kakyou pulled away a ring had formed on Yuurei's index finger.

The plain silver band gleamed in the light of the sea-scape and Kakyou whispered. "To remember me by if you do not return. Though I have little doubt that you will not." Placing a kiss on the inside of the Watcher's palm, he then watched with a million years of sadness in his golden gaze as Yuurei stood and vanished.

The strength drained out of him then but he forced himself to step into his clothes. The jacket was rumpled and almost tore in places from the jagged shore, but Kakyou didn't care. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as the faint smell of sweat and Yuurei assailed his nostrils. Placing his hands deep inside the pockets, he turned his gaze toward the sea and wouldn't look away for some time…

* * *

Subaru watched as Seishirou left, a muddled heap of flesh, blood and semen. He laid there for a minute, gazing blankly at Seishirou's silhouette until it completely faded away.

That's when he couldn't control himself anymore. He couldn't stop the intense headache pressing against his temple, the tears falling from his face, the blood draining from his body. For the first time in his life, he felt so utterly helpless. He trembled from the sheer power of his tears.

He didn't want to feel like this.

He didn't want to feel like a child's toy.

Kantoku-sama had lied.

Lied so he still had hope.  
Now he had nothing.

No onee-san. No koibito.

Nothing.

Subaru stared blankly outward. He was positive that his eyes were open, but for some reason, he couldn't see anything. Was this death? Had his final wish been granted? Had Seishirou finally killed him?

No.

Even though he could feel nothing, he was positive he was alive. He almost thought he felt someone hovering over him.

He thought he heard a voice...calling his name.

He heard it...it sounded so familiar.

No. It was just his imagination.

It was no-one.

As he held Subaru's shaking body close, wrapping the crimson cloak securely about the frail frame, Yuurei lifted a hand to wipe a mess of blood and sweat from the younger man's ashen face. A glint of silver caught his eyes. The ring--an object formed of the intangible stuff of Kakyou's dreamscape--banded his index finger quite solidly.

A sad smile came across his face as he held the ring to his lips and kissed its smooth, cool surface. Instantly he felt it--Kakyou's heart. Never-ending sorrow, longing, fear of knowing what was to come... So their souls had truly become one. Everything that the dream seer felt, Yuurei could feel it as well. Surely the reverse was true as well. He stared at the object for a long time, all the while a single phrase repeating over and over in his mind, subconsciously willing it with all his might to reach Kakyou's heart. _-I am yours forever, my darling...-  
_  
Then again his gaze fell to Subaru's absent stare, and he winced. How wide and terrible the difference was between Subaru's relationship with Seishirou, and what Yuurei had found with Kakyou. Perhaps someday Yuurei would venture to confront the vile Sakurazukamori concerning the issue, though of course he knew it was none of his business. Still, he had told Subaru himself that Seishirou loved him. So had he unknowingly lied? No. Seishirou simply did not know what he was, what he wanted. Perhaps he was punishing himself by torturing the poor, innocent younger man.

Nevertheless, somehow Yuurei felt that this was his fault. If he had refrained from saying anything, or even confronting Subaru in the first place, would this have ever happened? Was this what Hinoto had meant by the price of his interference?--that it would not only put himself in danger, but those he cared about as well? The thought was much more than unbearable.

He could have chosen to travel inside Subaru's mind, in an attempt to try and free him from the bottomless morose that consumed him. But...his appearance in such a sacred realm to the young man might cause the situation to worsen, especially considering the fact that he was possibly blaming Yuurei for all of this in the first place.

The guilt welling within his breast nearly drowned him. So, doing the last best thing he could think of, Yuurei held Subaru protectively and murmured over and over next to his ear, "Gomen nasai, Subaru. Please forgive me. Gomen nasai..."

* * *

He had not gone to the ice cream parlor. His hunger had faded as he had traversed the city streets. There was still work to be done, despite the early hours. Playtime was over, and he well knew it.

He stood before the massive sakura tree, its lush branches swaying in a light morning breeze. Soft pink pedals drifted lazily about him and fluttered to the ground noiselessly.

His voice was dark but smooth. "I've brought a little gift for you this morning." And from deep within himself, he summoned forth the stored souls stolen from the ramen shop where he and Kamui's Gemini had so blatantly slaughtered every other living being as though it were an everyday pastime. He sensed a great release as they flowed from his essence and encircled the tree, being drawn into its presence and becoming part of it at the same time.

He let out a low chuckle when it was complete. "Never satisfied, are you?" he said, almost affectionately as he stroked the tree's broad trunk. "But there's no cause to worry. I have the feeling there will be many more souls to sate your appetite in the days to come..."

* * *

At times Nataku hated the eyes of others on him. He knew there was no reason for this feeling, for any feeling, and yet it existed. Today was one such day. He kept his eyes closed, trying to ignore the scientists. How could he feel the weight of their gaze upon him? It simply wasn't physically possible.

And yet he could.

The days had passed since having any thought of the Dragons of Earth. Or the Dragons of Heaven.

Or Alysia. The last time he'd spoken to the girl, he'd told her he would find someplace for her. A safe haven. But who was he to make such a promise? He didn't believe there was a safe place on the earth, not as long as humans existed on it. And if there was, how could he of all people recognize it?

Once they were finally gone, he removed himself from the tank, the fluids still dripping from his body as he quickly dressed. He moved silently down the darkened halls, the white cloth hovering around him like a cloud.

And then he remembered- Spring was coming. Soon, it would be as if the world was reborn, alive with vibrant colors and many shades of green.

Could he appreciate it on such a level? Take joy in the scent of fresh air, in the blooming of flowers?

Even Nataku believed that he could.

Again, he felt the pressure of a gaze upon him. Nataku turned his head slowly, watching a man who in turn watched a woman. There was something in the man's expression, something vile and evil, almost predatory.

Without thought, the cloth surged forward, striking the man before he even realized what hit him.

And then Nataku continued on. It was nothing personal. But for flowers to bloom, sometimes weeds must be removed.

And safe havens must be found.

* * *

As the sun rose slowly in the east to welcome a new day, the men and women of the DIET building returned to work to find the place still in shambles. The halls were somewhat dry and the huge gash in the wall now had a blue tarp covering it but many could still see the damage. 

What made everyone grateful was that no one had perished in the weird occurrence from yesterday. A building could be fixed, but people could not. And of course, all the government officials that knew about it, were very, very happy that the blind dream-seer who resided in the basement of the building hadn't even a scratch on her. To lose her was to lose almost the whole government.. and that wouldn't be good..

The basement of the DIET building was a silent place. Hardly a sound could be heard, even if one stood still and stopped breathing. Many didn't know that a blind prophetess resided down in the bowels and those who did didn't speak of it and came only when they needed her.

And Hinoto was content with that arrangement. It gave her time to concentrate on the matter at hand. The end of the world…and the players destined to fight the battle…

The dream-seer's head hung low, as the symbol on her forehead slowly faded. Her meeting with Kamui in the dream world had left her drained of almost all hope. He had seemed so surprised.. If he kept pushing away the responsibility there would be no one to lead the Seals and they would lose the battle for Earth and the Angels would win…

_ Kanoe.. _she thought as her mind drifted to that of her sister, the leader of the Angels _ Why must you be against me.. All I want is for you to be happy.. _

A tear slipped down from her blind eyes and streamed down her cheek and fell on to the satiny robe that were spread about her. The sound of slates banging against each other and a hand touching her shoulder gently made her look up.

"O-genki desu ka, Hinoto-hime?" Souhi asked quietly.

Hinoto shook her head. "I'm fine."

Souhi didn't look convinced, but the attendant retreated back to guard the box. Hinoto let herself drift and suddenly a vision came to her. A woman who seemed to be in pain, slowly making her way here. Hinoto could see her eyes flash and she knew immediately who it was..

_ Mayouko Tamashii…  
_

* * *

Satsuki winced and impulsively clapped her hands to her ears as the powerful vibrations of the newcomer's guitar echoed through the air. For once, she had been caught off guard; the sheer immensity of the young man's powers took her by surprise.

The thrumming stopped almost as soon as it began, and she cautiously removed her hands and looked down into the alleyway. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. The cables that she had used to bind the two Seals were now lying in pieces around them. This young man with the guitar had incredible power, capable of defeating even her own technological skills. It would be wise to be wary of him.

The girl shifted her glance towards Yuuto and the young man. She found herself looking straight into the young man's eyes. He was… looking at her? Satsuki returned his gaze for a few seconds, astonished. She then tore her eyes away from his, aware that his gaze was still fixed on her. Satsuki looked down into the alley in another direction,  
towards the two Seals. With the newcomer still here, it would be unwise to continue her attack on them. She supposed she would have to stop their battle for today.

Satsuki nimbly leapt down from her position atop the building and landed softly in the alley. She stood up and adjusted her glasses, then walked towards Yuuto and the young man. She swept by the two Dragons of Heaven silently, ignoring them completely.

Arriving at her destination, she walked up to stand beside Yuuto as she pushed her hands into the pockets of her yellow jacket. She nodded slightly to Yuuto and then turned her gaze towards the young man before her. In her usual manner, Satsuki stood there silently and waited for introductions to be made.

* * *

Karen gasped in surprise as the vibration of a guitar string ripped through the air. At the sound the cables binding her and Seiichirou tore to pieces, falling useless to the ground. Stunned, Karen turned to look at the young man who had freed them. This person had unparalleled power. He definitely wasn't a Dragon of Heaven, as she had already met all of her comrades. But he couldn't be a Dragon of Earth, as he had just released them from their bonds. Who was this stranger? A friend, or an enemy? 

Karen stood up slowly, wincing slightly in pain. "Aoki-san, are you all right?" she asked her companion in worry. "We should get out of here while we have the chance, before the Dragons of Earth attack us again."

At that moment, however, the female Angel leapt from her spot above the alleyway and landed on the ground near them. Karen stiffened and readied an attack as the girl approached them. To the fire caster's surprise, the girl simply walked by them without giving them a second glance. It seemed that the battle was over for now.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Karen held out her hands before her and summoned up some of her magical energy. Her cross-kekkai, still standing faithfully, retracted back into her palms as the world around her returned to normal. With the barrier out of the way, Karen suddenly felt a disturbing sensation with her magical powers. Whipping around to face the direction of the temple, Karen's eyes widened in alarm. The star-shaped kekkai surrounding the temple – Subaru's kekkai – was crumbling… fading… which meant…

"Sumeragi-san! He's been wounded!" Karen cried out in horror. "Aoki-san, we need to get to him right away!"

Without waiting for her companion, Karen leaped from her spot on the ground to the roof of the nearest building and immediately bounded away, heading for the temple as quickly as she could while praying that her comrade would still be alive by the time she got there…

* * *

Okita nodded at Yuuto's words, understanding that this girl was out of his league...He smiled for a moment before registering the fact she was now standing next to Yuuto. Okita jumped in surprised, blushing oddly. She was even more beautiful up close...so mysterious, almost as if she was some kind of doll. He tried to keep his cool as smiled, failing to keep this new found fright from appearing slightly in his smile and causing his leg to shake ever so slightly.

"I…um eh..." He couldn't find the words...she was right here and this fact made Okita nervous. How long was it since this feeling had afflicted him? Probably not since his early adolescent days...Damn it, he couldn't find those words to introduce himself, they were lost in a sea of random sounds that had no meaning even his mind.

* * *

Sorata leaned back in the bed. "So where do you want to go tonight? I mean I need to know where to take you on our date tonight." He smiled widely, getting comfortable.

"I'm really excited about it...it's the thing that's healing me." Sorata looked back to Arashi, noticing her condition." If you aren't going to jump in bed with me, at least sit down."

* * *

Subaru thought he felt breath on his ear; he twitched. Was it Seishirou? 

It had to be. No-one else knew where he was. No-one.

Had Seishirou came back for him? To apologize perhaps?

No, Subaru thought. There is no way he'd come to apologize. Perhaps, now was the time. Perhaps now, everything he had waited for would finally come true.

"Onegai shimasu...kill me now...onegai shimasu..."

* * *

Grinning excitedly as the infamous Shreek signed the scrap of his coat, Yuuto nodded his head respectfully and carefully folded the fabric and placed it in his pocket. In the time that this had happened, Satsuki had come to stand beside him, and he glanced up at her usual quiet demeanor, seemingly somewhat frustrated. Yuuto's cheerful expression faded gradually, and he understand what it meant for her to so abruptly just abandon a battle. 

When he straightened his back to look at Okita again, he was surprised to find that almost every ounce of color had drained from the young man's lovely face. He seemed to stare stupidly between the ground and Satsuki, and it took a moment for Yuuto to comprehend. He thought Okita had only been joking about his questions concerning the antisocial computer genius, but by the looks of it, he was in fact quite serious. At this realization, Yuuto chuckled and scratched the back of his head idly. An awkward moment, to be sure.

Easily seeing that he would have to be the one to break the tension, Yuuto quickly shoved his hands back into his pocket, fingering with satisfaction the material with Shreek's precious signature on it. "Ano...now that the battle seems to be over," he said casually, tossing a nonchalant glance over his shoulder at where the Seals had been only a moment before, "perhaps you'd care to share how you came by such incredible powers. No doubt you'd be a formidable opponent, but you're not a Dragon of Heaven or Earth, so...exactly who are you?"

Okita still found it hard to talk without stuttering. He tried even harder to hide his shyness around Satsuki. "Huh? My powers? Oh..." He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head." I just was born with it I guess...I always used to play the piano as a child and I just figured out how to bend the sound to whatever pleased me. Then I just went with it..."

He didn't feel to mention he was born in Kyoto, near his family's shrine or how his screams as a child could deafen his parents if he wasn't careful. He just smiled and left the rest of the details to the imagination. "As for that part about Dragons...I have no earthly idea what you're talking about."

* * *

Arashi sat down stiffly in the chair next to Sorata's bed. "I don't believe we'll be able to leave the hospital tonight." She said pointedly, ignoring the fact that he'd asked her where she wanted to go. 

She was never one to go out on dates or care much about the opposite sex. However, Sorata had struck a bit of a chord with her that she couldn't ignore... though she did try her best.

* * *

_"Onegai shimasu...just kill me now..."_

Yuurei cringed. If Subaru had not been covered in blood and in an obvious state of delirium, he might have slapped the man. Instead, he only shook his head and gently laid the beaten and bruised Onmyouji on his back. Then, leaning over him so that his lips nearly brushed the young man's right ear, Yuurei knew that this was a risk he would have to take. Subaru might reject his help, but he would not let it be said that he had failed to at least try.

He was not an Onmyouji; he knew very little of the specifics of Onmyoujitsu and the incantations used in curse tags and summoning spells. But Yuurei was still a master sorcerer of his own respectable kind, and he knew well enough how to enter the mind of an unresponsive mortal mind. It worked differently than the Onmyoujitsu spell: while an Onmyouji would be drawn into a state of insensibility while inside the person's mind, Yuurei would remain conscious. This was an extension of the technique he had created and taken years of careful training to perfect--the forcing of his mind to coexist in two separate planes of consciousness simultaneously. And while he would still be directly and physically affected by whatever Subaru might do to him in the realm of his subconscious, unless the young man used specific powers to hold him there, Yuurei would be capable of pulling himself out of the dream-like trance without harming either of them.

And so carefully, as not to frighten or harm him further, the Watcher pressed the tips of his fingers against either side of Subaru's battered head, closed his unbandaged eye, and concentrated. The words of the enchantment were so bound up in his soul that he did not even need to utter them aloud. The mere presence of them in his mind was enough to trigger its latent powers. Behind his eyelids, he felt the force pulling at the very core of his essence, drawing him into a vortex so bleak and cold, not even light could escape its immensity. Like a black hole. When he tried to suck in his breath at the sudden pang of terror, he found that there was no air. He nearly lost his entire self in the landscape.

Now he was standing in darkness again, like the plane of the dreams he walked so frequently in the night. And this was not wholly unlike that; it only held a greater risk. A little ways off in the distance, a patch of hazy light swirled around a cowering figure. Subaru.

The young man was kneeling in the middle of a lush, grassy park, beside the broad expanse of an old sakura tree. Soft blossoms floated listlessly about him as he wept. At least here he was conscious and aware of his surroundings. Yuurei drew closer, until at last he was standing at the young man's back.

_"Onegai shimasu...just kill me now..." _The same despondent words spilled from his mouth in broken intervals, causing the Watcher's chest to tighten.

In a low, soothing voice, he whispered tenderly, "I'm not Seishirou. I haven't come to kill you. Please, Subaru, will you not listen to me? Do you know who I am?" Behind his placid tenor, Yuurei desperately hoped Subaru would hear his true words and turn around to see his true form...

* * *

As the eastern sky lightened from gray, to peach, to orange, Mayouko continued to make her way toward the DIET Building. Her head was bent low, her eyes watching where she put her feet. The pain that had radiated from her back was slowing fading but she still felt it throughout her entire body and especially her legs. They tingled like they did when she had sat on them for too long. So her eyes remained downcast, concentrating on her feet stepping forward. Every so often she would look up and make sure she was going in the right direction but she knew the way to the DIET Building like she knew the back ofher hand. She passed a nightclub on her left, as few early morning drunks were shoved outside by a very menacing bouncer and in their stupor almost rammed into her. Though they hardly touched her a tap on the shoulder really, she stumbled and barely managed to regain her footing before falling flat on her face. She caught herself just in time however and continued quickly on her way, her steps a bit faster then they were before. Drunken voices could be heard cat-calling her from behind but Mayouko pursed her lips in disgust and keep walking. 

Her steps slowed of their own accord as she got closer to the Building. And when she lifted her eyes, their maroon depths happened to stare straight at the huge hole in the wall. It was covered by a huge blue tarp from the inside. It looked like a sizable blast…only one person.. well perhaps two could do that and Mayouko's lips twitched into her first smirk as she walked up the steps and through the huge doors.

Upon entering the building, Mayouko also happened to note that the floors seemed to be rather wet for the inside of a complex. There must have been a battle here.. yesterday from the looks of it. She made her way as confidently as she could down the halls toward the elevator that led to the basement. Many of the people she passed gave her odd looks but she ignored them.. keeping her held high and her face emotionless.

Two large burly guards barred the doorway that lead to the elevator and as she stepped forward toward them, a slim silver dagger flashed in her hand. "I suggest you let me pass.. unless of course you wish to die.." Her maroon eyes flashed with hatred and blood lust and the two guards shook their heads and swallowed visibly. Mayouko nodded her head in thanks and slipped through the door, before she closed it she turned and added, "Oh and no talking ne?"

"Of course not.." One of the guards stumbled out.

"Good." Mayouko chuckled and then closed the door.

The elevator whirled as it started down into the under-belly of the DIET Building and Mayouko leaned casually against it. As it stopped and Mayouko stepped off the platform and into the hallway a voice echoed through her head…

_ Welcome Mayouko, sister of the Watcher… _The voice was soft and full of knowledge. _ What have you come to tell me… _

Mayouko's eyes blazed. _ A very grievous sin, Hinoto-hime. One committed by my own dear brother…  
_

* * *

Subaru gazed blankly at the tree until he heard that familiar voice. A soft smile spread across his face as he turned around. It had definitely happened. That familiar voice could not belong to anyone else. No, not just anyone else.

For so many years, Subaru anticipated a reunion, but he never could imagine how it would happen. He ran towards Yuurei, and threw his arms around him.

"Ho..kuto-chan."

Yuurei blinked at the unexpected reaction. "Ano...Subaru...I'm not Hokuto. Your sister is dead. You're...still alive." His voice was quiet, as though he could almost sense what the young man was thinking in the midst of such intense sorrow and disillusionment.

Subaru smiled lightly. "I've missed you...so much." He brushed his fingers through "Hokuto's" hair. "I always considered it my fault...everything that happened. You'll forgive me, right?" He looked up at Yuurei with soft eyes.

Sighing sadly, Yuurei took Subaru by the shoulders and leaned down to stare into his face at eye level. "Look at me, Subaru. No, really, look at me. What do you see? I am not Hokuto. You're inside your own mind. Can you hear me, Subaru?"

"I'm glad." And Subaru genuinely was; it had been a long time since he was this happy. Ever since his sister died, he regretted nearly every moment he spent away from her. There were so many nights when he came home late that he could have gotten home sooner. There were so many times when he could have at least forced himself to eat Hokuto's cooking, even when he wasn't hungry.

But he didn't.

Sixteen years didn't seem long enough.

Yuurei saw that happiness in the young man's eyes, and he wanted it to persist...but could not find it in himself to give in to the lie. If it would have helped Subaru in the long run, Yuurei would have gladly complied with the delusions and let him keep believing that he was with his beloved sister once again. But it was only an illusion...a lie.

Subaru was being blinded by the pain of the recent events. Yuurei would not let it continue. Not wanting to resort to such blatant brutality but not seeing any other way, he stepped back, raised a callused hand, and brought it down firmly against Subaru's pale cheek. "It's time to pull yourself together, Subaru."

"Ho...kuto-chan?" Subaru looked pressed his hand against the red mark across his cheek. "Dai...daijobu desu ka?" His emerald eyes widened; his sister was never the sort to raise a hand at anyone except those who hurt girls, and certainly would never hurt her dear younger brother.

Exasperated, Yuurei let out a low groan. He had one option left--his trump card. If this did not bring Subaru back to himself, it might be hopeless. "Subaru, Seishirou killed Hokuto nine years ago. But he didn't kill you. He hurt you, yes, but he left you alive. I know it's hard to believe now, after all he's done, but he cares about you. He may not even know it. But I do. I know all of you better than you likely know yourselves."

Subaru's eyes darkened considerably from moments before. His pupils, which were widened moments before quickly narrowed. "Kan...toku-sama."

He looked up at him with angry eyes. "Where is my sister?!" he demanded. "And why did you lie to me? Seishirou doesn't love me!!"

Yuurei frowned to answer Subaru's darkened gaze. "You of all people should know what this place is. Hokuto is dead, and you damn well know it." He had not realized how badly Subaru's stubbornness was getting on his nerves. "As for the Sakurazukamori, I'll say nothing further than that I did no such thing as lie to you. Reality needs you now; it's time to go back." But even as he said it, he knew Subaru would refuse...

"I've always heard stories of people coming back to the dead," Subaru said stubbornly, "but I never believed in them. This IS reality, Kantoku-sama. Tell me: where is my sister?" He refused to give any response to Yuurei's comment about Seishirou. Yuurei was as stubborn as him, and twice as ignorant, so there was no use arguing.

What more could Yuurei possibly say? Folding his arms across his broad chest, he furrowed his brow and shook his head. "I can't make you believe something your mind is firmly set against. I came here to help you because I could sense your pain."

Then an idea came to him. It was an agonizing notion to place upon himself, but if it might help Subaru, he was willing to take that chance. Slowly he put his thoughts into words. "You remember when I said the one I love most belongs to my worst nightmare...? That I knew not whether he loved me or despised me..."

The scenery suddenly shifted at Yuurei's will, to a familiar ocean short where Kakyou sat idly watching the waves lap against the rocks. As the vision progressed, an image of Hokuto appeared before Kakyou, who extended his hand only to grasp the nothingness of the cold air.

Yuurei smiled sadly. "He was in love with your sister...and to some degree, I'm sure he still is. He will never be completely mine, but that doesn't matter to me anymore. What matters is that I love him, and I will always protect him." He looked back at Subaru. "If you refuse to believe me concerning Seishirou, then so be it. But this is all I can offer you."

For a minute, Subaru stared at the image. "Ho...kuto...-chan." He ran to her, with belief that what Kakyou could not reach, he could.

He threw his arm out towards her. "Hok...uto-chan!"

"Subaru-kun..."

But as much as he reached, as close as he got, the further she seemed to fade away. The more he reached, the more significant the trail vapor became.

"Hokuto-chan..." Subaru fell to the ground. It was useless. He couldn't have her...he wasn't where he "belonged".

Suddenly, everything disappeared, and Subaru opened his eyes to the familiar wooden floorboards of the Togakushi shrine.

He cried.


	30. Chapter 28: Torn

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Torn**

"Hey! You promised me a date, you gonna back out now after getting my hopes up?" He managed to hurt himself as he sat up quickly to protest this sudden change in plans. He hid his discomfort with a smile, trying his best to keep looking cool for the lady. "I mean if you're feeling alright then lets go but if not then I understand...Just don't get my hopes up and then leave me hanging. It's...kinda mean."

Sorata started to stand up, walking to stand next to Arashi. "So why don't we go check on Yuzuriha?" He smiled, giving her a friendly pat on the shoulder.

Arashi stood, taking the IV stand in hand. "That sounds like a good idea." She said. Inwardly she realized that she did promise to go out with him tonight... and though unsocial-able she was, she wasn't downright cruel. Or at least she tried not to be. She knew if he asked her again she would consent to going... however for now visiting Yuzuriha would be fine.

"Let's go then, if you're alright to get out of bed." She said, taking a step towards the door.

* * *

There was only a moment to watch the young Onmyouji run for the illusory image of his sister painted across the virtual blue sky before Yuurei was thrown into a tumultuous darkness once again. Lurching forward, he thought his stomach lost for certain, but when he opened his eye again, he found himself in his entire consciousness back on the floor of the Togakushi Shrine, still bathed in Subaru's blood and sweat. 

The young man was sobbing now, each uncontrolled wail muffled against Yuurei's potent chest. The anger in the Watcher's brow softened now, and gently he cradled Subaru's shaking body. The powerful young Sumeragi head had suffered through unendurable agony for nearly a decade, and that pain had just been tripled in the past few hours. All his delusions and pitiful attempts at mental escape could only have been expected, and at this remembrance, Yuurei's frustration was eased.

And what more could he say? What other words could be added to what he had already tried to bring across? Subaru had returned to reality; was that not enough? But it had never been enough. So, cursing these confounded emotions of compassion and affability he had been plagued with since his childhood under his breath, Yuurei remained silent as he let Subaru drench the front of his black trench coat with endless tears...

Subaru lay there for a few minutes, clutching to Yuurei's trench coat. He never really cried very much as a child. The thought passed his mind that maybe this was releasing all that.

_No. I don't want to think._

He sobered up. Avoiding Yuurei's eyes, he tried to pull himself up, but collapsed under his own feet.

He forced a smile. "This might be a problem."

As Subaru got hastily to his feet, Yuurei briskly averted his gaze as his cloak fell away to reveal the young man's beaten, naked body. He felt the blood rising in his face, burning his cheeks as he quickly stood as well. Which was likely a wise maneuver, as seconds later, Subaru collapsed back into his arms under feeble legs that were yet  
too weak to support his weight.

Slowly Yuurei formed his words, forcibly coercing his face to cool. "I think it may be time to get you to the hospital," he said in a low voice. "You've lost far too much blood. I can't do much for you here or at your apartment..."

Subaru smiled and shook his head.

"I'm not sure how we'd explain this to anyone..." was all he simply said. He tried to keep himself covered, suddenly feeling a bout of self-consciousness.

* * *

A sweat drop formed at the back of Yuuto's head as Okita's casual remark passed through his registered thoughts. Why had he gone and suggested something so rashly? He was slipping. Not good. 

"Ehh...gomen nasai," he apologized hastily. "It's...a complicated matter. As you've probably guessed, we have powers someone unusual as well, though ours are linked to groups called the Dragons of Heaven and Earth. You know...End of the World stuff. Probably wouldn't interest a guy like you..." He lifted his hand and scratched the back of his head with a nervous laugh.

* * *

Of all the places they could have met, the corner of one of the more darkened and deserted streets was Alysia's last choice. But she was there, looking through the window of an electronics' store. She could see the screens of the various sized TV's, but couldn't hear the sound.

Nataku had actually been there before she arrived, not minding the waiting, and now content just to watch her. The idea that a person might find it creepy to be watched, even by someone that they knew, just never crossed his mind. And it wasn't like their conversations had ever deepened much. Through no fault of hers, however.

The nightly news was on. The images flashed in quick succession across a number of screens. A famine in another country. A murder in her own. Image after image of death and destruction. Alysia sighed and turned away when she could watch no more.

Nataku tilted his head from the shadows. Her expression...it was odd. Troubled, not the happy, hopeful one that she normally wore. It was enough to bring him from hiding, enough to allow himself to be acknowledged by her. "Alysia?" His voice was soft, as it normally was, but also questioning. He didn't understand her mood.

Alysia blinked. She was mildly startled by the sudden appearance of someone besides her but very happy to see that it was him for more than one reason. "Nataku." She answered by saying his name and crossed over quickly to where he stood. "Sometimes I think you're right."

"About what?" Her words earned a soft blink from Nataku. He was right? He took a moment to wonder about what conversation it was that she referred to and now agreed with.

"Humans. Sometimes they are awful. And even when they're not, sometimes the suffering that they go through is." She squeezed her eyes shut but a few salty tears still made their escape. What she really meant by her words was that she was awful. She was suffering. It had been weeks since she last saw her family. And they still believed that she was something horrible.

Something...like Nataku. A frown twisted pale lips, as he timidly reached one hand up. He cupped her face, lifting it to take a long look. The tears made little shimmers down her cheeks, and he had to admit that they were almost pretty. On wild impulse, he closed his eyes and moved forward slowly, just to taste one.

Alysia held her breath. It wasn't really a kiss, right? But it still felt like one. If she tried, she could easily pretend that it was. It was something so rare and so unexpected that Alysia actually forgot her troubles for the moment. She opened her eyes again to look at Nataku. And she smiled.

Nataku didn't smile back. But...he wanted to. Maybe she could see it in his eyes. There was still something holding him back. But maybe it wouldn't forever. Maybe it would even break soon. "Come on, there's somewhere I want to take you."

* * *

Karen sped off towards the temple as quickly as her injuries would allow, leaping recklessly from rooftop to rooftop without concern for her safety. The sun was starting to rise, casting light over the still-sleeping city. At any other time, Karen would have thought it looked beautiful, but now it seemed more ominous than peaceful. 

Within minutes, she had arrived at the temple grounds. Karen landed just inside the gate of the temple and looked around. It was much too quiet for her comfort. Subaru had to be around here somewhere.

"Sumeragi-san?" Karen called out, her voice shaking slightly. There was no response, save for the echo of her voice that returned to her. The whole area around her was silent. Too silent.

A horrifying thought suddenly struck her. What if Subaru was injured so badly that he couldn't respond? What if he was dying somewhere and was in extreme pain?

What if Subaru had already died?

"Sumeragi-san? Where are you? Sumeragi-san?! Sumeragi-san!!!" Karen called out, her panic increasing. She looked wildly about her. The temple grounds seemed completely devoid of life. Her gaze fell on the temple before her. He had to be in there. There was no other place he could be.

Karen quickly began walking towards the doorway of the building. After only seconds, she began increasing her speed, breaking into a jog. Moments later, she broke into a sprint, dashing towards the temple door as quickly as her legs would allow. Karen burst into the doorway and stopped dead, her eyes widening as she took in the scene before her.

There was a man there, a tall man with long black hair. And he was not alone. The man held in his arms a crumpled form, the limp figure of a slender young man. It was, unmistakably, Sumeragi Subaru.

Her fellow Dragon of Heaven was completely drenched in blood, and sweat, and worse. He had not a scrap of clothing to cover him, save for a large cape that was barely preserving his dignity. Subaru was deathly pale and looked as if he was barely clinging on to life. The red-haired woman fought down the sudden urge to retch violently. It was obvious to her what had just happened to him.

The world around her suddenly began to look red. Karen felt an intense heat boiling up inside of her. There was no doubt what the emotions were that she felt. Anger. Rage. Fury. Never before in her life had Karen felt so completely and utterly infuriated.

Her head began pounding, and she could see nothing but red before her. Karen's body started to radiate heat, and flames began to lick around her and over her skin. Her own injuries were forgotten as the fire swirled around her body.

"KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF HIM!!!" Karen screamed, exploding violently. Orange and red flames erupted around her, casting off an immense blaze of light. In blind fury, she flung out a hand towards the man who held Subaru, sending a blast of fire erupting towards him. She was so enraged, however, that that her concentration was thrown off, and she completely missed her target by a range of about five feet.

Snarling in frustration and anger, Karen threw her out her hands before her. Her powers responded immediately; the cross-shaped kekkai burst from her palms and quickly enveloped the entire area. Karen lowered her arms and slowly turned around to face the man, her eyes blazing like the flames licking around her.

"How could you do this to him, you monster?!" Karen spat out, her teeth clenched angrily. "You're a Dragon of Earth, aren't you? You could have just killed him quickly and spared him the pain, and you still would have accomplished your goal. So why did you do this to him?!"

Karen's eyes burned as she stared into the man's eyes. She spoke her next words with deadly precision. "Answer me and I'll make your death quick."

Before he even had a chance to respond to Subaru's softly spoken words, the door burst open, and searing heat suddenly filled the room. Yuurei turned with wide-eyed shock to find the familiar form of one of the Dragons of Heaven whom he had watched so frequently over the long years. Kasumi Karen, the fire caster. And she did not look happy.

A blast of flames left her hands, and Yuurei turned his back to her and threw out the flaps of his coat to shield Subaru from the wildly directed attack. _"How could you do this to him, you monster?!"_

It took a moment for her screams to register. She thought he had done this? As she set her kekkai around the temple, Yuurei gently but swiftly lay Subaru on his back and leaped to his feet. "Kasumi-san!" he cried without thinking, momentarily forgetting that she might be all the more startled at the fact that he knew her name. As another wave of fire came toward him, he clasped his hands together and released a mental command, calling a shield of lightning to fray and disperse the flames around him. Not, however, before a few had the chance to lick at his clothes.

As the barrage continued, Yuurei winced at her words. The attack was not so much what threatened him, as was the heat that it was creating in its after-effects. "Iie!" he shouted above the roar of the flames. "Kasumi-san, listen to me! There's been a misunderstanding." Suddenly he thought to glance over his shoulder. Was the fire affecting Subaru as well? "You must stop this, Karen!" he roared fervently, turning back to face her. "Onegai...I don't want to fight you..."

* * *

Satsuki winced slightly at Yuuto's attempt to cover his blunder. "End of the World stuff" wasn't supposed to interest the young man? As unsociable as she was, she knew enough to know that she had to do something to cover for her fellow Dragon, and fast.

The girl looked up at the stranger, an excuse on the tip of her tongue. She stopped, however, as she took in the young man's flushed face and embarrassed expression. This young man was... attracted to her?

Satsuki smiled inwardly, amused. She had had many admirers in the past, during her junior high and high school days. But she had never found any of them interesting; they all acted the same way around her. Humans, they were all alike. Computers were much more intriguing to her than her fellow people.

She glanced again at the young man, thinking rapidly. By all appearances, it seemed that simply her presence already made him tongue-tied. If she talked to him, maybe he would be distracted enough to forget what Yuuto had said.

Satsuki looked up into the young man's eyes. "You know, I don't think I caught your name," she said. "But San-san seems to admire you a lot. And I'd like to get to know the people who San-san looks up to. Could you tell me a little bit about yourself?

"My name is Yatouji Satsuki, by the way. It's a pleasure meeting you," she added, shooting a dazzling smile at the young man.

Inwardly she winced at her performance. She hated acting like some shallow schoolgirl with an overabundance of hormones. Yuuto definitely owed her for this.

As he fumbled to correct his own blunder, Yuuto was inordinately surprised when Satsuki stepped in and calmly started to handle the situation. Calm was normal for her. The rest was...not so much.

He could not believe his ears as the words spilled from her mouth. Was Yatouji Satsuki actually...flirting? No, there had to be some mistake. Maybe his ears were clogged. Or maybe she was faking it. Yes, that had to be it. She was faking it. Covering for him, perhaps. Nevertheless, he would never let her hear the end of this.

When the computer genius paused awaiting an answer from the obviously flustered superstar, Yuuto grinned impishly and mimicked a yawn. "Well," he said casually, nudging Satsuki in the ribs. "Perhaps I should leave the two of you alone, ne? To...get to know what another better." He smirked. Satsuki would likely kill him later, but it was worth it to see her in this predicament now. He knew he would never have a chance like this again.

* * *

_/Say a prayer for me,\  
/'Cause I can barely breathe.\  
/I'm suffering,\  
/And I can't take it.\_

He stood under the sakura tree as the soft dawn-tinted blossoms swirled lazily about his stalwart figure. Holding out a hand, he caught one of the fragile silken pedals in his callused palm. He studied the lovely thing with indifference in his gaze. So delicate...like soft satiny skin. He closed his fist tightly, then turned his hand over and let the shattered fragments of the blossom drift listlessly to the ground.

But no smirk grazed his lips; no chuckle escaped his throat. He stared silently at the tattered pieces of the pedal, and a strange twinge pricked at the void just beyond his chest cavity. It was not an entirely foreign feeling; he had sensed it on rare occasions in the past. But...he had never understood what it meant.

_/Because of me,\  
/No one will ever see\  
/This side of me,\  
/If I don't make it...\_

He was aware of every part of himself, every sensation in his body, every thought in his mind. Deep within himself, he could still feel Sumeragi Subaru's presence around him, surrounding him...consuming him...

_"Yamete! Yamete kudasai! Onegai shimasu..."_

The young Onmyouji's words burned in his ears. In the final moments when it had mattered most, the young man had not once cried out Seishirou's name, only screaming desperate pleas for him to stop. What had he done? Had he meant to take it that far? Had he meant to break the young Onmyouji so completely? And why did it cause these aching pains in his chest when he thought of the stricken look of terror on Subaru's lovely pale face?

_/It's like I can't wake up,\  
/It's like I can't get up,\  
/It's like I can't remember who I used to be.\  
/Am I running from you,\  
/Or am I running from me?\_

But these notions were absurd. The Sakurazukamori did not have second thoughts. It was probably all that late night food he had eaten at that ramen shop. His mind wandered to the prospect of getting that ice cream. It might do his soured stomach some good.

_/Clear a path for me,\  
/'Cause I can barely see.\  
/I'm stumbling,\  
/And I can't shake it.\  
_  
_-Subaru-kun...- _Memories of days gone by when he and Subaru's twin sister Hokuto had all but pampered the young boy like a mere child entered his thoughts inadvertently. The innocent Onmyouji had never eaten much, so both he and Hokuto had had to coax him to take down whatever was set before him, never accepting his "I'm not hungry" excuse.

It had been a bet, pure and simple. Subaru had seen something that could not be permitted to leak, and Seishirou had given him a chance to live on account of his naivety and sweet innocence. But Subaru had still lost the game, falling blatantly in love with Seishirou in ways that were obvious to then entire world. Seishirou had emerged the victor...had he not?

_/It's up to me\  
/To save myself from me,\  
/My enemy,\  
/But I can't face it.\_

Again he pushed his thoughts aside. This was ridiculous. Of course he had won. Was it possible for him to feel compassion toward anyone at all? His mother had not seemed to think so... Whatever this nonsense was that his mind had concocted, he would pay it no heed. Subaru was a toy...entertainment...whose one wish was to kill him.

_-One wish...- _So did he, too, have one wish? To kill Subaru? Or...perhaps...something else? Whatever it was, he had a feeling in the deepest pit of his bowels that only the young Sumeragi head could fulfill it. So the only question remaining was...what exactly was it?  
_  
/CAN'T FACE MYSELF, I'M JUST LEFT WITH THIS SUFFERING!\_

As he shoved the preposterous ideas out of his head, his attention was then absorbed wholly by the essence of the sakura tree. He could feel its energy coursing through the bark and out the branches, encircling his body and entering his pores. It was replenishing his strength, making him new again. When moments ago he had felt tired and drained, he now possessed new vitality and power.

It was time to act again. The sun was now rising higher in the sky, and most normal humans would be having breakfast and getting ready for school or a full workday right about now. This was the perfect time to sow the seeds of havoc.

So where were the Seals? Glancing almost automatically in the direction of the Togakushi Shrine--from which he had just come not an hour before--he let out a scoff beneath his breath when he saw the new kekkai that had been set up. Not Subaru's, but Subaru was undoubtedly still there. The young Onmyouji did not seem to be having particularly good fortune as of late.

His mind moved on to the others he had seen. Kamui was badly injured; would he have gone to the hospital? The girl he had cared so deeply for had been taken there earlier, as he recalled a few of the others trying desperately to hail a cab. And in the battle that had just occurred at Togakushi--before he had taken Subaru inside-- had left two of the Seals badly wounded. The Ise priestess with the sword whom he had fought, and the little twit with the southern accent whom Fuuma had played with for a while. They, too, had headed in the direction of the hospital.

So it was settled. Pausing briefly to give his thanks to the sacred tree for replenishing his life force, Seishirou took to the air, leaping nimbly from building to building, stopping only once by his apartment to change into something clean and unworn. And he was quickly on his way again.

The hospital was not too far away, and easy to spot from a distance. The right corner of his mouth curled into a smirk at the ironic undertones of what he was about to do. Here, of all places, these pathetic humans felt safe, and came to have their injuries and illnesses treated. And here, of all places, the bloodthirsty Sakurazukamori would reap the dawn of a new blood-bath.

Standing poised atop the lofty roof of the bleached building, he judged his position and thought through his every step before taking action. Then, lifting a hand with narrow slips of paper protruding from between each pair of fingers, he summoned his spell and threw the curse tags to the ground far below. Some shifted and transformed into the black falcons which he had used earlier on the Seals, soaring into the building through the open windows. A few others became of humanoid appearance and entered the hospital through the doors.

And so he waited, directing the paths of his creations through the maze of halls and corridors as he sensed any flicker of a significant energy signal. For Seishirou, this was a simple task. He sought them out, and he held his prey in his mind, their images all but reflected in his empty, useless right eye.

_-If this is Destiny,- _he determined with a vague notion of apathy, _- then they will have their wish...and mine...-  
_

He could see through the eyes of his creations as though gazing through the lens of a telescope. Everything seemed so distant and far away, yet he felt as though each body was his own, each curse was a part of his flesh.

He directed them down the halls, up the stairs or into the elevators. At one point a nurse suspiciously pulled one of the humanoid curse zombies aside and started asking unwanted questions. Her intestines stained the wall behind her a moment later. This fomented screams of horror in the eyes and voices of those around, but it was no matter. The more bodies he slew, the more souls he would have to feed his precious sakura tree.

The place where the screaming started happened to be only a few rooms away from where the young man from Kouya, Arisugawa Sorata, had been placed. With patients and doctors alike suddenly racing frantically up and down the hallway, he and his lovely visitor Kishu Arashi were sure to hear...

But Seishirou was not as concerned with their whereabouts so much as he was focused on collecting his wretched souls. The more souls he gathered, the more vigorous the sacred tree would become, and therefore the more powerful energy Seishirou would receive back from it. Hitting the Seals in the one place they thought they could be safe was just a delicious bonus.

Meanwhile, three curse crows soar screeching into the open window of Nekoi Yuzuriha's room, where the young girl was sitting plaintively on her bed. Seishirou thought nothing much of the occurrence. Just another victim. Relentlessly he sent the malicious foul to scrape at her face and rake at her skin...

* * *

The scream hit Arashi like a wave of ice water. Her eyes bolted up to look at Sorata. Immediately she knew the calm had ended. She clenched her fist and brutally ripped the IV she her arm. She touched Sorata's shoulder lightly, "I'll see what that was. You check on Yuzuriha-chan." She stated. 

With that she exited the room, only to find quite a bit of blood splattered everywhere... and several 'people' standing in her way. Her eyes narrowed. Arashi stood up straight, and swung her hand outwards. Her sword ripped through her palm, and she grabbed it effortlessly out of the air. She folded into a stance, and then ran at one of the creatures, destroying it without really trying. She stood abruptly, knowing one of the Dragons of the Earth was somewhere about.

* * *

He smiled menacingly as he felt the power of the wretched human souls flow through the air current and into his body for storing until he could take them back to the sakura tree. With all the power he was collecting, it was likely he would end up with more energy in his life force than he had started out with.

His curse zombies continued to move and slaughter mercilessly, but now he began to turn his attention to focus on the primary mission. This was another of the barriers protecting the district of Tokyo. Two other such barriers had already been broken: that of the DIET building and the Metropolitan Government building. Every new step was a blow to the Seals, he knew.

So, calling upon the power of Onmyoujitsu, Seishirou held two fingers of one hand before his lips and murmured the complicated curse. Instantly the inverted pentagram appeared in front of him, and the lowest angle, pointing straight downward, shot an effulgent crimson beam of light straight through the center of the rooftop at his command. Within moments, the base of the twenty-plus-story building began to rumble...

* * *

Satsuki smiled brightly at Yuuto, a smile that anyone who didn't know better would have mistaken for a friendly one. Here she was, sacrificing her own precious dignity to save his hide, and he was actually enjoying her suffering. Oh, she would make him pay for saying that. Leave her alone with this young man who obviously was attracted to her? That was most definitely the worst thing that could happen to her right now. She didn't think she could keep up the charade much longer before she went insane from it all. Oh, yes, she would make Yuuto pay dearly, and she would take great pleasure in doing it.

She pushed down the sudden overwhelming urge to wrap her fingers around Yuuto's throat and shake hard. As enjoyable and satisfying as that would have been, strangling her fellow Angel would do nothing to get her out of her current predicament. The important thing right now was for her not to lose her cool and to make sure that her admirer was sufficiently distracted to forget Yuuto's blundering.

Satsuki gritted her teeth and smiled again at the young man. "Don't mind San-san, he always likes to tease me," she laughed, rather painfully. "Why don't you stay, San-san? I'm sure you'd like hear what he has to say, too," she said, fixing Yuuto with a smile that did not bode well for the water caster.

* * *

Flames swirled around the room as Karen let loose a blast of fire at the man she faced. However, the man blocked the flames and seemed to be affected little by the attack. Growling in frustration, the fire caster was about to let loose another blast of fire when the man's voice cut through the flames to her ears.

_"Iie! Kasumi-san, listen to me!" _the man yelled over the noise of the flames. _"There's been a misunderstanding! You must stop this, Karen!"_

Karen's eyes widened in astonishment. He knew her name? Startled, the red-haired woman paused momentarily in her attack; the flames stopped rushing towards her opponent, though they still swirled around her body. "Who are you? How do you know my name?" she hissed suspiciously. She had never met any of the Dragons of Earth before; not even that handsome blonde man knew her name. In addition, he had successfully blocked her attack with a shield of his own creation. This man was indeed a force to be reckoned with.

Karen narrowed her eyes at his request for her to stop her attack. "Misunderstanding? So tell me, what exactly have I misunderstood?" she snarled, her eyes flaming. "It's perfectly obvious what you've done to Sumeragi-san!"

She looked at her comrade, lying limply on the floor. Her opponent… had shielded Subaru? Why would he shield the Onmyouji after torturing him so badly? Could he...? No, it didn't make sense. Karen glared at the man before her, disgusted.

"Who are you to tell me to stop?! I won't let you get away with this so easily!!" she snarled. Her anger renewed, she let loose another attack directed at her opponent. "You're right, you can't be a Dragon of Earth. The Dragons of Earth wouldn't be low enough to do something like this!"

Perfectly obvious... Yuurei glanced over his shoulder at the young man lying behind him motionless on the ground. As the flaming attack subsided for the moment, he turned back to her in disbelief. "You think I did this?"

But he had no more time to explain as another attack seared the air and threatened to reduce his stalwart body to cinders.

The words were like daggers through the heart. It was true--the one who had done this was possibly the cruelest being in existence, but this was yet another repercussion of his interference. So Fate was truly against him now. Every move he made outside its boundaries was destined to turn sour.

His lightning barrier quickly replaced itself around him, and this time he looked behind Karen at the corner, focusing on the shadows that resided there and bringing them to life. Manipulating their patterns and making, he summoned the darkness forward, wrapping it around the fiery Seal's attack and suffocating the ardent flames.

Straightening himself, he refused to let her see the fatigue that was gnawing away at his insides. He glared at her doggedly. "If you'd give me the chance, I'd explain myself. But seeing as how you're likely to turn this place into a burning Hell, I'm more inclined to leave and let you take him." He made a gesticulation toward Subaru with a nod of his head. "I don't want to see him hurt anymore, or any of you for that matter. I didn't do this. You want to call me a liar? Fine. Just be careful not to burn a loved one while aiming for your enemy."

Truth be told, he desperately did not want to explain himself to the furious fire caster. If he told her the truth--that he had been watching over her for years and new almost every private detail of her life--it would only succeed to alarm her all the more. But somehow...he knew she would not let him leave without a fight. And he would not harm her. Kasumi Karen was a respectable woman--a religious woman. He would defend himself against her attacks, but even if it were to mean his untimely death, he would not hurt her.

As though to prove his point, he stepped out of the way and receded to the shadows in the corner, so Karen could reach Subaru without any immediate threat. And without a word, he grimly awaited her response...

Karen's eyes widened, surprised as she was at her opponents powers. He could control shadows as well as lightning? She was equally surprised when, instead of fighting back, the man simply blocked himself and backed away from Subaru. "What...?" Karen lowered her hands, and her attack subsided.  
Yuurei remained silent for a moment, almost surprised that Karen hesitated to attack him again. Then slowly he shaped his words. "You heard me. Get him out of here." He still avoided explaining himself in full.

As soon as she stopped her attack, Karen felt a wave of exhaustion washing over her. She hadn't realized how much of a toll her injuries from her previous fight had taken on her. Her furious burst of anger had drained all of her energy.

Yuurei saw the weariness overwhelm her features suddenly, and worried that she might suddenly collapse, he stepped cautiously forward, keeping his senses locked on her movements. "Daijoubu desu ka..."

Karen stiffened, thinking that the man would attack her. She tried to summon up her flames, and instead fell to her knees in exhaustion. She looked up at the man and glared at him. "Who are you?"

As he sensed her body tiring and beginning to collapse, Yuurei instinctively moved swiftly forward to catch her and let her gently sink to the floor. A stupid mistake, he quickly realized, and he cursed himself under his breath. Nervously he let out a curt chuckle. "I don't suppose you'd let me get off by just saying I'm nothing but a shadow, ne?"

Subaru lay on the ground for a minute. He tried to open his mouth when Karen approached Kantoku-sama, but he couldn't force the words out.

But now, he had to. Using the last of his strength, he managed to force out, "Ka...sumi-san...iie..."

...before collapsing.

* * *

Yuzuriha pulled back. This wasn't going to fare well. 

She threw herself at the door, locking it. She threw her arms, trying to smack the crows away from her with no avail.

Inuki took action, lunging at the birds, trying to protect Yuzuriha from them...

* * *

Arashi knew things were getting bad- and it wasn't just a feeling that told her. Blood on the floor that she darted over, and screaming from everywhere. Not to mention the absurd rumble of the very building. suddenly the priestess stopped in her tracks. She nearly cursed herself for not thinking of it sooner! She held out a hand, and soon her kekkai surround the hospital. Again she cursed herself before darting into action again.

Along her way down the long hallways she met up with several of the accused crows and zombie-likes. She's tore through them with a vengeance. However, exhaustion was creeping up on her... and she knew her wounds would cause her to slow very soon. However, then she heard Yuzuriha's piercing scream. She ran to where it was, and threw herself against the door. It didn't budge. Locked! "Yuzuriha-chan!" Arashi called through the door. "Yuzuriha-chan, It's Arashi!" She called, banging on the door. Her eyes darted about her as she did so. It had been a few moments since she'd been attacked last... and that was very odd.

Arashi? Who was...this Arashi?

"DON'T COME IN!!" she threw herself against the door and pulled a nearby chair in front of her, trying to block the attack. She squeezed herself into a tight ball, the strange dog continuing to attack the birds as the building began to quake and quiver.

Arashi's frown deepened. "Yuzuriha-chan, I can help you! Don't be frightened!" She called through the door.

Suddenly, Arashi was finally attacked again. Her sword flew at the crow, slicing the bird into bits. She scowled at the remnants of it, and was thus attack by several. Arashi's face never seemed to change as she brought down the crows. Scratches marred her features now- for even she couldn't get out unscathed.

She was worried about Yuzuriha though. Inuki could only hold of the crows for so long... and he could only hold off so many.

* * *

Mayouko entered the vault like room and stopped just inside the doorway. Letting her eyes adjust to the darkness and the gloom as she pushed a strand of dark brown hair back from her forehead. She made a quick note that both Hien and Souhi were glaring at her as if she wasn't wanted but she ignored them both and turned her maroon gaze to the blind dream-seer.

Hinoto stared at Mayouko with unseeing eyes as the young woman stepped onto the slightly raises dais and the slats clicked together softly.

_ What is this sin that Yuurei has committed? I will be hesitant to believe you because I know he takes his Fate seriously. _

Mayouko knelt and her maroon eyes glinted. Moving her hand toward where Hinoto's small white hand rested on the folds of her dress. _ Will you take my hand? _Mayouko asked, her telepathic voice soft..

Hinoto started. That was a phrase she used and yet here was the younger sister of the Watcher asking her… And yet, as her small hand moved to clasp Mayouko's of it's own accord, Hinoto couldn't help but feel a bit of apprehension.. but that thought quickly zipped away as their hands met and both woman and dream-seer were swept into memories…

_Fighting….._

_Pain……_  
_  
Anger……_  
_  
Understanding……_

Hinoto tried in vain to pull her hand anyway not wanting to see anymore images. She didn't want to believe it she refused but Mayouko held it in an iron grasp.. Turning the dream-seer's hand white from the lack of blood flow..

_Love……_  
_  
Pleasure……_

_Disregard……_

Hinoto was the first to break contact, wrenching her hand away from Mayouko's with a violent twist and a strength she didn't know she possessed. A whimper escaped her throat as she looked up at the girl, her telepathic voice ragged as she said.

_ I won't believe it. _

_ Ahh.. but you must and you do. He has broken his fate and your orders Hinoto-hime. And you cannot just forget about it. _Mayouko's voice was low and held a hint of smugness. She opened up her maroon eyes to stare at the blind dream-seer as she placed her hand back into her lap.

Hinoto shook her head, trying to dispel the images but they kept playing within her inner mind.

_ No!! _she said vehemently, _ I won't.. I told him what it meant to defy his Fate and he took it seriously..  
_  
_ Obviously love and respect had taken control over his senses, Hinoto-hime and he has disobeyed you. You cannot just let him go without punishment. _ Mayouko grinned gleefully as she felt Hinoto's thoughts waver. _ You have to at least give him a warning…  
_  
Hinoto sobbed and shook her head violently again. _ I won't believe it… _

_ You must.. _Mayouko's voice was soft and coaxing.. _ He has broken his destiny and hence put all of fate out of balance… _

At those words something within the fragile dream-seer snapped. Anger, powerful and potent swelled within her and clenching her delicate hands into fists within her robes she banged on the floor that surrounded her. How could he do this.. he had known that to defy fate was to change the course of destiny itself… She sobbed again and angry tears began to stream down her face..

Mayouko stood then and twitching her trench coat back into place, leaned down and whispered into Hinoto's ear. "You will do something…" And without another word she quickly walked out of the basement… intent on finding the one person she knew who would want the other lover…

At Mayouko's whispered words, Hinoto screamed _ I..I DON'T WANT TO!!! _But her words were lost…


	31. Chapter 29: The Edge of a Knife

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Edge of a Knife**

The kekkai went up and enveloped the entire area around the hospital. Seishirou recognized this particular barrier--the same one the Ise priestess had summoned when he had fought with her at the Togakushi Shrine. But she was weakening. He could sense it.

Smirking underneath his breath, he saw no reason to rush into the inevitable destruction of this barrier point. Besides, now if he wanted to get the job done, he would have to kill the three Seals inside. And with all normal mortal humans out of the picture, he could no longer collect easy souls.

Psychically blasting a hole in the rooftop, he leaped down through the opening to the top floor. He might as well have some fun with this. As the building trembled beneath his feet, he lowered his head and uttered an Onmyoujitsu curse under his breath, transforming the crumbling hospital into an arena of illusions. All that remained were himself and his opponents.

He could see them clearly now. The Ise priestess, the injured Kouya boy, and the girl with the dog spirit. They stood before him in his world, encased in his powerful trap. Illusory sakura petals floated about him as the bleak oblivion surrounded them menacingly. All walls were gone; it was as though the hospital had never existed.

"I hope you're faring well," he smirked dryly, "Because now I really must kill you to continue my mission." Hands in his pockets, he awaited their shocked responses with casual nonchalance.

* * *

Okita watched the sudden change in Satsuki's demeanor. Was this girl actually interested in a dork like him?...No she couldn't be because she didn't know the real him or the image the media portrayed him as. He desperately wanted to believe this trick however, wishing his pessimism wasn't getting in his way. He smiled despite this doubt however.

"I'm Okita Soushi...A musician who a lot of people seem to like." He noted the tense caused by Yuuto threatening to leave, wishing this girl would be honest instead of hiding behind that smile. Yet looking at it, he wondered why it wasn't real...it was really quite lovely. "Your friend says you don't smile much so I guess I'm lucky to see such beauty."

Suddenly another thought crossed his mind...Were they trying to hide what these Dragons were?

* * *

A scream resounded down the hallway, and the brown-haired young man who exited the elevator at the far end lifted his head in alarm. The voice behind the  
scream was all too familiar, and his heart raced. His feet pounded against the floor, his thudding footsteps drowning out the vanishing echoes of the scream. He nearly missed the closed doorway in his haste to reach the source of the sound.

His hands grasped the sliding doors, separating them with enough force to break them, had they been made of a weaker material. He ran into the room, noting the two brown-haired women seated beside the white-haired dream seer.

"Hinoto-hime." He took several steps into the room before falling onto one knee, "A-are you alright? I heard a scream and-"

One of the women turned to face him from her position beside Hinoto. "Saiki-san. We weren't expecting you."

"Hime, please tell us what is the matter," Hien urged, one hand on Hinoto's shoulder, "Is it because of that woman..?"

"Woman?" Saiki Daisuke glanced up. "I didn't see anyone on my way in."

* * *

Arashi snapped into a standing position, seeing as there was no longer a need to throw herself up against a non-existent door. She held her sword tightly in her hand, watching Seishirou. "We are faring **quite **well, if I say so myself." Arashi said, a bit more acid in her tone than usual. She was NOT a happy person right now.

She turned to Yuzuriha and then rushed over to her. She set a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Yuzuriha-chan, are you alright?" She whispered. Arashi couldn't help but glance back at their captor. He was extremely dangerous after all- none of them were exactly in the best possible shape to be fighting.

* * *

As well as he knew Satsuki did not get out much or away from her BEAST, other than to go biking or jogging in the early mornings or late at night, it was still a shock that she had never heard of the wicked-sweet J-rocker Shreek. Yuuto stared at her with a twitching smirk at the corner of his mouth. Yes, Satsuki would most certainly kill him when this was over; murder was practically written in those cold eyes as she forced a laugh.

But before he was even given the chance to stumble over a response, a sensation from the opposite direction pricked at the hairs on the back of his neck. He spun around emphatically, almost thankful for the excuse to avoid acknowledging her contempt. And there, in the not-too-far-away distance, was another kekkai. Over the hospital.

The perfect opportunity to see if this musical sensation was truly a part of the End of the World. Yuuto turned back to Okita and pointed  
t the psychic barrier. "Can you see that?" Then, looking at Satsuki, his eyes turned grim. "Looks like we have more work to do..."

So was the hospital another of the barrier points in Tokyo? Yuuto was not as good at sensing the locations as naturally as some of the other Angels such as Nataku and Seishirou. And Satsuki had BEAST...or at least, what remained of it. One of them had already found it, however. Whoever it was, Yuuto knew several of the Seals were already there being treated for their injuries.

But before he could move, he had to know the truth of this young man known and loved by the world...and the dark secrets of his powers...

* * *

There was the sound of something being gulped down behind Seishirou followed by a dejected sigh of pleasure. "Good, water...goes well with Aspirin...Especially when you're in a lot of pain and you got some fighting to do. Now what I'm asking you is why you messing with my girlfriends?"

Sorata smiled smartly, raising his barrier with little haste. "Hey girls...Drop the barrier and get out of here! Especially the cutie I brought in earlier...You're gonna need this place twice in a row." He didn't take his eyes off Seishirou...The guy was much more serious than Yuuto, had a major stick up his ass to boot. This is why he couldn't even check out Arashi for one second or risk one of his_...Excuse me...  
_  
Sorata tosses the glass back, striking one of the curse zombies in the face. He sighed heavily.

_...Ahem...life being lost_. He desperately wanted to check out these two babes of legend...Was he cool enough for them? He sighed again wondering if all this heroic stuff was actually working in his favor...I mean jeez maybe he was scaring Arashi off by being so forward..._The fight Sorata. _He didn't take his eyes off Seishirou...smiling darkly. "Now that I'm drugged up, lets go, Stiffy!"

Even when the odds were so stacked against him that he could not reached the top by standing on a footstool, this boy from Kouya was obviously not even thinking of backing down. Glancing down at the bottomless abyss of his illusion, Seishirou let out a low smirk.

"'Stiffy,' eh? I think I can move more agilely than you at this point..." With nimble movements and the grace and cunning of a fox, he leaped forward almost invisibly, slowing down just enough as he passed the boy to whisper in his ear. "You'll have to think faster than that..." And with an effortless gesture, his foot collided in a quick snap against Sorata's knee in an attempt to bend it painfully in the wrong direction.

Seishirou was standing twenty paces away in the opposite direction before another instant had passed. Again he glanced down at what appeared to be nothing...oblivion. Then his gaze lifted to the boy's eyes as he snickered huskily. "Seems you're the 'stiffy' to me..."  
Arashi was about to retort to Sorata's comment's when Seishirou pulled his little stunts. Arashi pulled her hand from Yuzuriha's shoulder.

"Stay here, Yuzuriha-chan. Inuki will protect you." She stated evenly.

Needless to say, Arashi had no intention of leaving. Sorata was in no way going to take this man alone. She started towards Seishirou at a slight walk, then at a run. The priestess then jumped numbly into the air, despite her... little disabilities and slashed at Seishirou in hopes of disconnecting a limb from his being.

Yuzuriha watched the two jump into the air and she became frightened. She huddled in the corner by the door, squeezing herself in the fetal position.

Inuki continued to protect her, even as the building seemed uneven now, and Yuzuriha felt the building leaning...

Sorata couldn't do anything as saw the man dodge around him, feeling the sudden pain in his knee as he struggled to have it not broken, causing him to fall to the floor. He smiled confidently, grinning at Seishirou's new position.

"Very funny...but I'm not gonna be defeated by a bunch of cheap tricks...Too cool to go down that way. " He raised to his feet, charging up an attack just as Arashi leapt toward him.

"Tch...can't get a clear shot..." He moved quickly to reposition himself at an open angle. "Hey if I can't call you 'Stiffy' can I call you 'Creepy' or 'Mr. No Fun'?"

The Ise priestess charged at him just as the Kouya monk gave his smart remarks and repositioned himself to attack. Even outnumbered as he was, Seishirou showed no outward signs of nervousness. Calmly, hands still in his pockets, he ducked around Arashi's furious swings with a smug simper and leaped back a few more paces.

Pulling a few slips of paper from his pocket and holding them before his eyes, he muttered the Onmyoujitsu curse to summon the curse zombies and flung them at his enemies. He chuckled under his breath as they flew to attack. "Call me whatever you want," he said in Sorata's direction. "It won't matter when you're lying in four different places..."

Arashi touched down onto the ground, her eyebrows knitted with anger. She slashed through the zombies with relative ease, but her movements were becoming slower. She was losing feeling in her arms and she knew it. She did a graceful jump, landing next to Sorata. She was tired, but her facial expression showed none of it. She stood next to Sorata watching Seishirou.

"This doesn't look good." She murmured.

* * *

Karen blinked, surprised that the man would catch her to break her fall. "Arigato..." she murmured automatically, too caught up in her thoughts to be very concerned if the man had actually heard her or not. 

This man actually didn't seem like a bad person. Karen reflected on what he had said earlier to her, recalling that he had never tried to retaliate when she had attacked him. He also seemed to be genuinely concerned about Subaru. Was it true what he said, then, that he wasn't the one who had done this horrible thing to her comrade? The more Karen thought about it, the less likely it seemed that he was the one who had committed the crime. But if he hadn't done it, then who did? Perhaps the man was lying?

Karen felt another wave of exhaustion wash over her and resisted the desire to pass out on the spot. She instead gently released herself from the man's supporting arms and pushed herself up into a sitting position. Still unsure as to whether or not the man was an enemy, the fire caster wasn't going to let him see her weakness if she could help it.

Suspicious and on the alert, though with her anger significantly lessened, Karen looked up at the man. "Very funny," she remarked dryly at his response to her earlier question. "All right then, tell me this. How do you know Sumeragi-san? Do you just happen to know his name too? And if you didn't do this to him, then who did?"

Before she could ask anything else, however, she heard a familiar voice call out to her. _"Ka...sumi-san... iie..."_

Karen's eyes widened, and she turned in time to see Subaru collapsing to the floor. "Sumeragi-san!" she cried in panic. In a burst of energy brought on by her alarm, she automatically pushed herself up into a standing position. The red-haired woman rushed over to her comrade's side and caught him before he hit the floor. As soon as she had done so, Karen felt her exhaustion once again overwhelming her. She allowed herself to sink to the floor on her knees, keeping Subaru's body safely cradled in her arms. She was so tired... but she had to stay alert. She couldn't let herself pass out now, for Subaru's sake.

She looked over at the mysterious man. At any other time, she would have become angry on Subaru's behalf and attacked the man again. But, as exhausted as she was, she was much too tired to summon up any angry emotions, let alone a fiery attack. She instead gave the man a half-hearted glare. "Would you mind explaining yourself?" she asked, trying to make her voice sound somewhat threatening, but failing in her attempt.

Karen was exhausted; she could hardly hide it under her vague expression of apprehension. As Subaru called out weakly and the woman rushed to his side, Yuurei remained in the shadows, though he now allowed some of the murky morning light to flood the corner and illuminate his dark, cloaked form.

_"Would you mind explaining yourself?" _Karen said wearily, obviously trying to look intimidating. If he had been an enemy, she would not have been able to stop him from slaughtering both herself and her fallen comrade.

Yuurei straightened his broad shoulders and kept his loose hood drawn over his face, debating inwardly on how much to tell her. Was it even important to gain her confidence, now that she had Subaru and could probably get him to the hospital by herself? But he wanted to explain, not just for her, but for himself. He needed to get the words out.

"Several of the Dragons of Heaven and Earth know me as Kantoku-sama," he started slowly in a husky murmur. "I am neither by identity-- supposed to be neutral in the battle to determine the world's Fate. My place in your war is...to watch. To observe. I know all of you better than you likely know yourselves." An unintentional smirk tugged at the right corner of his thin lips. "I know how your mother abused you, Kasumi-san, and how you were abandoned as a child. And yet you somehow managed to keep revered faith in the Christian religion. I must commend you."

The guileful spark faded from his eye, and his gaze sadly drifted down to Subaru's limp body. "I also know him...the Thirteenth Head of the Sumeragi Clan. As for who did this to him...if I were to tell you, I would be putting his attacker's life in danger. As much as I hate what he's done, I can't let my words be the force that drives you to kill him. You must learn on your own. I'm already disrupting the natural course of Fate far too terribly by standing here now."

Motioning to the exit with a slight gesticulated wave, he added, "You should probably get the both of you to the hospital. The Seals can't afford to lose you so early in the...game..." As he winced at the word's implications, his attention turned to the objective of getting them to the hospital...and upon directing his thoughts there, he felt it. Another kekkai. The Sakurazukamori was back on the move again, and his target was the hospital. Where Arashi and Sorata and Yuzuriha were.

"Gods, doesn't he ever take a break?" he seethed under his breath. The will to recover and keep killing was alarmingly strong in Seishirou. He would be a difficult one to defeat. How in the heavens was Subaru supposed to fight him to the death to fulfill that part of the prophecy? It seemed...more than unlikely.

He glanced back at Karen and Subaru. They were in no condition to fight. Worriedly he tried to come up with an alternative...anything that might keep them safe and out of harm's way...

* * *

No one seemed to be doing anything about the kekkai that had just been raised around the hospital. Where was the Twin Star? And what had happened to Kanoe? Yuuto had not seen her in several hours, which, in the dream watcher's case, was cause enough to worry.

Glancing back at Okita again, he repeated, "Well, what's it going to be?"

* * *

The Ise priestess leaped back to stand by the Kouya monk, who had just recovered and stood still in an attempt to look intimidating.  
Even if it had worked, Seishirou would have shown no signs of nervousness. Prudently he watched them, anticipating their thoughts and actions, just waiting for them to try their next move.

His good eye then happened to catch a glimpse of the younger girl who was cowering a little off in the distance. The Seal with the spirit dog. The youngest Dragon of Heaven. Seishirou tilted his head in amusement. It was a rare sight indeed for one of the Seven Seals to tremble and back down in the face of battle.

In a flash he was at her side, his hand like a knife's edge at her throat as he leaned behind her to prevent her from escaping. The spirit beast did not slip his attention either. Keeping one hand free, he readied himself to stay the mutt permanently if it happened to get to close. Grinning, he glared at Arashi and Sorata without a word, silently daring them to attack.

Arashi took a few steps forward. Her frown deepened. Things were looking very bad.. and right now Yuzuriha was close to helpless. "Release her." Arashi stated, her voice full of undisguised malice. The petite woman sure could a mean look to her.

All of this seemed so familiar, but... now she was just causing trouble for these people...these strange people who were... attacking each other?

Was this right? Why...were they trying to save her? Weren't there others?

Others that were trapped in the rumbling building? Those who couldn't escape as chunks of building collapsed into the street below?

Why her?

Her lip trembled and she let a tear fall down her cheek.

"Kowaii yo..."

Jeering wickedly at the priestess's simplistic words, Seishirou closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, I don't think I'll do that..."

Arashi stared forward. There seemed nothing she could do! It was absolutely eating her up that she couldn't just go up to the man and slice him from navel to nose. No- she would never get close enough to do that. Her eyes darkened, as she turned to look at Sorata. This was one of the few times she silently asked for help. Even she knew there was no way to do the alone.

* * *

As her scream of rage and frustration echoed and died, Hinoto was caught in a battle of wills with herself. Anger and sadness each vying for control and for the moment neither winning out. Mayouko's last words kept echoing in her head over and over.. 

_"You will do something…"_

The frail dream-seer tried to dispel the words and the images but she could not. She knew Yuurei was far from stupid, but how could he have done something so monumental as this. To defy her orders.. Orders that had been drilled into his head since he was old enough to know the fate of the world. Angry tears continued to stream down from his blind eyes, leaving a trail of wetness down her pale cheeks.

And yet here he was.. defying fate for the one he loved and wished to protect from all things. He had the courage to do something and yet she could do nothing. Only hope that in the end all this lead to her wish.. _ Kanoe.. _And know that he had interfered, perhaps even her wish could no longer be granted.

Suddenly a concerned voice penetrated the fog of her thinking.

_"Hinoto-hime." _Daisuke's voice… _"A-are you alright? I heard a scream and-"  
_  
Then a hand on her shoulder, Hien asking her if she was alright. Blessed voices of those who cared.. Slowly she returned from her battle, weary and tired but her decision at last for the moment made.

She regarded Saiki with her blind eyes and whispered. "It was nothing…"

* * *

Leaving Hinoto to deal with her brother, Mayouko quickly exited the DIET Building and went to find the one other person that she knew would absolutely love to learn about the goings on between the dream-seer and the Watcher. Finding him was easy.. even to Mayouko his aura was a beacon. She was at the church in a matter of minutes and slipped into the darkened place, not making a sound..

Fuuma was awake in the pew, he had already sensed the new comer. Their breath was slow as if they wanted to appear stealthy, a grin came to his lips. He remained still, keeping the illusion that he was asleep...hoping this fly would fall into his trap.

Mayouko raised an eyebrow as she slid closer and closer to Dragon of Earth.. the Kamui.. She could tell my his breathing that he was not asleep, but on a whim she decided to let him have his fun. Unsheathing one of her daggers, she crept over and placed it against his neck.

"You really don't do a good job at pretending to sleep, Kamui..." She whispered into his ear.

Fuuma smiled and opened a eye, noticing the dagger. "You realize if I wanted to...I would kill you before that dagger even got past the second layer of skin." He continued to recline, his white attire contrasting the shadows that surrounded him. This girl was interesting...how had she found him?

Mayouko shrugged nonchalantly. "Of course you could. But the question is would you if you knew that I had some information that you would find highly pleasing?" She removed the dagger from his neck and replacing it sat down next to him on the pew and flashed him a grin.

Fuuma sat up, eyeing the girl discriminately. "Would you wager your life on this?" He was in no mood for games...games that weren't fun at least. Fuuma locked eyes with the girl, trying to read exactly how nervous she was.

Mayouko looked Fuuma straight in the eye and nodded. "Yes I would." Her eyes were maroon icicles that showed no emotion.

"Then please share...but I will collect if I'm not satisfied." Fuuma was quite amused with her confidence...This one was certainly a step above most.

Mayouko chuckled and leaned back against the pew. "It has to do with a certain dream-seer and.. a certain brother that I have.."

"...Boring..." Fuuma's eyes narrowed slightly. "You're losing me."

Mayouko raised an eyebrow. "I suppose to you it would be." She tapped her lips with a finger. "Do you have all seven of your followers?"

" Seven? I've met 3 of them." Fuuma looked toward the ceiling. "Two of them don't interest me...but the third is quite a fellow." He smiled slightly, thinking of the night before with Seishirou...the two had to have more times before it was all over.

Mayouko wasn't surprised. "And you have noted a man in the shadows...watching you.."

"The Watcher?" He smiled and looked to the upside down cross. "I've noted him but he won't be very note worthy if he keeps meddling in my affairs...Next time I won't have to run away."

Mayouko chuckled again. "I don't believe you will have to worry about him for a little while yet. But on to the topic at hand.. would you care to meet another of your Angels?"

Fuuma touched his chin and finally nodded. "I suppose...but what is it of your concern?"

Mayouko shook her head. "I'd rather we not discuss it too much. Let's just say it's a family thing for now." She glanced up at him and then turned her eyes back toward the front of the church.  
Fuuma stood up and towered over the girl. "Very well...you have interested me." He smiled cheerfully, pressing his glasses to his face.

Mayouko turned her eyes to look at him as he stood, but remained seated. "I'm glad you think so." Eyes locked onto his, she stood and straightened her back, hearing it pop. "Then let us be on our way."

"Wait..." Fuuma paused smiling darkly. He stood towering over her, eyeing locking on hers. "There is something I must do first..." His smile only grew.

* * *

Fuuma stood next to the Lion cage, his arm resting on the rail as he licked the ice cream from it's cone. He smiled pleased with his choice to come to the zoo. 

Mayouko kept her maroon eyes emotionless as she looked into his and then blinked as the scene suddenly cut to a ...zoo. Fuuma was leaning against the rail of the lion's cage, happily licking an ice cream cone...

A large sweat drop appeared on the back of her head as she said somewhat calmly, "Ano..."

"Fun?" Fuuma smiled genuinely watching as the Lion's were fed. "I always enjoyed coming here when I was younger...It's always fun to see the animals."

Mayouko shrugged her thin shoulders and leaning against the bar, watch Fuuma out of the corner of her eye. "I see..."

"You see this is humanities answer to Nature...a chance to see it behind a protective glass...weakened by it's captivity...When it's all over these animals will be free to roam the land...The question is, will they survive?"

The corner of Mayouko's mouth twitched into a grin. The prefect entrance for the original topic of discussion. "I would say the same of two rather important dream-seers. One has managed quite well considering.. but the other.. His fate and survival is in your hands." She stated, her voice low.

"You mean the Watcher?" Fuuma looked at her through the corner of his eye, taking a few more licks of his ice cream cone..._boy was that good stuff._

Mayouko gave a throaty chuckle, "No actually I was not." A mischievous smirk crossed her face and Mayouko darted her hand forward and grabbing the ice cream cone takes a quick bite then hands it back to Fuuma. "I was talking about one of your Seven Angels, Kamui-kun."

"Hmmm Go on. "Fuuma blinked at her thievery, amused at her ability to take the cone without any problem. He took a bite of the cone.

Mayouko raised an eyebrow at Fuuma's lack of inaction at her stealing his ice cream but she said nothing. "Wouldn't you like someone to weave dreams for you?" She asked, leaning back against the bars of the cage and tilting her face up to the early morning sunlight.

Fuuma smiled finishing his Ice Cream cone with one bite. He took a pause to chew and swallow. "So how do I acquire this...DreamSeer?"

An evil smirk turned the corners of her lips up and leaping up into a nearby building she laughed and beckoned him. "Follow me.."

* * *

Sorata watched the scene just fall less into their favor...it was so bad the girl of his dreams was asking him for help, something he thought he would never see in her eyes. He sighed and smiled triumphal as he removed the cards from his jacket. He looked directly at Seishirou's eyes. "Hey man I'm sorry about all the comments but can you let the girl go? I mean she's in bad shape and very young...plus the fact she's a girl makes it really all the more reason to use these bad boys. I mean they'll give you a better fight than even my lovely girlfriend over there will."

The shadows began to cover Sorata's eyes. "Yet I feel I must share this vow I just made within myself...For every drop of her blood that isn't in that lovely neck by the time this is over...Someone close to you dies and I don't care from which side. I mean this end of the world stuff is something I hate when pretty girls lose their lives because of jackasses like you." It suddenly became apparent that this boy wasn't let out of the temple much for good reason. He smiled confidently as held the cards, ready to attach them that Gargoyle across the street. "So what's it gonna be Mister Black? A real fight with someone you'll have trouble killing? Or holding some girl hostage like you don't have the skill we know you have?"

Cocking an eyebrow at the blatant suggestion, Seishirou chuckled under his breath and shook his head. "I don't think you get it," he said smoothly. "I'm not here to fight. I'm here to bring down this Tokyo Barrier. So save your little tricks for someone who cares about finding a challenge. Perhaps...our Kamui?" He smirked at the recollection of how Fuuma always indulged himself in the notion of being challenged. The Gemini might have never turned down the dare, but Seishirou did not work like that.

A scratch of his dull fingernail, and a trail of blood dribbled down Yuzuriha's pale cheek. So delicate...so utterly helpless. He loved it. Entwined in the wrappings of his illusion, he glanced back menacingly at the other two Seals. "Below us this building is crumbling. You can't feel it or sense it as long as you're in my world...but all around people are dying...being crushed under the rubble. Isn't it a beautiful thought? So you see, the longer I keep you hear, the easier it is for me to complete this task." A very low, almost inaudible snicker escaped the pit of his throat as he watched the fury grow in their faces...

Arashi watched the little trail of blood slide down Yuzuriha's cheek. She gritted her teeth. People were dying right now... right now. And there was nothing she could do about it. Surrendering was not an option... fighting? Barely an option. So... what other options were there? Have a staring contest with their captor? Arashi was slowly beginning to think that they weren't going to come out of this one. She was going to die. Not that that mattered much... what mattered what that if she died, then Yuzuriha would die... Sorata as well. The thought of either of the seals dying was overwhelming.

An idea came to Arashi. It was petty, small and would probably cost her life. But if she could distract their captor enough... perhaps Sorata could get in some decent attacks. Even if her kekkai fell, Sorata's was still up. She glanced back at Sorata, giving him a slight nod, willing herself courage to go at their captor again. She turned to look at him, the menacing figured holding the helpless Yuzuriha in his grasp, enjoying the sight of her blood spilling slowly down her cheek. It disgusted her.

Without words Arashi had jumped into the air, baring her sword down on the man. What else was there to do at this point? Sit and wait for death...?

He had no loved ones. He had nothing to lose. Even if he were to die here and now, it would not matter in the least. He was indifferent to death. He had no one for whom he feared. No one he wanted to protect. He was alone. And he liked it that way.

However, he was not about to go down without a resourceful fight. The Ise priestess charged him. A stupid endeavor. Simply and utterly stupid. Perhaps she thought she had nothing to lose as well. Except perhaps...a friend.

Seishirou chuckled as she came at him, pulling the scrawny little Yuzuriha into his arms and thrusting her body outward to shield himself against Arashi's sword. "Heh...," he scoffed," will you go through your fellow Seal to get to me?"

Arashi didn't skid to a halt. However she did do a graceful front flip and swiped out at the villain's back, away from Yuzuriha. She was not about to be taken out by some coward using a teenager for a sheild!


	32. Chapter 30: Decent to Illusions

**Chapter Thirty: Decent to Illusions**

Sorata eyes narrowed as this display...utterly despicable. "No you don't realize who you're dealing with..." The electricity began to build around Sorata as smiled darkly, looking up toward Seishirou. "You think I was bluffing bitch?! You really think you know it all don't you? Do you know that I have nothing in the future? Do You know that I don't care if I die 'cuz there is nothing for me now?! You think all us seals are innocent little puppets of humanity?! You're dead wrong you zombie loving freak!!!!"

He felt grief as he let out a lightning strike on both Seishirou and his captive, shooting forward and attempting to seize Seishirou's neck in the surprise. "I would rather die than let a jerk like you live another day...You didn't want to let the captive go did you?! So you made me put my duty before honor...I hate you...I HATE YOU!!!!!!"

"Have you ever met a man with nothing to lose?!"

It became apparent why he wasn't let out of the shrine often...It didn't matter anymore as Sorata screamed. It all came down to this fight, protecting the woman he loved and the world she dwelled in...Yuzuriha was a price he had to pay...This feeling sickened him as a memory of the cherry blossom tree suddenly came to mind...That summer during his last year of school...The last time he felt such anger at the world.

_Why am I always alone...why can't I be loved? WHY CAN'T I LIVE?!_

It drove him to the brink of madness...Those years of adolescence haunted him as much as his mother...and his death.

* * *

Okita looked toward the barrier...yet another one...The hospital! No this couldn't be happening. His eyes widened as he looked back to the girl of his dreams and the blonde fan of his. "Very sorry but I have to go check out that place...Family importance." Okita mounted his motorcycle, quickly putting on his helmet. He desperately began to strike the clutch as the engine roared to life...it was certainly louder than most common bikes.

"Call my cell and we'll meet up later! 555-9867...Sorry again!" It was amazing they could hear his voice so clearly over the roar of the engine...as if Sound was Okita's servant.

It was that quickly Okita left the two of them...Not wanting them to get involved with his problems. He swore if any of those freaks hurt his mother or Yuzu...His eyes narrowed as recklessly turned a corner, skidding violently past someone crossing the street...Was he involved in some kind of secret war? If so...Whose side was he on? And what were the sides standing for?

He remembered what Yuuto let slip about the Dragons...Were those the sides? He would have to look into that when this was over...Another reckless turn...It was a wonder it was getting someone hurt...Celebrity immunity?

* * *

The lovely priestess was as agile as she was beautiful. For all her wounds, her duty must have recharged her energy. Seishirou had not foreseen this. Millimeters before plunging the sword fatally into the younger Seal's gut, the Ise priestess leaped nimbly over him, hurtling over herself to get into a more advantageous position.

Seishirou had no time to turn around with the girl still in his arms. All he could do was throw a glower icily over his shoulder as the blade's edge swept across his back, leaving a long rip in his fresh suit, not to mention the fairly deep gash it created in his pallid flesh. He stumbled forward.

And before he could recover, his ears picked up the murderous words of the Kouya boy, no longer sounding comical in his pitiful wit, but angry and all too ready to die. Seishirou glanced up, the image of the bloodthirsty young man reflecting in his unseeing eye only an instant before the electrically charged hand clutched his throat.

Energy like lightning surged through his body on contact, and as he was still holding onto the girl with the dog spirit, she was affected as well. Eyes wide as he stared into the virulent glare of the young monk, Seishirou managed to let out a low smirk as the corner of his lips curled upward slightly. From that corner dribbled a tiny trickle of blood, and had his throat not been suppressed by the iron fist to the point that he could hardly breathe, he would have coughed up a mouthful of the stuff.

"So...you have nothing to live for?" he somehow choked out, his words fragmented in broken syllables. "It seems we have...more in common...than you think."

Sorata eyes narrowed into slits. "No we may have a similar end and purpose but I'm nothing like you!" The electricity only grew stronger as he slammed the man into the wall, laughing pitifully. "You are a bastard who deserves unhappiness...After you harm so many...After you laugh so pitifully...I NEVER ASKED FOR ANY OF IT!" He saw those shadowy faces in his mind's eye...the rain...the pain of rejection...the pain of Stargazer's hand. The electricity grew stronger as Sora yelled in agony.  
_  
"IDIOT! Why do you go against your destiny!"_

_"I'm sorry!"_

Sorata tightened his grip. "You pathetic man...where's your fucking power now?! You resort to hurting little girls because you have no real power...No real will!" Deep in Sora's eyes there was only pity and untainted rage waiting for Seishirou as Sora tore one hand from Seishirou's neck to knock Yuzu away from torment of his anger. The hand still on Seishirou's neck only tightened and violently tossed back the man into the back wall, still gripping with that burning electric grip. "THIS IS REAL WILL!!!!"

Arashi had moved clear of Sorata's destruction the moment she saw it in his eyes. She quickly headed to Yuzuriha, checking to see if the girl was alright. She kneeled next to the young seal, and turned her eyes quickly back to Sorata and Seishirou. Arashi kept her eyes on the battle, in case she was needed. But at this point she felt that she could sit the rest of this fight out. Sorata was handling it well, if not a bit insanely.

"Don't die." Arashi murmured, her eyes trained on them, "Don't die, Sorata." She breathed, her face softening only slightly.

* * *

The park was always the first place Kusanagi would visit when he was on leave. It was the only place in the city with any kind of greenery. As much as he would have loved to take a trip to the country side, the base would never allow him some real vacation time for at least another six months. Especially after all the weird things going on the city.

Reports of people flying across the sky, buildings collapsing, brutal murders. It was as if the city itself had gone insane. But Kusanagi knew very well what all this meant. He just didn't want any part of it.

The park wasn't very crowded, but the usual people were there. Bicyclists, people taking their dogs for walks, kids laughing and playing games. He really did enjoy days like this.

A pet dog playfully ran up to him and began to lick his face as Kusanagi bent down to pet it behind the ears. He laughed heartily and watched the dog bounded off again to its master. As he slowly rose to his feet, a strange figure caught his eye. It was hidden amongst the branches and foliage of the tree, but he could barely make out the figure.

Curiously, Kusanagi approached the figure and was surprised to find a young boy resting in the branches. "Hey there! He called out. "What are you doing all the way up there?"

Kamui looked down at the man from the corner of his eyes, not paying attention to his question.

Kusanagi laughed at the boys reluctance to speak. There was something odd about him, but not the one to jump to conclusions, Kusanagi tried to coax at least one sentence out of the boy. "So how did you get all the way up there? Must have been one hell of a struggle."

Kamui was getting more and more annoyed at the mans constant pestering. Why was he bothering him anyway? Couldn't he just get the point and leave already? He wasn't really in the mood for any of this. "Go away..." he said coldly.

It became more obvious that the boy wasn't in the mood to talk. Especially after a remark like that. "That's funny..." he said looking up with a smirk. "I figured the one they call Kamui would be a little more polite..."

If the man wanted his attention, he had it now. Leaping off the tree branch, Kamui landed in front of the man and glared up at him. "Who are you?" he questioned immediately. "Are you one of them!? The Dragons of Earth!?"

"Whoa there fella!" urged Kusanagi, trying to calm the young man down. "I'm not here to cause you any trouble."

"Then what's your purpose? If you came here to talk then your wasting your time." Kamui growled.

A bead of sweat fell down Kusanagi face as he rubbed the back of his head. "Actually..."

"Ugh. Just get the hell away from me..." Kamui turned around and began to walk way. He had enough of people wanting to be his friend.

"Hold on! You seem like you got a lot on your mind and I just thought you might need some help"

"Help?" questioned Kamui. "What could you possibly do to help?"

"Depends if you tell me what's going on. Seems like you got the weight of the world on your shoulders right now." Kusanagi wasn't sure why he was being so nice to this kid. There was something about him that caught his interest.

"The world..." he chuckled lightly. "I couldn't care less about this world. Everyone can die and go to hell for all I care."

Kusanagi raised an eyebrow at Kamui's response. "Those are some strong words there. But you can possibly mean that."

"How would you know how I feel?" scowled Kamui. "You have no idea what I been through."

'I'm just saying, even you must have someone you care for."

The words caught Kamui off guard. He wasn't really sure how to respond to that. "You say you don't care, but I bet there's at least on person in this world that you care for deeply and want to protect," stated Kusanagi.

"Someone to protect?..." Kamui hadn't thought about that. "Kotori...Fuuma..." It was all he could say at the moment.

"See? Even a tough guy like you has a soft spot. So don't go and say things you don't mean." Maybe it was wrong to lecture him. He looked like he been through hell, but it seemed like the only way to get through the kid.

Off in the distance Kamui could sense the a kekkai being formed. He gazed off in the direction. "You feel it to?" asked Kusanagi.

"Seems like its in the direction of the hospital. Not sure about you, but I'm not one to get caught up in these matters. Besides, I only have one day of leave left before I go back to the base and I rather not waste it fighting."

He turned his back and slowly began to walk away, giving Kamui a simple wave goodbye. "See ya later kid. Hope you figure out what ever is bothering you."

Kamui stood alone, still gazing off in the direction of the kekkai. He wasn't sure what to do. Finding Kotori and Fuuma were his only priorities. Getting involved in this fight wouldn't mean anything. He didn't care. That's what he kept telling himself...

* * *

She hadn't slept. If she did, she didn't dream. She only replayed the events of her brother in her mind over and over. That was all she thought about. That person that had over taken her dear brother's mind. It made his eyes cold, uncaring, and his hands rough.

Voices could be heard from where Fuuma was. A girl's voice. To Kotori, it was only another victim most likely. But she dare not call out to them. Her voice had left her hours ago. She stood there, silently, in the dim light.

And then they stopped. They had left, just as quickly as they had grown. The voices, that is. And no longer did she feel the evil presence of her elder brother. She couldn't stand it. Her eyes, no longer did they hold their softness, but yet a vengeance; a burning in dear Kotori's heart.

Her dress still lay there, next to her. Her strewn dress, nearly ripped into bits. But, it would still provide more covering than Fuuma's shirt. With much pain, she forced herself up, and into her dress. She kept her brother's shirt, throwing it over her shoulders as well. She would cry, if she could. But her salty tears had long since vanished, and she couldn't call them anymore. Not even if she wanted too. But what good did the tears do for her last time?

Nothing. They didn't bring her mother back. And they didn't save her from Fuuma.

She walked up the few steps that she had earlier been thrown down. And she banged at it's closing. It didn't open. She banged some more, that red hot feeling in her chest swelling up. She frowned, her soft lips pursed.

With one last push, she jutted her shoulder against the door, with all her force; every energy beam left in her.

And it opened.

She fell forward, and face faulted onto the cold church tiles. She didn't dare to stop there though. Fuuma- no longer bearing to her the title of her brother- he could return any moment. And she still wanted to see her father, to confirm his death. If she could clear  
her mind, and think straight enough to remember home. Not that she knew where she was to begin with. That thought only made her scowl. She was irked, and that was hard for Kotori to feel.

No matter. She pushed herself up, and stumbled to the door, grabbing the edge of the pews to pull her farther along. She got to the street, and just stood there. The place was almost unfamiliar, maybe it was that she was seeing red...

* * *

Getting his head slapped against the wall of the unseen hospital by a confused teenager was frustrating enough. But the monk's frivolous chatter was far more annoying. As he was held against the wall, his illusion faltering and starting to fade, Seishirou gritted his teeth and reached up through the electric bolts of energy to grasp the young man's wrists. Prying them from his neck forcefully, his brow furrowed and his gaze darkened.

"Don't be stupid in your anger," he spat flatly. "It might just get you killed." And avidly, without even letting his words sink into the boy's mind, without so much as flinching any other part of his body, Seishirou knotted a stalwart fist and planted it potently into Sorata's gut.

Sorata eyes widened as he felt the fist strike him. He felt the air release from him...and yet he still managed to keep his grip firm, repeatedly bashing the man into the wall. "I thought we went over this already? Are you deaf too? No you responded...So I'm  
guessing your stupid, eh?" He pumped more electricity into Seishirou ignoring the pain in his hands...ignoring the damage he was causing himself...

"I..." He slammed Seishirou into the wall. "...Don't..." He repeated the act. "...about..." Yet again. "MY DEATH!!!" He gave the man one last slam before tossing him away toward the window. "I said I have nothing to live for...Yet you make me repeat myself And you were so sure we were alike...sounds like you were giving me a lot of nonsense."

His head was bashed against the wall once...twice...thrice... With the third repetition, the illusion shattered, feathery sakura blossoms swirling about the hospital rooms as the spell broke. Momentary dizziness caused his balance to falter, and though he quickly recovered, circlets of blackness were beginning to surround the outer rims of his vision--the first sign of losing consciousness.

The brutal words seemed to be coming from so far away now, and as he started to slump against the wall, feeling the blood seeping from his back and smearing against the whitewashed surface, Seishirou glanced up wearily into a face full of fury that looked to be miles away. And before he could register what was happening, he felt his body being hurled in some oblivious direction, and suddenly he was surrounded by shattered glass. The cuts caused by the broken fragments as he hit the window were lost to his senses as he was thrown from the building and began a deadly headlong plunge to the pavement thirty stories below...

Arashi flinched as she heard the glass shatter and watched Seishirou fly from the window. She glanced at Yuzuriha. "Stay here." She said quietly. She glanced at Inuki and gave a slight nod to the spirit dog.

Standing, Arashi walked over to Sorata. This battle had taken a lot out of him... and she was worried. It was written all over her face even though she tried hard to hide it. "Sorata?" She asked, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

Sorata was crouched down near the window, covering his face from sight. He had killed...when was the last time death had been in his life? ..._It was Sophomore year in High School that he saw that tree under that black sky...The lightning was the only light as the boy stood in the puddle of black mud. He looked up, meeting sight with the rain as it instantly began to pour down on the boy, mixing with the salty down pour from his own eyes. He finally struggled to smile and began to build the electricity around himself, already feeling a slight discomfort as the current was about to be finished._

_Stargazer's hand struck the boy harshly. "IDIOT! Why do you go against your destiny! Your life is no longer yours! Your life belongs to the world now!" He spoke in a harsh correcting tone...making it very clear he cared for this deluded boy. "It would also be a great lose to this temple if you were lost."_

_The boy looked up to Stargazer and smiled weakly. "I'm sorry..." The lightning cackled behind them. Secretly in this boy's mind, he resented the life he would never have and people who ridiculed him for it.  
_  
Sorata wondered what had triggered him to remember the terrible experience of that lost boy. He saw Seishirou's cold smile that was on every student's face as they crowded around him. _They all began to laugh at Sor...that boy's pain. _They took pleasure in suffering just like the man Sora had just killed...was it wrong for him to take pleasure in Seishirou's suffering? If it was...Why? They deserved to die! They deserved the unhappiness that boy had felt...rejection, heart break, Isolation...

_"Sorata?" _He felt someone warm touch him...No he had to protect the world for them. He saw Arashi...imagining her smiling at him...and Yuzuriha, watching her happiness unfold. Yet in the end would he be thanked for his sacrifices or would he be used like he always was?  
This was only part of that boy's story...

Sorata looked up at Arashi with his usual goofy grin. "Hey babe...since I did good, can I have that date now?" He smiled because he knew he cared enough for them...and their happiness was all he had.

Arashi smiled before she could stop herself. He had just defeated, almost single-handedly an extremely powerful enemy. She'd seen in anger pour forth through the gates of hell, and yet he still smiled up at her as if nothing had happened. It seemed so childish, yet endearing.

What was she thinking?! This was Sorata! But.. he'd risked his life for her and Yuzuriha.Only because he had too. But he'd said that he didn't care if he died? There had to be something else to it. But right now, Arashi wasn't in the mood to decipher what that something else was. Instead, she stood up straight, her sword going back into her body. "I already told you I would." She murmured. It was true, she had earlier given her consent. She as many things, but a liar she was not.

* * *

Saiki continued to watch the childlike face framed in white, hoping for more of an explanation, another word- something. Experience had taught him that one of her reassurances of "it was nothing" was generally far from the truth. Yet, he had no wish to push her into discussing that which she would rather not.

One of the dream seer's attendants left Hinoto's side, hinting subtly that it would be best for the young man to leave. Unfortunately, he remained oblivious to Souhi's polite coughs and sliding of the door behind him. She turned a plaintive glance to her sister, who merely shrugged. They both knew he wouldn't leave until he was assured of Hinoto's safety; they both knew it would be a long wait.

A palpable silence hung about the room.

"You can talk to me about it - whatever it is," Saiki said suddenly, his eyes darting from the dream seer's face to the floor as the color of his cheeks grew an increasingly darker tone of red. "I mean, you can probably handle anything that goes wrong, but something that- that-"

Something that could make you scream like that has to be more than one of the usual problems. He found himself unable to finish the sentence as he had intended. The sisters were watching him again, begging him to leave solely with the tilt of their heads and the shine of their eyes. He stood slowly.

"Hinoto-hime. I- ah -" His cheeks darkened, and he nearly bumped into Souhi as he turned. She stared at him quizzically, although relieved he didn't intend to stay as long as usual.

* * *

Blood and sweat blurred his vision. _-Damn...that kid's power is a lot harder to take than I thought.- _The words flitted almost subconsciously through his mind as he continued to plummet toward the ground far below. So much for the energy boost from the sakura tree; he felt completely drained. And no wonder, as the power from the tree was only a temporary supply so that he might regain his natural strength more quickly.

He had no strength to pull himself back upright, much less slow his descent. Staring down at the hazy pavement below, his eye caught sight of a flagpole protruding from the side of the hospital wall. It just might work. Holding out a tingling hand, he judged approximately where he could hit the bar, and aimed precariously for it.

His skin made contact. His fingers coiled around the cold pole like a latch, and as his body flew past his arm to turn up right side-up again, he was jerked to a violent halt in his descent to the hospital foundation. A rip tore through the ligaments of his shoulder, and he let out a throaty groan as he felt the appendage being torn brutally from its socket. But relentlessly he refused to let go, though the dislocated limb was already causing him to become quite nauseous.

Glaring down through the benumbing pain, he waited for his eye to focus on the ground below. He was still at least ten stories up. And there was no way he could possibly let go and hope to land lightly on his feet; he energy was gone. Grumbling inaudible curses under his breath, he tried to concentrate on sensing any of his comrades that might be in the near vicinity. But no use. He needed to rest. And this was not exactly the ideal place to doze off...

* * *

Rummaging around for something to write with...and on...Yuuto jotted down the number Okita yelled out over the roar of his motorbike. Strange...how it seemed to quiet down just for Okita to speak. But he thought little of it as he watched the youth ride off in the direction of the hospital.

Before he was even out of sight, Yuuto turned abruptly to Satsuki. "Well, it looks like we're off to work again." Who knew if the kid was strong enough to do whatever he intended on doing? And was he on their side or not?

His glance drifted to the severely injured Seal still lying insensible on the ground from the recent battle. The man's business suit and tie had been tattered and stained with blood, and his glasses and hair had been disarrayed so badly that he looked as though he had just lost a fight with a bulldozer. And in a way, he had.

The battle at the hospital barrier point might call for a compromising situation. Whichever Angel was there, after all, was obviously holding his own. So, taking an ensanguined Aoki over his shoulder, Yuuto leaped to the top of the building and nodded toward Satsuki. "Let's get going!" he called down. "No time like the present..." And without awaiting an answer, he took off bounding toward his destination...

* * *

_"I know how your mother abused you, Kasumi-san, and how you were abandoned as a child."_

Karen gasped softly and flinched involuntarily at the mention of her mother, her eyes widening in surprise at the man's words. How did he know about her mother? She never talked about her childhood to anyone; not even her fellow Seals knew about her past. How could he know such personal details of her life? Did he know about the other Seals the way he knew about her? Who was this man?

"Kantoku-sama… the watcher," the red-haired woman murmured musingly. "I was never told of a person with such a role in the Final Battle," she said softly, half to herself and half to the man. Her voice tinged with suspicion. "Only the Seven Seals and the Seven Angels are involved. Hinoto-hime would have mentioned your existence to us."

She turned away from him, focusing her attention on her fallen comrade. No matter what, the man – Kantoku-sama – was right; Subaru had to be taken to a hospital immediately. But where was the hospital? She had no idea where it was, and she doubted that she would be able to find a taxi to take them there. Karen's first thought went to her apartment. She and Subaru would be safe there. But there would be nobody there to help Subaru except for herself, and she was in need of aid as well. What she needed to do was to get both herself and Subaru to a place with medical care. But where could she find a place like that?

Still mulling over the situation, Karen held out her hands in front of her and allowed her kekkai to shrink back into her palms. Though she was still suspicious of him, it seemed that Kantoku-sama would not harm them at the moment. There was no need for her to keep the kekkai up and waste more of her much-needed energy.

As soon as the barrier was down, she felt a familiar tingle in the back of her senses. Karen looked up in concern, scanning her surroundings carefully. Then she found it; off in the distance, a kekkai of a fellow Dragon of Heaven had been raised. Its pyramid shape clearly identified its owner.

"Arashi-san!" Karen cried out involuntarily. She stared helplessly at the kekkai, wanting to help her comrade but unable to do anything. She couldn't leave Subaru by himself in this state; besides, she was in no condition to fight herself. If she went to help Arashi, she  
would only get in the way and cause more trouble for her. It seemed that she wouldn't be able to do anything for the time being. At least, she reassured herself, the girl had Sorata with her. She would probably be safe.

Karen turned away from the kekkai and focused her attention on Subaru once again. The best thing to do, she reflected, would be to take him to her apartment. At least she had some first aid supplies there. But how could she do it? Even without injuries, carrying a full-grown man would be difficult for her. Her strength was inner and magical, not physical. Not knowing what else to do, Karen leaned down and tucked the large trench coat further around Subaru's body so he would be protected from the drafty air. Perhaps one of the other Seals would arrive to help them…

Lifting a full-grown man would be a difficult task for any woman, and Yuurei saw Karen was going to have some trouble in this situation. But he was not about to stick around and wait for her to recover on the off chance that she might attack again. She did seem quite a bit...testy.

Retreating back into the dark corner, he summoned the shadows around him until he was barely visible except for the glint of his one unbandaged crimson eye. Karen was preoccupied with the revelation that Arashi's kekkai had been put up around the hospital, so Yuurei prayed she would not notice his stealthy disappearance into the darkness...

In the shade of a nearby oak, Yuurei recomposed himself out of the immaterial shadows outside the shrine. Before he could go on his way to watch the next events unfold, he knew his conscience would not let him go until he had found some way to help Karen and Subaru. Both were substantially injured; both needed treatment immediately.

His eyes fell on the burly figure of a man in a light brown leather jacket. A familiar face. Shiyuu Kusanagi, a Dragon of Earth, but an amiable young man nonetheless. But could Yuurei risk approaching another variable in the End of the World after his long night of defying Fate? At last he decided he did not have a better alternative.

It must have looked inexorably strange to the young military man, to see an ominous figure cloaked in black and crimson looming toward him in the watery sunlight of mid-morning. But Yuurei had no time to explain himself now. He knew Kusanagi would help, if he could just get out his reasons before the muscular man could get away or worse...attack.

He met Kusanagi's gaze. "Shiyuu-san," he greeted him curtly, "you don't know me, but I need your help." He indicated to the Togakushi Shrine standing behind him. "There are two injured people inside that temple who need help. I would be most appreciative if you could treat their wounds. As you can probably see, the hospital is not exactly the best place to go at the moment." Undoubtedly Kusanagi could see the kekkai as well as he, and would therefore know the danger.

Yuurei did not want to wait around to hear the reply. Vaulting up to the high branches of the oak, he began to take his leave, abandoning Kusanagi with the abrupt plea to help two wounded warriors on the opposite side of the coin...

* * *

He wasn't sure why he was there, but perhaps Kamui felt that he owed it to these people to check up on them.

Landing on top of the roof a few feet away from the others, he glanced around, looking for the reason behind why the kekkai was up. There didn't seem to be anyone else but the four of them on the roof.

But judging from the scattered debris and their wounds, the battle had already ended. "I...I guess you didn't need my help after all," Kamui said. He wanted to ask them how they were, if they were injured or needed any other help. But the memories from last night argument filled his mind.

Kamui wasn't really the kind of person to apologize for anything. Besides, there was no telling weather or not they were still angry with him. Any attempt to make amends would be pointless at the moment.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Kamui turned back around and began to walk towards the edge of the building, preparing to leave them once again.

* * *

For a moment, Kanoe did what she did best and just watched. The young girl was obviously shocked although a more accurate description would be "traumatized". The expression on her beautiful, young face was empty, frighteningly hollow. Kanoe gazed at it thoughtfully.

She was like glass. About to break.

And so she did, pushing open the door of the church and collapsing onto the ground in a pitiful heap. After a second's pause, Kanoe followed her in.

"...Kotori-chan?" Approaching the fallen figure, the dream seer let the name slip out her mouth with just the right amount of surprise and concern, "What are you doing here?"

"You must be freezing!" Without waiting for a response, Kanoe kneeled and gathered the girl and all her tattered clothing into her arms. It was almost an motherly embrace and Kanoe almost felt the stirrings of pity in her otherwise calculating heart. Almost.

"Are you alright, Kotori-chan? I haven't seen you in the longest time but something horrible seems to have happened," Kanoe murmured softly, letting her fingers gently stroke the girl's golden hair, "Tell me what happened to you..."

* * *

Seiichirou was in pain. 

And darkness.

He tried to move but his body didn't seem to respond. Still, it felt like he was moving. The wind brushed by him reassuringly. His thoughts were rather jumbled. Memories of the previous battle were shady in his mind, blurred. But the scent of blood hung heavy in the air around his nose; he had a feeling that his clothes were probably a nice shade of crimson red by now.

But all of these things were secondary to the fact that his body was on fire with pain. The wind caster winced and groaned at the jolts. Somebody seemed to be carrying him.

"...Kasumi-san?" he struggled to talk and the words came out a faint whisper.

A feeling of shame washed over him as he dimly recalled the last battle. He had been caught off guard and hadn't been much help. The Dragons of Earth had walked all over him. With effort and almost wishing that it wouldn't be the red-haired Seal, he opened his eyes.

The sight wasn't a pleasant one. From his spot on Yuuto's steady shoulder, Seiichirou grew nauseous from dread, and then fury.

"YOU!!!" he exclaimed, bordering between anger and surprise, "What are you doing? Put me down at once!!"

* * *

It was quite a startle for Kusanagi when the cloaked man leapt out in front of him. Taking a defensive stance, Kusanagi prepared himself should the stranger decided to confront him. 

It was a relief to see that he wasn't hostile, but it became slightly confusing when he began to speak, asking him for assistance. Everything soon became clear when the stranger pointed out the shrine and the Kekkai covering the area. Had something happened?

Kusanagi didn't wait much longer before heading towards the shrine, leaving behind the cloaked man. The day was getting interesting to say the least. First he met the one known as Kamui and now this. "Should have expected this when I came to Tokyo..." he said to himself.

Bursting through the shrine doors, Kusanagi found himself staring at an exotically dressed woman and a young man. They were injured, just as the stranger had told him, but there was no telling for now how serious their wounds were.

"Miss?" Kusanagi asked. "Are you ok? Do you need some assistance? What about the kid over there? Does he need a doctor?"


	33. Chapter 31: To Confront an Angel

**Chapter Thirty-One: To Confront an Angel**

Fuuma smiled finishing his Ice Cream cone with one bite. He took a pause to chew and swallow. "So how do I acquire this...DreamSeer."

An evil smirk turned the corners of her lips up and leaping up into a nearby building she laughed and beckoned him. "Follow me.."

Fuuma sighed, nodding. He took one last look at the animals.

Mayouko shook her head and called down, "Are you coming or what?"

Fuuma nodded an followed. "Where to?"

Mayouko smirked, "The Four Seasons Hotel," she said softly and then leaving Fuuma to follow began to bound away.

Fuuma followed casually. _A hotel...hmm I suppose this servant of his was well off.  
_

The trek there was silent and as the building came into sight, Mayouko halted for a moment and regarded the hotel quietly. It seemed so peaceful.. guests going to and fro within.. And yet in a matter of weeks it might be gone.. at this she smirked and turning to Fuuma pointed at a window on the fourth floor whose blinds were open. "It's that one."

"Hmm..." Fuuma leapt upwards, landing on the window ledge with a soft thud. He looked into the window.

Mayouko waited on roof of the adjacent building. "He's comatose, Kamui-kun." her voice on the brink of laughter, "You can break the window and no one would come running.."

Fuuma looked back toward her. "Why are you laughing?"

Mayouko shrugged. "Because I am...why do you have a problem with it?"

"It's as if you are hiding something." Fuuma looked through the window, trying to see what was inside.

Mayouko snorted and said, "Why would I hide anything from you? Just break down the window will you?"

Fuuma sighed and kicked in the window.

Mayouko grinned. "Good boy." she whispered under her breath.  
Fuuma jumped inside, eyeing the surroundings.

Mayouko followed close behind and pointed to the bed with the huge plastic hangings. "Go and say hello." she smirked.

Fuuma moved toward the bed, eyeing it suspiciously. "What kind of joke is this?"

Mayouko frowned. "Didn't you hear me a few seconds ago.. He's comatose.. He lives only in his dreams now. But enter the space surrounded by the curtain and you will enter his dream then what you do to him is your choice."

Fuuma nods and lifts the curtain. "Might as well have a look."

Mayouko smirked and gliding over to a nearby chair settled herself to wait and watch.

As soon as Fuuma lifted the curtain he was transported to another world. The dream world...Kakyou's dream...

A man in a white trench coat was seated on a globe, his arms crossed over his lithe chest, his blond hair swept back behind his ears. As Fuuma entered, Kakyou looked up, golden eyes showing no emotion.

"So you have come for me I suppose?"

"You're correct..." Fuuma eyed his surroundings. "Someone told me you were one of those who will help fulfill my cause."

Kakyou watched as Fuuma took in his surroundings, he titled his head and then straightened it again. "Maybe.. maybe not.."

"You are a Variable I take it?" Fuuma smiled amusedly at the man...He had never seen someone who knew all yet was so weak to the world.

Kakyou narrowed his golden eyes as a memory struck him. Yuurei.. a bandage over one eye...and the word Gemini... He forced himself to still regard the Kamui out of emotionless eyes as he said. "Yes."

"...So the girl lied to me..." Fuuma's smile only grew, he could feel the man's anger deep within him. "She said you were mine and that I should come claim you."

Kakyou was bother by this comment but continued to stare almost blankly at Fuuma. "What girl?" he asked, avoiding having to answer the second part of that question.

Fuuma eyed the dream-gazer with a friendly grin. "The watcher's sister supposedly." He eyed his surroundings, plotting his next move.  
Kakyou blinked but that was the only reaction he managed. So Yuurei had a sister.. and one who seemed to have a grudge against him for some reason... "I see."

Fuuma began to step toward the man. "It would seem...and now."

Kakyou remained seated on his globe, arms still crossed over his chest. His golden eyes watched Fuuma's every step, hinting nothing.. just observing. "Now what?"

"You will join your chosen destiny...You see I know you control this world...In fact it's very apparent I'm at a slight disadvantage but you must understand your world is a shadow of the real one..." Fuuma's hand suddenly shot forward, causing him to grin darkly. "And I'm the master of my own shadow."

As Fuuma's hand shot forward a barrier of crystals suddenly blocked his way as Kakyou dropped off his globe and stood among them. He said nothing but his golden eyes now held a hint of anger..

Fuuma smiled as he began to search Kakyou's mind for the right memory...gaining access to all eternity...Fuuma knew that he must've seen the event he was going to use against Kakyou. "Your anger is all I need."

Kakyou still remained stonily silent. He was not stupid and could feel his mind being probed but the one memory that he was sure Fuuma would want was locked up tight... "Perhaps I am angry but will that make a difference?"

Fuuma smiled and suddenly Kakyou felt his neck squeezed by invisible hands...as if the real world was attacking him. "You see...by blocking my attempt to bring out your deepest regret...I found time to find a nice little hole in this dream...I'm half awake now, Kakyou."

Kakyou refused to look Fuuma in the eye, as the air to his lungs was slowly cut off. His golden eyes were focused on something in the distance. He tried to speak but no sound came out...

"You have a choice...either you join me or I'll put your friend into the same position you're in...only he'll be in a lot more pain." Fuuma didn't weaken hold on Kakyou. "You can see his fate has already been foretold...yet yours has also...why go against something you can't control?"

Kakyou shook his head violently, golden eyes widening at the Twin Star's threat and through Fuuma's tight hold two words came out.. "Not him..."

"Oh yes...Him...That man has annoyed me far to much to escape what fate he will receive next time he interferes...Yet if you swear your allegiance to me, I won't hunt him and I'll give me a death with less pain than going against me will cause him..." Fuuma's smile only widened, becoming all the more deranged. "You must also show me the other side's dream seer so I may deal with her."

Kakyou closed his eyes and nodded.

"Now surrender your mind to mine...Lose all will to fight me and I shall fulfill your wish." He stared at the Dream-seer's face, amused at this man's will and how he tried to fight back against Kamui.

"You can't fulfill my wish.." he wheezed out. Golden eyes fogged over in pain, his brow now covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

"Oh? " Fuuma loosened his grip slightly, not wanting to kill the man just yet.

Kakyou sucked in as much air as Fuuma's loosened fingers would allow. "The one thing I want is what you will destroy if given the chance."

Fuuma chuckled and shook his head. "Even if I didn't kill him, he would die because it is his destiny."

Kakyou remained stonily silent as Fuuma's comment, refusing to answer. Though he was the Kamui he knew nothing of the future to come.

"Are you resisting?" Fuuma smiled darkly, letting the man go. "I suppose I should punish you for breaking our deal."

Kakyou stared at Fuuma through blank eyes. _ I only swore allegiance to you... _

"Let me rephrase that...Your soul must be sworn to me...or I will kill the watcher." Fuuma's smile faded, he was generally pissed now. The nerve of this clarvioant.

At that threat Kakyou's green eyes widened. That was the one thing he didn't want to happen.. He closed his eyes and stopped the tears with some success. If this is what he had to do to keep Yuurei alive then so be it. Opening his eyes again, he looked up at Fuuma. _ If you swear to me that you will not kill him then I will say yes.. _

Fuuma smiled. "As long as he doesn't interfere, you have my word."

And that was the one thing Kakyou knew Yuurei would do. He had given up on destiny and hence that meant he would interfere. And Why would Fuuma have any reason to keep that promise. The green eyes remained black. _ You are the Kamui how can I trust your word?  
_

"I am the Kamui how can you not? Your friend mustn't interfere with the wheels of destiny...if he does, yes I will kill him but if he doesn't I will keep my promise..." Fuuma stood looming over the man's bed. "It will be his fate to die if he interferes...if I don't wield the blade then the other Dragon will..."

Kakyou shook his head weakly, he already knew that Yuurei would interfere. The Watcher already had, but Kakyou could not let Fuuma know this. _ For the reason that you are the Kamui that I cannot trust your promise.. _ The dream-seer gazed into Fuuma's eyes and shivered at the things he saw. _ I do not know what I can do anymore..  
_

"You are Useless to me then...Your friend will die then...but to prove Destiny's hand...I won't be the blade to do it." He smiled bitterly. "Kamui will...After all he is I and I am him."

Kakyou felt tears threatening to spill over his pale cheeks. He knew of course that it would end like that. He had known it for a long time and yet he wished with all his heart that Yuurei would be spared. Kakyou's mind was in knots knowing he had to follow his destiny yet not wanting it to be so..

Fuuma smiled darkly. "So THAT is your wish?"

Kakyou looked away and said nothing.

Fuuma advanced on him, leaning in close. "To truly throw a wrench in Destiny's wheels...yet you of all people must realize when I grant this.. there will be great consequences."

The tears spilled down his face now. _ Yes.. it would be to give myself over to you... _ His telepathic voice trailed off to a whisper.

"No...That is not required per say...It is my job to grant wishes as payment for the loss of the world...No I mean...If your love is not to meet his death by Kamui's hand, it will still claim his life."

"As the wrench breaks, a piece will embed itself as vengeance for going against Destiny's will."

Kakyou nodded sadly. _ I know.. but the least I can do is at least give him a less painful death...  
_

Fuuma nodded slowly, kissing away his tears. "Your wish has been granted." He smiled brightly and turned, leaving that man's bed side.

Kakyou started as Fuuma bent down and kissed away his tears. He lifted a hand off the bed. _ Don't you want me to spin dreams for you now..? _

"**MY** job is to grant wishes...You may come if you wish." Fuuma continued to walk away.

Mayouko chuckled as Fuuma came back out of the curtain. Standing she walked over to the bed and looked down at the dream-seer and spat out. "So you got what you wanted. Perhaps I should just leave you here then."

Fuuma smirked. "Where he can just watch the Future with no real chance to control it...the Sidelines are such a boring place..."

Mayouko grinned back at Fuuma. "Yes I agree.." She ran her finger along Kakyou's tear-line and the dream-seer shivered. "I've been there myself.. not fun at all." Kakyou turned his head away from them as the tears continued to fall..

"This is your last chance...I have given you what you wasn't without a price...You may follow or I shall take my leave."

Mayouko laughed again and whispered to Kakyou, "Yes why don't you get up..."

Kakyou squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. _ You know I can't.. _

"Lets go Mayouko..." Fuuma looked out the window.

Mayouko sighed and looked down at the dream-seer. "Fine for once in your life I'll help you but don't expect anything else." Shifting Kakyou, she slid her arms under him and bodily picked him up. Wires snapped as she stepped away from the bed and Kakyou winced. Mayouko noted that he was rather light for a man as she headed back toward the window with her arms full. "He's weak Kamui-kun. " she snickered. "He can't walk on his own yet.."

"Where do we bring him?"

Mayouko frowned. "I would have said the government building but I believe that right now it's a pile of rubble. Perhaps my apartment?"

Fuuma nodded with a grin. "Now..." Fuuma suddenly caught sight of a Kekkai. "I'll meet you there...I simply must check what's going on that the Hospital." Fuuma smiled darkly.

Mayouko inclined her head. "Of course."

"Where is your apartment?" Fuuma cocked his head to the side.

Mayouko grinned. "Ahh.. the is an important detail I suppose. 234 Evanescence Way. Lower Toyko."

Fuuma grinned and nodded. "See ya there.." He leapt out the window toward the Hospital.

* * *

Satsuki breathed a sigh of relief as Okita roared away on his motorbike. She could finally stop this ridiculous charade. As soon as the young man had left, Satsuki immediately turned to Yuuto, a deadly gleam in her eyes. 

Before start her verbal barrage, however, Yuuto said abruptly to her, _"Well, it looks like we're off to work again." _He lifted up the fallen Seal and flung the unconscious man over his shoulder. _"Let's get going!"_ he called to her as he leapt off towards the hospital – in the same direction that Okita had gone.

Satsuki groaned to herself and cursed lightly. The hospital was the last place she wanted to be, especially if that musician was there. Nevertheless, she still had a duty to perform as a Dragon of Earth. Most likely she would have to help out whichever Angel was fighting the Seal or Seals; the kekkai did not seem to be weakening in any way. Without further ado, Satsuki jumped to the top of the building and leapt off after her blonde companion.

She caught up with her fellow Angel in a matter of seconds as they made their way to the hospital. "What are you going to do with that Seal?" she asked Yuuto, mildly curious. "Are you taking him to the hospital?"

Before he could respond to her question however, the conversation was interrupted by another voice. _"You! What are you doing? Put me down at once!!!"_

Satsuki looked sharply in the direction of the voice. The bespectacled Seal had regained consciousness; he was beginning to stir as he lay draped over Yuuto's shoulder.

"Oh, he's awake," Satsuki remarked disinterestedly to Yuuto as she observed the brown-suited man. "I suppose we'll have to postpone our visit to the hospital, then?"

"I wouldn't move if I were you," the girl addressed the Seal. "You're both outnumbered and severely injured. I could easily eliminate you right now. It would make things much easier for us during the Final Battle."

* * *

The pain was getting unbearable. He knew he would not be able to hold on much longer. His arm was growing numb, and he could feel--if not hear--the muscles ripping in his joints. He glanced down. Still did not have the power to drop and live. And yet...such a pathetic end disgusted him to the point of further nausea.

Fuuma stood a little higher than Seishirou, across the street to be exactly. He smiled in a friendly manner as bright as the white attire he wore. The sun was shining in back of him. "Yo..."

Seishirou recognized the voice and strained his sore neck muscles to look around. Fuuma stood there at the top of the neighboring building, smiling as though nothing out of the usual was taking place. Seishirou let out a muffled sound somewhere between a grunt and a smirk. "A little help would be appreciated..."

Fuuma leapt toward the man, snatching him as he passed and sailing toward the ground. He leapt between the buildings to slow the decent until they touched down softly. Amazingly the white attire remained unstained.

Seishirou winced as Fuuma swept him lightly from the pole. As they touched ground and safely, he would have collapsed, had the Twin Star not provided a strong shoulder to lean on. Not one to often express gratitude, Seishirou glanced at the man out of the corner of his sight. "I owe you," he said simply.

"No...We're friends remember?" Fuuma smiled and set him on the ground gently.

Gingerly Seishirou tried to move his shoulder. Pain shot through its dislocated tendons, and he winced and stopped in his motions. "Aa...sou desu ne..." Truthfully he could not concentrate on Fuuma's words; more than anything he needed to get his arm back into its proper socket. But in his current state he could manage no more than a mild attempt. And even than made him sick.

Fuuma popped the arm back into it's socket quickly. He kneeled down beside the man, staring at the wounds. "Kamui did this?"

Eyes going wide in the instant Fuuma readjusted his arm, Seishirou quickly recovered and breathed a deep breath, shaking his head slowly. "Iie...as much as I wish it were that simple, it was a mere boy. One of the Seals, no doubt. But...I believe he is closer to falling into darkness than he realizes. He could not have beaten me had his soul been pure. Anger drove him to this."

"Hmm...is it someone I've seen?" Fuuma eyed him with much interest. A seal on the verge of turning...this was most interesting indeed.

Seishirou shrugged. "A southern boy, obviously. His accent was strong. Kouya, I believe. Easily identified."

"That boy?!" Fuuma was pleasantly surprised...the boy who had seemed so noble, so heroic to the bane of the planet was on the verge of turning. This was amusing...more than Amusing...this was downright funny.

Suddenly his memory clicked back into function. "Ah, now I recall. You battled him shortly at the Togakushi Shrine, didn't you? Yes, he displayed at least thrice the power in the hospital as when he fought you. Intriguing..."

"Yes this is intriguing." He heard a motorcycle draw closer. He rose from his position and smiled as he saw the bike pull up. He stood with his hands in his pockets, waiting to see what this rider would do.

Okita stopped the bike near the two, eyeing the man standing in front of the hurt fellow. "what happened here?" He dismounted and removed his helmet, showing general concern.

Seishirou could do little more than watch as well as the driver approached, as he was still working on regaining his balance as well as his energy. At least the nausea had subsided, and since he only had one working eye, there was also the slight advantage of never seeing double.

Fuuma looked to Seishirou and then the boy...such a pretty looking boy. He reminded Fuuma of his other half, matching that boyish charm almost flawlessly...yet this boy was not Kamui and had to be dealt with. "Nothing happened...You should move along."

Okita's eyes narrowed. "You think I can't see that lightshow in back of you?! What happened to my mom?!" He set down his helmet softly, ready to fight this man if needed.

Seishirou smirked, stepping forward with controlled movements. "If you do know anything about that 'lightshow,' you'll also know you're mother is fine, as well as everyone else in that building. Well...for the most part." A sly simper crossed his lips, but was abruptly cut short as he suddenly curled over himself to cough up a splatter of blood.

Okita eyes narrowed at the man's remark. "You bastard!! You better not have done anything!" He took a swing at the man, ready to use his powers to give him the slight advantage.

Fuuma caught the fist and applied pressure. "I see...so you are able to see the barriers..." He smiled darkly as he raised his hand, ready to stab Okita through the heart...then he saw that look in the boy's eyes.

Seishirou started an attempt to duck the blow, but was grateful when Fuuma caught it and saved him the effort. The surprise that the boy could see the kekkai almost slipped past him. Perhaps he was delusional. Placing a firm hand on the Twin Star's shoulder, he shook his head. "Heh...I already said your mother is fine. Go, see for yourself."

Okita looked past them and saw the ghostly image of his mother though the barrier's light...as if she was on a different plane of existence than the rest of the group. He looked Fuuma's expression oddly, noticing the hand. He simply smiled. "You planned to kill me? Don't steal things I'll give away on the spot if I have to..." Okita snatched his hand away and bowed. "Sorry to bug you guys...Just was a little worried is all."

Okita bowed once more and left by entering the hospital.

Seishirou watched him disappear straight through the dissipating barrier. For some reason, he almost disdained the thought of killing the boy, though he was not quite sure why. Nevertheless, he turned to Fuuma with an emotionless shrug. "I'm sure we'll be seeing more of him."

Fuuma watched the boy leave. He nodded slowly, a smile coming to his lips. "Yes...I shall seek him out..."

* * *

The sudden squirming in his arms told him what Satsuki said out loud a moment later. Their captive was awake. 

_"You! Put me down this instant!"_

And that might have actually happened, he started struggling so abruptly, and Yuuto nearly dropped the man down the twenty-plus stories to the ground far below. But quickly regaining his reflexes and semblance of balance, he restrained the Seal over his shoulder. The usually placid businessman was far too weak from battle to break away.

"I don't think you'd enjoy the trip down," Yuuto replied finally, smirking as he glanced down between his leaps across the rooftops. "Besides, whatever's going on at the hospital, it might call for a hostage situation. And that, my friend, would be you." Patting the livid Dragon of Heaven on the back in a mock gesture of friendliness, Yuuto smiled dauntingly and continued to make his way toward the building.

And then, as quickly as it had been summoned, the kekkai retreated into nothingness. However, it was not the sort of muddy dispersion that might indicate the summoner was dead or injured; the shield refolded and retracted, called back by its master. The Dragons of Heaven had won this battle, by the looks of it.

Halting gracefully at the top of the neighboring building, Yuuto gazed down to the base and saw the two familiar figures of Sakurazuka and Kamui's Gemini. What Fuuma had done to Satsuki only hours before had not escaped his mind, but he had to make sure everything was in its proper order. And the Sakurazukamori appeared to be injured. Yuuto's instincts must have been correct.

Elegantly he descended in an effortless vault from the building, landing poised on his feet like a nimble feline, and looking more than half the part as well. With a sly smile, he approached Fuuma and Seishirou, throwing Aoki brutally at the Twin Star's feet.

Seishirou glanced up at him with a smirk in his cold eye. "Well, well, look what the cat dragged in."

Yuuto shrugged with an air of arrogant indifference. "I wouldn't say he exactly followed me home, but we may have some use for a captive yet." He tossed his gaze to Fuuma. "Or...he could provide some adequate entertainment before his miserable existence becomes obsolete. I'll leave that to you to decide..."

Fuuma looked to the blonde man and his captive. His concentration on the J-rocker was broken...turning to give this newcomer a smile. He looked completely innocent, as if he wasn't as great as these people told him he was. "Ah yes, thank you...I didn't actually get your name.." He smiled toward the captive. "Nor yours...My my, today isn't your day seal...Yet I suppose many days aren't" His mind finally came back to Seishirou, smirking. "Oh Seishirou..." He started to concentrate on Seishirou's wounds...many of them closing as a short time passed. His eyes opened as the work was finished. "You're welcome, my friend."

Fuuma finally caught sight of the girl he had injured...that rude little beauty he shook up not even a day ago. "We meet again...You took off before I could apologize for my actions. I've been brought up in a very satiric household and it was wrong of me to lash out at you so...Please I ask with my deepest regret. I was very wrong to hurt someone so beautiful" He smiled very politely at the girl, waiting for her reaction. Flirtation was the art to trust...trust leads to less double crosses...less double crosses leads to victory.

Instantly Seishirou felt his strength and energy returning. Straightening himself and coming up to stand beside Fuuma, he nodded gratefully to the Twin Star. "Domo arigatou gozaimasu," he said respectfully, then turned back to Yuuto with a smirk. The Seal at Fuuma's feet had certainly gotten a taste of the water caster's dark side; he could hardly move at all.

Yuuto grinned and extended his hand in a mostly friendly gesture toward the Gemini. "Kigai Yuuto," he answered without hesitation, then glanced down at the fallen Dragon of Heaven. "And as for this one...I'd like to know his name as well."

* * *

His words ignored, Seishirou struggled hopelessly. 

_"I wouldn't move if I were you. You're both outnumbered and injured. I could easily eliminate you."_

The wind caster's shoulders slumped visibly. As much as he didn't want to admit it, the Dragon of Earth had a point. There was a frighteningly cold confidence in her voice that made it clear she wasn't bluffing.

Abruptly, Seishirou felt himself cast onto the ground. He glared angrily at the blonde man, who merely grinned, before focusing his attention on the figure before him.

His eyes widened and the sickening dread in his stomach intensified a thousand times over.

The Twin Star was smirking at him. _"I didn't actually get your name..."_

Seishirou gulped silently and then tried to keep calm in the situation. He was surrounded. As conversation went on between the Dragons of Earth, he looked out of the corner of his eye for the nearest escape route. But how far could he go? He was in no condition to make any daring leaps or to even run.

_"I'd like to know this one's name as well," _the man called Yuuto Kigai said.

Seiichirou felt whatever little hope he had left die as attention was redirected back to him. He glared at Yuuto. He didn't recall ever despising a single person this much. It was rather surprising actually. He had always considered himself a generally nice guy.

"Before this is over..." Seiichirou muttered to himself loud enough for Yuuto to hear. He left the threat hanging thinly in mid-air. Then, getting to his feet, the wind master forced himself to stare bravely back at the amused expressions that faced him from all directions.

"My name is Aoki Seiichirou," he offered after a moment's silence, "Forgive me if I seem hostile but considering the circumstances and what you represent, I can't say it's a pleasure to meet you all."

* * *

Kotori was picked up from her place in the street. She lashed out for a few moment, thinking that it might be her brother, and she screamed a bit, trying to break free.

But, a soothing voice followed, and the embrace that took her was motherly.

_"You must be freezing!" _

Cold? Kotori could feel nothing, much less the cold that Kanoe spoke of. This lady...she'd earlier been a bit odd to Kotori when they first met, with...Kamui...That was when she'd gotten stuck in the stupid falling building.

_"What are you doing here? Tell me what happened to you..." _

As Kanoe stroked her hair, Kotori flinched. She didn't talk though. She thought about her words for awhile. "This is a place for humans, humans stay here, like Kamui, and his friends. Kotori used to be human, too, but...She doesn't know why she's here..."

Kanoe paused. The girl was obviously confused. But that could be an advantage.

"I know why you're here," the dream watcher spoke, shattering the silence. She lifted Kotori's face up so that they were face-to-face. Her black eyes glittered with cold, hard truth, "It's destiny."

And then there was a sudden sadness that threatened to overwhelm her from within. Kanoe swallowed, her own words choking her with their bitterness. She let her fingers slip away from Kotori's young, innocent face. Kotori resembled Hinoto in some ways.

Almost mournfully, the dream watcher told the young girl, "We're the same, you and I. Unable to save those we love, destined to watch them fail. What a fate, eh?"

And as she gazed at Kotori's sweet, bewildered face, Kanoe didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

* * *

Fuuma's suddenly narrowed as his hand shot out and seized the wind caster's neck. He glared at the man with his icy eyes. "Now now...You dare act so rudely when we have spared your life this long? I mean come on Seiichirou-san...You really believe me to be some sort of blind tyrant who will just let you insult him so he can laugh and carry out his stereotypical little plans while laughing evilly into the night? No!"

He strengthened his hold on the man's neck, smiling darkly. "I demand the respect you show my brother in destiny. I demand to be seen as the same visionary you see him as...or would you rather have those close to you die?"

Fuuma's smile widened once more. "If you stop acting like a uneducated child then we can be civil for the short time we have together...but I must ask for something in order to make this great insult up to the group...You...must...treat us to snacks!"

The wind blew comically past Fuuma as he finished Aoki's sentance.

* * *

After she had taken her kekkai down, Arashi glanced towards Yuzuriha. "Sorata- we need to be getting back into the hospital." She said, her voice low. Things had been hellish, and after Kamui's abrupt entrance and exit... she wasn't sure what to do.

In all actuality she wanted to leave this wretched place, however Yuzuriha was in no shape to leave, and she didn't want to leave the poor girl here by herself. And Sorata... He was bad off as well. She walked towards Yuzuriha, "Come on, Yuzuriha-chan, let's get back to your room." She murmured, glancing back at Sorata.


	34. Chapter 32: For the Fate of the World

**Chapter Thirty-Two: For the Fate of the World**

_"Before this is all over..."_

Yuuto raised a cocky eyebrow at this stealthy comment. Seiichirou Aoki--as he was called--had struck him as a nice business-like sort of man, but the resentment in his eyes and voice was deadly.

Seishirou smirked at Fuuma's reaction to Seiichirou's rude retort. "Whatever family you have," he added, "You can be certain they'll see their last day soon if you don't comply."

Suddenly Yuuto's glance left the prisoner and drifted to the roof of the hospital. The life forces there were weak but sure. And had not Arisugawa Sorata been admitted to the hospital shortly before? Turning back to Fuuma, he said briefly, "I think I'll check up on an old friend who seems to be faltering. I'll learn what I can and return to you shortly. And save me a few snacks, would you?" Throwing a quick wink, he turned his back and leaped up to the top of the building, keeping in the shadows where Sorata, Arashi, and Yuzuriha could not see him...

Satsuki stiffened slightly at Fuuma's advances. She resisted the urge to point out that it had been **he** who had taken off, and not her. She was painfully aware of the cuts and bruises on her body that were still present from their last encounter only hours ago. But it wouldn't do for her to be rude to the Kamui.

She was about to respond to his comments when the battered Seal lying on the floor pushed himself off the ground and stood up, glaring at all of them as he introduced himself and insulted them at the same time. Not surprisingly, Fuuma struck out, and the Seal found himself gasping for breath in the Kamui's deadly grip.

The girl listened to Fuuma's speech with some interest. She nodded approval to herself at his choice of intimidation. Very intelligent, to threaten Seiichirou Aoki with his loved ones. BEAST had informed Satsuki previously of his wife and daughter, and she knew that they were the two most important people to him in the world. The Seal would do almost anything to protect them. Which, of course, was a great advantage for their side.

She was, however, taken aback by Fuuma's closing sentence. _"You...must...treat us to snacks!"  
_  
Satsuki blinked. And blinked again. And sweat dropped.

Well, she supposed it was logical, the girl attempted to reason to herself. The Kamui, no matter how powerful and dangerous he was, was still a high school student. And high school students did naturally have a passion for snacks. She herself, just in her first year of college, was still fond of cakes and pastries. But still...

She supposed that now would be a good time for her to break the awkward pause. "There are several cafes in this area we could go to," she added helpfully to the rapidly disintegrating conversation. She paused again, not knowing what else to say.

Satsuki watched as Yuuto leaped away to the top of the hospital, leaving her alone with her two fellow Angels that made her most uncomfortable. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Well, she supposed it would be as good a time as ever for her to make amends with Fuuma. "I accept your apology," she quietly addressed her leader. She stared down at the floor, finding it difficult to look Fuuma in the eye. Suppressing her pride, Satsuki finally brought herself to make an apology. "And... I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation with Sakurazuka-san earlier. It was my fault," she said, as humbly as possible for the proud technological genius. "I apologize... Kamui-san."

* * *

Karen looked up sharply from her place on the floor at the sound of the new voice. An instant later, she regretted it as her head was immediately hit with a splitting headache. She put a hand to her forehead as she wearily observed the newcomer. He was a young man who appeared to be in his early twenties. There was something distinctly odd about this man, a strange aura… she brushed aside the thought. If he was an enemy, there was nothing she could do about it now. Besides, he certainly seemed far from an enemy, and his help would be much appreciated.

The red-haired woman nodded gratefully at the man's question. "Yes… my friend needs medical attention right away, he's been falling in and out of consciousness," Karen said, worry creasing her brow. She then looked grimly at her own wounds and tattered clothing. "I suppose I could use some help myself, too," she added as an afterthought. "I would really appreciate it if you could help us get to a hospital, or find some medical attention."

* * *

Fuuma still held onto the nerdy man, handing him to Seishirou as the currency currently for the Angels. He smiled at Satsuki's words, turning his attention to her as she spoke. 

"...I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation with Sakurazuka-san earlier. It was my ..." Fuuma silenced her with a gentle touch of his finger to her lips, smiling softly as he gently "shh'ed her. He stared her with eyes that almost seemed kind and beautiful rather than the cold harsh ones he usually wore.

"I'm sorry but it is my time to apologize, you don't need to." He shook his head slowly. "But I appreciate your concern but please understand. We are mere pawns in the eyes of Destiny...Even I am to a extent...It was foolish of me to alienate someone who dreams as I  
dream...So it would be my honor ...oh wait, Mr. Seiichi's honor…to treat you and the rest of our group to those cafes you spoke of. After all when our dream comes true we will never experience such things again. So lets enjoy Humanity's pleasures before their gone along with their horrors."

He smiled calmly at Satsuki, taking a look to Yuuto as he left. He sighed and waved. "Take care...Hurry before Satsuki, Seishirou and I eat your portion!" He laughed and looked to the others. "Shall we go while the day is young?"

Fuuma started to walk away, stopping dead in his tracks suddenly. He pressed his glasses to his face."...Oh and Satsuki...Call me Kamui- kun...you're to young to use such boring titles." He smiled once more, turned and started walking again. It was clear this boy was more than met the eye.

Courtesy of the Twin Star, Seiichirou abruptly found himself unable to breathe.

He struggled furiously, ignoring the pain caused by Fuuma's iron grip on his throat. His body was still considerably weak but his mind raged indignantly like a tornado at the threats of the Dark Kamui.

Well, they weren't all quite threats.

Pausing briefly, Seishirou wondered if he was dreaming. Had he died already and this was some kind of twisted version of hell? But then... what was the crime for which he was being so horribly punished?

_"Whatever family you have," _the Sakurazukamori said lightly from the side, _"You can be certain they'll see their last day soon if you don't comply."  
_  
At the mention of his family, Seiichirou grew suddenly cold. For a moment, he tried to convince himself that they were bluffing. They wouldn't stoop that low...would they?

Seiichirou stared at the faces around him, looking for any signs of compassion. But this was indeed a kind of hell. The light-hearted yet cruel smiles--in the case of the girl, an indifferent mask--that met him left him feeling even more hopeless. He clenched his fists in frustration.

There was nothing to do... except go along. The computer girl casually suggested a few cafes and the Twin Star happily agreed.

Seiichirou reached into his pocket to withdraw his wallet. Methodically counting the bills, he announced in a weary voice of compliance, "I've got the money. Anybody in the mood for tea and cake?"

As Fuuma briskly shoved the injured Seal into his grasp, Seishirou chuckled darkly as Aoki managed to remove his wallet while still being clutched tightly by the collar. He said nothing as the Twin Star conversed innocently with Satsuki, but on a whim of his own, Seishirou lifted his free hand to wipe away a streak of blood from Aoki's cheek, then stroked his hair gingerly into some order, since it had been ruffled from battle.

"You choose wisely," he said huskily as the Dragon of Heaven made his hasty offer. "I could stand a bit of omocha and mochi myself." With a glimmer of something devious in his unseeing eye, he moved his finger to brush against Aoki's lower lip, before shoving him back abruptly and turning his back on the group. Though he did not speak out loud, his gesture seemed to say, 'So what are we waiting for?'

* * *

Moving stealthily behind the radiator on the roof of the building, he watched carefully as the Ise priestess tried desperately to pull the three Seals together. They were substantially injured--which was obvious, or they would not have been at the hospital to begin with.

But it was the Kouya boy's face that caught Yuuto's attention. It was...dark. Not at all the buoyant spirit of life he had seen earlier when they had faced off for the first time. Was the Seal having doubts? Second thoughts? This was certainly something that needed to be looked into. So, back to the metal wall, Yuuto smirked and continued to observe...

* * *

After making sure Kusanagi had entered the Tokakushi Shrine to take care of Subaru and Karen, Yuurei leaped through the trees and sped toward the hospital. -Late, as usual,- his conscience nagged at him, but he ignored it as best he could.

Upon arriving at the scene, he positioned himself among the shadows, swathing them around him from the top of an adjacent building. The fighting had ceased. On the roof of the hospital, Sorata, Arashi, and Yuzuriha were recovering from whatever injuries the battle had dealt them. Far below, Fuuma and Seishirou had confronted Yuuto and Satsuki, with a hostage. Seiichirou Aoki.

Yuurei grimaced. Surely they would kill him. Well, if it had been solely up to Seishirou or Satsuki, they certainly would. But Fuuma had taken on his childish persona again, and appeared to be teasing the man. Perhaps he was in no immediate danger; even Yuurei, the Watcher himself, was unsure of the Twin Star's constantly altering demeanor. After all, this alter ego had only been awakened during the previous evening, so there had been very little time to observe his behavior.

A flash of black caught his eye against the morning sun. Turning his head to refocus his attention, he was surprised to see Kamui leaving the site of the battle. Had he been involved? Had there even been time for him to know what was going on? But he left all the same; he left his friends. It was inordinately strange. Perhaps his purpose was also faltering, with the sudden change in the person he had once called his best friend.

On an impromptu notion, Yuurei followed him, vaulting from building to building until he was just behind the young man who would determine the world's Destiny. The boy looked perplexed...confused...even lost.

"Kamui!" he called out in a deep, commanding voice. "Where do you think you're going? You have a duty to fulfill!" And though he knew he had no right to speak of duty after his headstrong actions in Kakyou's dreamscape, Kamui was far more important to the equation than Yuurei would ever be. Yuurei himself was not sure what he thought of the world's destruction as of yet, but now that the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth had chosen his path prematurely, this Kamui had to follow the opposing road, or there would be no chance for change...

* * *

Subaru slowly regained consciousness as his body began to mend itself, pulling muscle, tissue, and bone back together. He winced loudly before opening his blood-crusted eyes.

"K..Kasumi-san?" he attempted to wipe the crusty blood from his eyes, but his arm bent backwards. Oops. He didn't think his arm was supposed to bend that way.

Subaru winced in pain; he knew it would be awhile before he'd get anywhere near better, but now, he felt like a burden. Kasumi-san, a woman, a woman HE was supposed to be taking care of, was taking care of HIM.

He pulled himself to his feet, Yuurei's jacket still devouring Subaru's small figure and stumbled forward.

"All what I am is a burden to you...I keep...messing things up."

Subaru tried to wipe the blood from his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket.

"I don't deserve to be a Dragon of the Heaven."

He left, stumbling away, leaving a trail of bloodied footprints.

* * *

"W...what just...what...what was that?" Yuzuriha stuttered out. She shook in fear, unable to understand the events that unfolded before her seconds before.

Arashi patted Yuzuriha's shoulder, "I'll explain everything later, Yuzuriha-chan. For now let's get back in, it's safer there." She murmured.

She glanced about her, something feeling wrong... however she couldn't place it. She glanced at Sorata, "Come on." She muttered, helping Yuzuriha to her feet.

"Where...are we going?" Yuzuriha stumbled to her feet with Arashi's help. "Who are you guys? And how do you know me?"

Arashi gave a small sigh, "We're going back into the hospital so you can get a room again. And I'm Arashi- over there is Sorata." She said, keeping Yuzuriha steady. Idly she wondered if she ought to tell Yuzuriha of her fate as a Seal... Then she remembered.

Even if she didn't tell the girl, she would find out sooner or later. "I know you because we've fought together, against people like the man that just left us." She said waving her hand out. "But for now lets just get into the hospital. I will explain more there, alright?" Arashi forced a small smile for the girl.

* * *

"Hey! Hold it there fella!" called out Kusanagi.

The young man was in no condition to be walking around anywhere. Rushing over, he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry kid, but I don't you should be moving around," he told him. "You need some help."

Looking back at the woman he asked," Is there somewhere I can take you guys? The hospital doesn't seem like the best place to be a the moment, but you two need some medical attention fast."

Subaru winced as Kusanagi touched his shoulder. "I'm fully capable--" Subaru coughed a bit-- "of taking care of myself." He pushed Kusanagi's arm off of his wounded shoulder, and continued walking off.

"Sumeragi-san?! Where are you going?! Come back!!" Karen called after him frantically. "You're still injured! You shouldn't be moving around in your condition!!"

With great effort, she pushed herself up off the floor and started after the young man. However, she only made it a few steps forward before she felt her legs weakening, and she slumped to her knees back on the floor. The red-haired woman winced slightly at the pain. She herself was in no condition to be moving around, either.

She turned gratefully at the sound of the newcomer's voice, the man who had arrived apparently to find them help. His last statement puzzled her, though. "The hospital? What's wrong with the hospital right now?" Her eyes widened slightly with concern. The hospital... that wasn't where Arashi was right now, was it?

Recomposing herself, Karen firmly banished the thought from her mind. Arashi was strong and most capable of protecting herself; Karen was sure that the girl was alright. Besides, she reminded herself, there was nothing she could do to help her comrade in her present condition.

"If the hospital's not available, then any place with first aid will be fine," Karen said. "I have some first aid supplies at my apartment, but they're probably not enough to treat such serious injuries... especially his," Karen said as she shot a worried glance in Subaru's direction.

* * *

Sorata watch Kamui enter and leave the scene, sighing softly. He thought about all that happened and he managed to smile despite it, looking back to Arashi as she spoke. "Sure thing..."

Sorata froze as he heard Yuzu. Had she forgotten who she was because of her injuries? Was it Sorata's fault? A sense of dread filled him as he struggled to keep that smile as genuine as possible.

It was then another entered the scene...Sorata turned as he heard.

"Yuzuriha!...What are you doing with her?!" He found his eyes meeting the eyes of another...another almost his age.

Okita eyes met the Kouya boy's. Was he another one of those freaks involved with the Dragons? The purple hair began to blow lightly in the breeze...the dye's perfumery scent filling the air. "I don't know who you two are...but if you hurt her I'm going to make you pay." Okita's eyes chilled as he stood ready for the next move.

Arashi's eyes snapped to where Sorata was looking. So that had been the off feeling she'd been getting. She turned to face him, Yuzuriha behind her. She didn't whip out her sword or pull up a kekkai just yet. She watched him; awaiting his answer to Sorata's question.

* * *

_"Where I'm going... That is not your concern."_

Yuurei's gaze did not falter, and he locked his single unbandaged eye with Kamui's cold glower. "That's where you're wrong," he answered placidly, though his tone was far from friendly. "It's my job to know...my destiny to know. Everything you do is my concern."

_"So tell me...," _the boy chuckled. _"Do you intend to stop me?"_

At this the Watcher's brow shot upward, but he quickly recovered with a husky smirk. "I'm not one to be stopping you from anything. My purpose is merely to watch..." His gaze drifted lazily to the approaching noon sun, staring languidly toward the horizon, though he did not see anything of the physical world before him.

"However,"--he shook himself and reverted his attention to the Kamui of the Dragons of Heaven--"it seems I'm making an exception today by breaking the rules. I don't believe humans deserve the beautiful Earth they've been given, and they take advantage of it all too easily. But that is not my decision to make; ...it's yours. There are people who still need you--who still believe in you. So if you're planning to do something foolish, then yes, you'll have to go through me first."

"Foolish?" Questioned Kamui.

"What people think of my actions are of no concern to me. What these people do to the world are meaningless as well. I made my decision about the fate of this world."

Kamui's hand began to glow with energy as he aimed it towards Yuurei.

"I really don't like your tone of voice with me," he said glaring. "It sounded as if you were challenging me. And if it is your **destiny **to watch others, then you should know very well that I never back down from a fight..."

* * *

"Do all the young men have attitudes like that now a days?" he asked remembering his encounter with Kamui.

"Well, it really doesn't seem like he wants out help. Can't do much there, but you little missy need some medical attention quick."

Scooping Karen in his arms, Kusanagi grinned at her." Just point out the way and I'll get you there as quick as I can. I know some first aid so I'm sure I can help treat your wounds there. So don't worry much. Your safe with me."

* * *

Subaru continued walking; this was just further proof he made more trouble for Kasumi-san. She wasn't hurt when she first made her appearance in the temple. It was his fault that she was hurt.

Frustrated, he stumbled forward; he could take care of himself. He didn't need anyone else.

* * *

If Satsuki had been any other girl, she most certainly would have started blushing madly under Fuuma's intense gaze. As it was, she simply stared back at him, wearing a somewhat shocked expression. Could he… was it possible that the Kamui was actually **attracted **to her? Satsuki almost shook her head in disbelief. First that musician, and now the Kamui himself. It was flattering, to be sure, but also a bit unsettling.

In any case, Satsuki wasn't quite sure if she could bring herself to call the Twin Star "Kamui-kun." As proud as she was, she still had respect for authority, and Fuuma was definitely much more powerful than she was. She supposed that now the Kamui would start calling her "Satsuki-chan" or just plain "Satsuki." It wasn't that that bothered her, though; people called her "Satsuki-chan" all the time. Well then, she would just have to speak directly to Fuuma and avoid calling his name.

"Well… let's go then." The computer girl pushed her hands in the pockets of her jacket and started walking after Fuuma, not checking to see if Seishirou was still coming with them or not. "Come along, we don't have all day," she commented to the battered Seal as she passed by him, without bothering to look at him as she spoke. "And don't think you can get away now," she added. "You are still at our mercy. Besides--" she said wryly, in a rare instance of humor, "-- somebody needs to pay for tea."

* * *

Sorata stared intensely at the new comer...not drawing any conclusions until this man showed his true colors. He smiled finally and called out. "Hey we're the good guys here." He said comically trying to break the ice...Was this guy a Dragon of Earth? He was definitely something because Sorata sensing energy. He simply waited for the reply, keeping his guard up and his trademark smile.

Okita stared back at the duo, ready to make some kind of noise to blow their ears drums to pieces...He froze as he heard the man answer first...They were the good guys? They were hiding something..."Yuzu, you ok?"

Yuzuriha nodded numbly. "Oki...Okita-san...what are you doing? Why are we fighting Okita-san?"

* * *

As the young man held up a hand and prepared for an energy attack, speaking his cold words with a vehement determination, Yuurei frowned and lowered his chin. His gaze remained level, however, and fixed upon Kamui.

"I know you don't back down from any challenge; I know everything about you." With this, his lips curled into a slight simper of amusement. The boy was as arrogant as ever. In a fleet series of movements that would have been invisible to a lesser eye, Yuurei was at Kamui's back in an instant, whispering into his ear. "When your mother was burned alive in your own house, I was there. I even spoke with Toru once. And I watched you as you grew up during your six years away from Tokyo. You thought no one knew where you had gone, but it was my job to know. That is the nature of my destiny."

In the next instant, Yuurei seemed to vanish once again, stopping several paces behind Kamui, his back to the boy. "I have no need to fight you, as long as you accept your Fate." His voice was full of indifference and almost monotonous. "I suggest you hurry and find your beloved Kotori...before you lose her forever." And he would lose her...as Yuurei well knew. But if Kamui followed his path, at least it would not be yet...

* * *

Subaru's pace slowed as blood dripped from his body. He knew that his body was trying to heal, but moving around so much slowed, if not completely stopped the process. He didn't care, though.

A Mercedes skidded by, splashing him with water.

Subaru sighed loudly. Even the people he was in servitude to protect didn't even show compassion towards him. Why was he doing this, again?

I felt a slight stinging pain in his chest, and decided maybe it'd be best to stop. They wouldn't be able to find him now.

He took a seat on a bench meant for bus stops, clutching his chest as he found his eyes slightly wavering to stay open...

* * *

Karen smiled back at Kusanagi despite herself. "I wouldn't say all young men, you're pretty young yourself," she laughed lightly.

She paused and looked over at Subaru in worry, but the Onmyouji had already stumbled away. "I do hope he's alright," the red-haired woman murmured softly. She wasn't sure of the wisdom of leaving Subaru by himself, but without his cooperation there seemed to be no other option. But then again, maybe there was another way…

My apartment isn't very far from here," she said to the young man holding her, pointing to her apartment building slightly off in the distance. "I'll be fine once I get there."

Karen paused, and spoke again, a worried tone seeping into her voice. "I'm really sorry for troubling you, sir, but I just can't leave Sumeragi-san behind like this," she murmured, shooting another troubled glance in the direction Subaru had gone. "After you take me to my apartment, could you come back for him and bring him to my apartment as well? I don't think he can get very far with such severe injuries."

* * *

_"When your mother was burned alive in your own house, I was there."_

Those words alone set Kamui off into a blind rage, firing off his blast of ki at Yuurei. It should have been no surprise that he dodged it, but the impressive amount of speed that he posed was incredible.

"Kono..." Kamui grumbled.

Yuurei furrowed his brow at the blast that shot off in the wrong direction as he inadvertently dodged it to taunt the boy a little. But now he knew Kamui was serious. "Don't be headstrong, Kamui," he said with a smirk.

"I'm so sick of you!" shouted Kamui in frustration.

"What makes you think you can spy on me and get away with it!?"

The roof beneath them began to shake and crumble under Kamui feet as his ki began to swirl wildly around him.

Yuurei failed to so much as waver as the roof began to crumble beneath his feet. Instead, he relied on the shadows of late morning to surround him and keep him from falling, creating the effect of hovering centimeters above the surface. But despite his  
calm facade, his breath was caught in his throat.

"You're being childish," he warned, raising his voice only slightly. "Do you think I enjoy watching you suffer and being forbidden to help you?"

The dark light of his effulgent black-and-crimson aura began to emanate around him, causing his long hair to float and whip about his ashen face. Though he had no wish to fight or harm this messenger of God, he was not about to let the young man rip him apart.

The man's words fell on deaf ears. He wasn't bound to fall for whatever act he was playing.

Leaping at Yuurei, Kamui fired out another blast, chasing after in hopes of a counterattack should it miss again.

Effortlessly Yuurei maneuvered gracefully to the side, out of the way of the blast, his muscles relaxed and his reflexes ready and poised for any follow-up attack. This boy was still fighting out of anger. He would get nowhere like that.

As Kamui neared him, Yuurei leaped forward to meet him halfway, forming a fist--though with no energy inlaid--as they came face to face, and expertly he let fly a punch for Kamui's midsection.

Once again, his attack was dodged with ease and Kamui was left wide open for Yuurei's assault. His punch connected, causing Kamui to fall back, grimacing in pain. Shifting his weight backward, Kamui landed back on the roof, desperately trying to catch his breath.

_"(How...how is that possible? It's like he can read my every move...)"_

Landing gracefully where Kamui had been standing a moment ago, Yuurei let his arms fall to his sides as he glanced over his shoulder at the mildly injured youth. "You could use some focus. Fighting for the sake of anger in itself will get you nowhere. Where is your purpose?" He no longer used his words to coax the boy out of a fight. If he could teach Kamui anything about what he would be up against when he met Fuuma for the Final Battle, it would be worth defying Fate in yet another instance.

Kamui leapt back and away from the man's reach. "Don't think you can preach to me so easily. What makes you think I'll listen to you anyway?" he questioned.

The ground began to shake once more as Kamui tore pieces off sections of the roof. The floated around him for only a few moments before he flung towards Yuurei at high speed.

Kamui was not to be underestimated, but then again, neither was Yuurei. The young man might have been the chosen one to carry out God's will, but Yuurei also had a powerful role to play.

In a sudden, fluent series of movements, Yuurei threw his head back to stare wide-eyed into the heavens, swinging his arms to either side and spreading the fingers of his hands apart as his aura ignited in a wild burst of black flame. Silently he summoned down the wall of lightning bolts to form a wall in front of him, and the debris from the rooftop shattered into dust before ever reaching him.

As the attack subsided, Yuurei did not smirk or chuckle now, but instead glared seriously into Kamui's furious eyes. "You'll still have to do better than that. Do you think Fuuma will be this easy on you when you fight him next time?"

"You should stop worrying about others and more about yourself!" he shouted back. "And trust me, you don't want me to use my full powers..."

At this Yuurei could not suppress his curt laughter. "Myself? I have no time. My soul has been dead for decades; I sacrificed my life for this abhorrent Fate long ago. All that's left is the 'others'--you, Kotori, Fuuma, Subaru..."

_-And Kakyou...- _But he did not add this last name to his list spoken aloud, and only drifted off, though his eyes remained potent and his aura continued to encompass his virile form.

"You think you're the only one with problems? I never asked to be some savior! I never wanted to get Kotori and Fuuma involved! I never asked for any of this! And now Fuuma...he...he..."

Kamui lowered his face, trying to hide his pain from the man. "And you..." he whispered. Kamui's energy began to swirl once again. He glared back up at him, his eyes burning with rage and glazed with tears. "IT DOESN'T HELP THAT YOU'RE RUBBING IT IN MY FACE!!!" He leapt towards Yuurei, swing a ki charged fist towards his fist.

Yuurei saw the attack coming, saw the fist flying toward him with vicious force. He could have dodged. He could have stepped aside and missed it completely, but the force of the boy's words were more powerful than any blow to his physical body.

Kamui's knuckles collided with his jaw, and he stumbled back. And though he refused to fall, he was discouraged to see the splatter of blood before his eyes as the young man followed through. He struggled to maintain his balance and fought even more to straighten himself after the attack. Wiping the back of his hand against his mouth, he found that he had been left with a fairly deep gash across his chin.

But he did not retaliate. "You're strong. I don't deny that. And I know you're in pain with these decisions. I know your every struggle, your every agony. My fate is to live through each trauma with you. It's my job to feel your pain. But of course, you're probably not hearing me even now. You're too blinded by rage..."


	35. Chapter 33: Beautiful Dreams of Death

**Chapter Thirty-Three: Beautiful Dreams of Death**

Sorata blinked as he heard Yuzuriha respond to this strange boy. "You know him, Yuzu-chan?" He blinked and stared questioningly at Okita as he approached, not taking his eyes off the new comer for even a moment.

Okita stared back at Sorata, coming to a stop near Yuzuriha. "You okay?"

Arashi still stood in front of Yuzuriha. Her eyes narrowed a bit, "Who are you?" She interrupted him. She watched his reaction to her words, but still didn't bring her sword forth.

Okita looked to the girl with a half smile, trying to lighten the mood. "Soushi, Okita..." He looked to Yuzu. "I'm a close friend of Yuzu-chan here...Forgive me if I seem at all threatening." He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. He knew if he could catch this two off guard he could grab Yuzuriha and run. Yet Okita wasn't ready to do that just yet...eyeing Sorata yet again.

Sorata eyed the boy with a smirk. "What do you make of him Arashi- chan? Think our little Yuzuriha has found a man to call her own? Maybe they will be a cute couple just like you and me." He laughed and put his arm around Arashi, smiling brightly...He kept his senses alert just in case this man turned out to be more than he seemed...Okita Soushi...where did Sorata hear that name before.

Arashi glanced at Sorata her face reddening ever so slightly. With that, she grabbed the arm he had around her shoulders and twisted it behind him. "Please, Sorata save me your sentimental mess." She murmured.

She gave him a quick yank, ensuring that his arm hurt quite a deal before releasing him. She then turned to the young man before her. "Do not try to do anything stupid. I can see it in your eyes." She said, staring at him. She knew he wanted to take Yuzuriha and run; "We're her friends as well."

* * *

Despite what Yuurei had said, Kamui did hear his words. A strange feeling of doubt began to stir up inside of him as Kamui planned his next method of attack. Was he really his enemy? Leaping back a few feet, Kamui hesitated to make another move. "You're not bad yourself...," he muttered. "A normal person would have died. I can see you're not like the others..."

Yuurei could not help but smirk. "As flattered as I am, this isn't exactly making use of important time. There are people in danger now. I will not attack you, but I will defend  
myself. However, if you want to help Kotori, I suggest you get moving soon." He refrained from saying more, waiting for what the chosen one would do next.

"What do you know about Kotori!?" Kamui shouted immediately. "What happened to her!? Where is she!?"

Yuurei remained composed, his voice calm and indifferent. "You wouldn't believe me, and technically I'm not supposed to tell you anyway. But if Fuuma gets back to her before you can find her, it may be too late."

"You bastard. You're enjoying this, aren't you?" said Kamui glaring. "I swear, if you did anything to her I'll..."

"I haven't touched her," Yuurei spat back bitterly, cutting the young man off abruptly. "She's never even seen me. Besides, what interest could I possibly have in an amateur dream seer? I see enough of those already."

"Dream seer? Kotori's a dream seer?..." questioned Kamui. Those were indeed the exact words the man said, but it confused him even more.

"I-it doesn't matter whether you've seen her or not..." said Kamui as his ki began to build up once again. "You know where she is and I'm going to get some answers out of you even if I have to kill you!"

Clenching his teeth in frustration, Yuurei shook his head. "You can SENSE her, Kamui. If you concentrate, you can find her yourself. How would your skills improve if I pointed you in the exact direction?"

It was indeed in his current skill that Kamui could sense one's spirit from a distance. His power began to accumulate through frustration in anger. He hated this man. He hated the fact that he wouldn't fight. He hated being treated like a child. But most of all...he hated the fact that he was right...

Releasing the stored power, Kamui fired a blast towards him, just barely missing the man by a few inches. Kamui simply stared up at him with his hand pointed at him, trying to catch his breath.

Yuurei failed to so much as flinch a single muscle as the shot blasted past his shoulder, missing him by mere inches. He glared into Kamui's furious eyes, not saying anything more. What more was there to be said? He was not even supposed to be here. But with every fiber of his being, he prayed that the boy would go and find the young girl before it was too late. As many times as her destiny had been drilled into his mind, Yuurei did not want her to die...

Lowering his hand, Kamui hung his head low, not wanting to stare back at the stranger.

"Just go..." he said as his rage began to quell. "Just leave me alone..."

Yuurei nodded. "Of course. And you should go as well. She needs you." He ventured a melancholy smile. "You will change Destiny, Kamui. You can save this world if you so choose."

As he turned to go, stepping atop the outer rim of the bridge, he glanced over his shoulder. "You're not the only one who will surprise Fate, however. I'll be watching...and I will be at your side, should you need me." With that, he leaped down from the building top, summoned the shadows about him, and vanished into the morning light.

* * *

"Its no trouble at all," Kusanagi assured her. "Its my job a member of the Special Defense Force to help civilians in need. So just point out the way and I'll get you there as soon as I can."

He glanced back towards where the young man exited. It was obvious that she was really worried about that kid. He himself was a little concerned. "Don't worry about him. He seems like a tough kid. He'll be fine by himself for now. Once we get you all patched up, I'll see what I can do for your friend."

Walking out of the shrine, Kusanagi readied himself for the trip. "I'll try to make this as smooth as possible so I don't aggravate your wounds," he said with a smile. Crouching down slight, He leapt off high into the distance towards where Karen had pointed out.

* * *

"I'm...fine," Yuzuriha said shyly. "Well, as fine as I can be in this condition," she said, tending to her wounds.

* * *

The demolished DIET building was not a far trip for Yuurei, as he merged with the shadows to travel in the darkness through the city of Tokyo as noon approached high above in the sky. Too bad it was a sunny day; Yuurei detested the sunlight.

He reached the DIET building quickly and sighed as his one good eye scanned the remaining damage. The canvas drapes still covered the whole in the wall from the morning before, where Kamui had blasted through to escape and confront Yuuto. Yuurei had also been present then, though none of the others had seen him.

He was unaccustomed to using doors in most places, but the security in this building was used to seeing him enter and leave. Emerging from the shadows of a neighboring building, he approached the steps and walked to the entrance. Nodding to the formally dressed security officers as he pushed open the doors and entered the first hallway,  
he headed directly for the elevator that would lead him to the basement...where the woman who had raised him through his dreams resided.

But suddenly, just as he was about to press the button that would summon the elevator, the doors swung open, and a nervous-looking man stumbled out...right into Yuurei. Backing up a step to catch him by the shoulders, Yuurei tried his best to chuckle in the midst of his trepidation. He knew the young man's face; he had seen him around Hinoto many times. His uncle was Seiichirou Aoki, one of the Dragons of Heaven.

"Is Hinoto all right?" he inquired Daisuke Saiki, skipping all unnecessary formalities. The young man knew his name and his face, even if they were not exactly acquaintances. And since Saiki was more indirectly related to the End of the World, Yuurei was free to speak with him on a more open basis. "The destruction from yesterday...she's not hurt, is she?"

Of course, Hinoto was probably fine. Though it was strange that she had not contacted Yuurei in quite a while. Almost an entire day. But he needed to speak with her anyway. About his conscious decision to abandon his Fate...about Kakyou...about everything concerning the End of the World. It was too early to be making his decision for which Kamui was the imposter. But he was becoming biased. Interfering may have already cost him his pure judgement...

The elevator doors closed behind Saiki Daisuke, the conveyance momentarily forgotten. He had been so caught up in his own thoughts that the question posed by the dark-haired young man beside him. Hinoto's name caught his attention, but the question had to be posed a second time before Saiki was able to pull himself from his own thoughts and provide an answer to someone else's.

"Hinoto-hime is - " Here he found he had to pause, although the pause would undoubtedly create anxiety in his listener, were that possible. Could he give voice to his concerns for the dream gazer? That scream, and the look on her face... His cheeks darkened slightly. "She seemed fine. I just left her." Best to play it safe. She was fine; she had said so herself.

Yet, something in the back of his mind seemed to suggest otherwise.

"Were you on your way to visit as well?" The words poured from the young man's mouth nervously. "Hien and Souhi seemed bent on having me leave today." Perhaps a subtle hint would dissuade Yuurei, although Saiki doubted such an idea would be successful. The Watcher hardly ever seemed to take hints.

* * *

Looking out of the windows of the lab where he was created made him wonder. Not wonder like humans wondered, as he was quite certain he was not human. That girl he had come to consider as an oddity and something of a playmate was human, and he was nothing like her. The syllogism was perfect. Yet, staring out the windows, he wondered, for his syllogism seemed a tad askew.

He had spared her in the subway that day for one reason, and one reason only: The look in her eyes. The same look of fear mingled with sadness that he could remember last seeing - somewhere. Somewhere that was important to him, although the memory was a bit faded. The creature named for an emotionless god, Nataku, prodded the debris scattered across the floor with one booted foot. He had returned here, after seeing her to a safe haven, to rest.

He had found himself unable to sleep, and now paced across the broken glass shards littering the floor between glances out of the only window still intact. That girl made him think, and his lack of answers to internal questions both puzzled and irritated him. He reached the empty frame of one window, streamers of fabric floating about him like a ghostly halo. One foot stepped through the frame, then another.

He needed a way to sort this out. He needed to know what he was. The vague memories that had caused him to spare Alysia were fading. The fabric struck out, knocking out a portion of the building across the street. What WAS he? His eyes refused to betray the turmoil of his mind, and the fabric floating about his body struck occasionally with the force of his irritation.

A chunk of concrete smashed against the ground only seconds after the white-haired creature leapt into the air to avoid it.  
_  
Why? Why do I alone have no identity??_

The fabric struck again, this time bringing the building to the ground. Nataku had no definite path to follow; his wandering mind allowed his feet to do the same, and the fabric did the bidding of his unspoken questions. His feet propelled him from one roof to another, moments before they fell. The fabric lashed out once more, this time followed by a piercing scream. Evidentially, the building had occupants. No matter.

He stopped, listening, perched atop a telephone pole. The building had only one occupant, and the scream was a familiar one. His feet hit the ground, carrying him swiftly to the source of the sound.

She was there, the color of her hair indistinguishable from the darkening color below her waist. A slab of concrete had crushed her legs and most of her diaphragm. Golden-orange eyes looked up at Nataku's emotionless mask, her consciousness fading, but not quickly enough. The pain prevented her saying any words.

"So." The fabric formed a lazy circle in the air. "So." He said nothing more as the fabric wrapped about her neck and sucked the remaining breath from her beaten body. For some reason, he felt no remorse. His questions remained unanswered, and those memories precious to him seemed to sink further from his recollection. He stared at her lifeless form, unfeeling.

Only humans mourned.

* * *

As Fuuma and Satsuki continued their trivial exchange, Seishirou let out an exasperated sigh and turned his back on them for a moment. He needed to rest. A nap sounded nice. He had been going nonstop for nearly the past twenty-four hours straight, and he was beginning to become exhausted.

His gaze suddenly happened to skim over the dust rising and billowing in the not-so-far-off distance. But the destruction was not caused by the conflict of the Dragons; there was no kekkai formed around the area. And Seishirou recognized the vicinity from which the commotion was originating--it was somewhere close to the Sunshine Station building...where, according to the information Satsuki had collected from BEAST, a project important to the End of the World was being constructed.

As tired as he was, the potential amusement factor overpowered his weariness, and he glanced over his shoulder where he had left the Seal slumped over at the Gemini's feet. "I'm going to check out something," he said with minor distain for Fuuma's childish behavior regarding the young computer genius, who was obviously flustered by the Twin Star's unexpected approach. "I'll meet back up with you later, ne?"

With that, he vaulted gracefully up to the roof of the building that neighbored the hospital, bounding across the city with effortless ease. It was only a matter of minutes before he came to the source of the destruction--a young man standing at the base of a demolished building, flowing tentacles of a long ribbon hovering about his slender body as he stood over a motionless figure in the rubble.

He leaped down from where he stood and came up behind the lovely young man, whose face he still could not see. But now Seishirou had a full view of the being's victim--a pretty young girl bathed in blood, the ribbon still coiled about her lithe neck. Dead. Seishirou chuckled huskily, not saying a word as he admired the creature's handiwork...

* * *

Hinoto refused to look at Saiki. She kept her head bowed, a few strands of hair had fallen over her shoulders and hid part of her face. When he left a few minutes later, his last words still hanging in the air, unanswered but not forgotten..

It was a few minutes later that another very familiar presence enter the building. The anger that she had thought was under control flared up again and Mayouko's voice repeated those words in her mind. Her hands flew to cradle her head as she tried to get her thoughts under control.

Her breath became shorter as she struggled to keep a part of herself under control. Tears began to stream down her pale white cheeks from her blind eyes. After a struggle, she barely managed to get that other part of her under control, but what she did know was that she needed to have a talk with Yuurei.. and the sooner the better.

_ Watcher.. _her telepathic voice was cold and distant, _ We have some things we need to discuss_

* * *

Sorata eyed the purple haired boy. "So why are you so stand offish." He grinned despite the scene he made when Arashi forcefully put him in his place.

"You hidin' something?" He could see it plain as day...this guy had something to do with the end of the world.

Arashi watched the man before her. She wasn't sure who he was, but she knew one thing- he could end up being trouble. "Explain who you are, and how you met Yuzuriha." She stated, wanting nothing but information from the man.

Okita smiled calmly. "Okita Soushi...Fate..." He didn't like the girl holding Yuzu...she was almost as protective of her as he was...as he was of anyone.

"Why don't you stop accusing me of stuff?"

"What have I accused you of?" Arashi asked calmly. "And I asked you another question which I would like answered: How did you meet Yuzuriha and what is your relationship with her?"

Yuzuriha's lower lip trembled; Why were they arguing about her? "You guys, stop!"

Okita smiled and looked to Yuzuriha. "I'll only tell you if she admits you're her friends…otherwise I suggest you let her go."

Arashi glanced back at Yuzuriha. They might have a problem there... the girl seemed to have amnesia. She waited for Yuzuriha to answer, wondering herself what the girl would say.

"I'm not really..." Yuzuriha droned. "...sure. They protected me earlier, so...they may be."

Okita nodded, looking toward the man who was just smiling as he kicked a rock. "I'm just a guy...my mom works here...I'm not exactly sure what Yuzu-chan thinks of me."

"You're my friend, too, right?" Yuzuriha sniffled loudly, so overwhelmed by the events of the last few minutes that it took everything within her to keep it held inside.

Okita looked back to Yuzuriha and smiled. "Of course I am."

Arashi watched the man, beginning to become weary of this. "If you don't mind, Soushi-san, I would like to get Yuzuriha-chan back into the hospital now. She is wounded, as you can very well tell."

Okita eyed Arashi. "Yeah sure...Yuzu-chan you ok?"

Yuzuriha paused for a moment before shaking her head. "It hurts all over..."

Arashi turned to Yuzuriha, reaching a hand out to touch her shoulder, "Come on then, lets get back inside."

"Then go with them...I'll visit later." Okita smiled at her, eyeing Arashi warily.

Yuzuriha smiled. "Please come visit me...again."

Arashi glanced back at Okita. She didn't trust him one bit, and he seemed to think the same of her. She helped Yuzuriha to her feet, letting the girl lean on her for support.

Sorata looked back to Okita. He smirked and shook his head. That boy cared about Yuzu-chan...yet he wasn't entirely sure he could trust the boy yet.

Yuzuriha smiled. "Thanks...uh..." Yuzuriha looked to Arashi for her name.

Arashi gave a light smile, "Arashi." She stated evenly.

"Hajime Mashite!"

Sora smiled. "Sorata..."

Okita stood watching the others leave...What was Yuzuriha's connection to those bizarre lights...What was really going on.

* * *

It was obvious that Saiki was trying to lure him away from his commission to enter the basement and speak with Hinoto. And as the younger man's cheeks began to darken in embarrassment, Yuurei was almost compelled to turn away.

And then he heard her words.

_ Watcher... _Her telepathic voice was cold and distant. _ We have some things we need to discuss.  
_  
So...she already knew. Yuurei straightened himself and glanced apathetically down at Saiki. "She's calling me," he said, his tone almost amused. "It would seem I have an appointment that I wasn't even aware of."

He entered the elevator and pressed the button for the basement, not wanting to startle the poor young man by using his Shadow-Walking technique. When he reached the bottom floor, he exited and headed straight for the sliding doors that would reveal the dream seeing princess herself.

"Hinoto...," he murmured in a mixture of reverence and grim anticipation, as he set foot inside the room and let his gaze fall upon her ivory head. He did not know how she knew, but it was written all over her face.

And so he prepared himself for the worst...and approached.

* * *

The quiet footsteps approaching brought Nataku's head up slightly, his white hair seized by the same mysterious force keeping the fabric swirling about his body. His eyes remained focused on the girl, although his thoughts were indiscernible. The newcomer he regarded not at all.

Shoving his hands into the pockets of his tattered slacks, Seishirou's gaze passed from the ivory-haired beauty to the victim he had just finished. "She wasn't an enemy, was she?" he mused aloud, thinking more to himself than addressing the strange being. "No, your work was too careful and meticulous for her to have been someone you hated. So tell me..." His single good eye lifted to graze the man's lovely face as he pulled out a cigarette and his lighter, placing the thin object between his lips and lighting the end casually. Only when he had inhaled and breathed the smoke out through his nostrils did he finished his inquiry. "...Who was she?"

"A human." Nataku's voice betrayed no emotion, had he felt any. Even he was uncertain of that. Uncertain of so many things... He turned slightly, perhaps disturbed by the other's sudden appearance. "Her name was of little consequence to me." But those eyes, staring at him, THEY had meant something. Something he had wanted to end swiftly and silently. Cat-like eyes searched the newcomer's face with the mildest of curiosity, easily mistaken for boredom. "What brings you here, then? That building -" He turned his attention to the Sunshine Station building. "- is already gone."

Seishirou shrugged. "It's not the building I'm interested in." He peered subtly closer into the man's emotionless eyes. "You obviously have great powers that exceed those of most mere mortals. I think we may have something in common." Taking a puff at his cigarette, he glanced off at the horizon before meeting the slender being's gaze again. "You...called her 'human.' As though you were something else? Something...inhuman?"

"Perhaps." He was providing ambiguous answers. "They meant for me to be beyond humans, I suppose." His tone expressed that he had done no pondering on the idea, as if it was hardly of interest. Those who had run the project were no longer part of his concern. But something in common? It was nearly laughable. He recalled a childish laughter that rang in his ears. "We are nothing alike," he answered, although quietly, as if to maintain the music echoing through his mind. "If you hold no interest in that building, you want nothing of me."

Again Seishirou shrugged curtly. "I'm not so sure." The man did not seem coy in the least, but neither was he being open. His actions were not human at all, but then again, one could have argued the same of Seishirou. "I also have certain powers...granted, of a different nature. However...you have an aura about you that suggests you're something more...'beyond human,' as you put it, but maybe not quite in the way that you meant." He paused, stepping closer to get a better look at the lovely being's apathetic face. A sudden notion occurred to him. "You should meet an acquaintance of mine. He would be able to tell for certain." After all, the Twin Star had not yet located all seven of his followers...

Nataku stared at the dark-haired man, the term 'acquaintance' not entirely familiar to him. The laughter died silently, clearing his mind. How odd that a human such as this would bring on a strange recollection such as that. It was a puzzling phenomenon. His eyelids closed partially. "I don't fare well with others." The hovering fabric ruffled his hair. It could easily have been a joke, considering to whom the creature was speaking. "Humans... are all alike." He appeared ready to disregard his visitor entirely and return to the remains of the Sunshine Station building.

Letting out a smirk that held a tone of something like contempt, Seishirou continued to stare in amusement at the lovely creature, despite the uninterested dullness in the man's eyes. "Then I suppose I'm not human, either," he replied, his voice hinting at a husky chuckle.

"Humans lie." Nataku glanced at Alysia's lifeless body once again. "I cannot." He took several steps towards Seishirou just as suddenly, stopping within two feet of the other, regarding him with something that might have been interest. "How do I tell which you are?"

With a look of indifference, Seishirou flicked his cigarette from his fingers, not watching as it landed directly at the elegant being's feet. "How do you tell whether I'm lying or not?" he repeated, as though pensively studying the question. A cold simper crossed his pallid features. "I have no need to lie. But, of course, I can't give you absolute proof of that. And since to ask you to trust me would be illogical, we end up back at square one." He took another step toward the slender young man, closing the remaining gap between them as his foot crushed and smothered the still-smoking cigarette he had disposed of not a moment before. "Yes, I am capable of lying. If that makes me more human than you, so be it. I only ask that you accompany me back to the hospital to meet someone." His voice was far from pleading; he spoke his request with as much carelessness as the rest of his words. This creature was interesting, but not so much as to cause Seishirou to exert any real effort in persuading him one way or the other.

The sudden lack of personal space bothered Nataku not in the least. He met the one-eyed gaze with his own, again the childlike laughter echoing through his mind. Perhaps a part of him long-lost wished to laugh at the current situation. A face flashed across the musical laughter wearing the same expression that had brought him to spare Alysia. His eyes glanced in the direction he expected Seishirou to have come from. "Your 'acquaintance' is there, then." It was more a statement of fact than a question, as if the creature had no need to verify his information.

Satisfied that he had gained the creature's attention, even if he did not show it, Seishirou failed to so much as nod in verification before leaping high into the air, landing effortlessly atop the nearest roof. A light noon breeze caught his short hair and tousled it about his face as he stared down at the lovely being, patiently awaiting a response.

Nataku's hovering fabric seemed almost like angel wings as he leapt into the air, landing atop a nearby telephone pole. Evidently, his trust of humans only went so far. His former companion forgotten, he turned his head only once to gaze at the building where he had spent every day since his creation. The unnamed face accompanied by a hint of laughter brought him back to the time at hand, and he leapt to the next rooftop.

There was no need to lead the way; apparently the inhuman creature knew where they were going. Nevertheless, Seishirou stayed slightly ahead of him all the way back to the hospital. He landed lightly on the ground, a little less than a block from where Fuuma and Satsuki were making slow progress along the street. Seishirou nearly laughed, but he refrained as he approached them casually. Still sensing the being's presence close by, he nodded smugly in Fuuma's direction and waited for the ivory-haired young man to show himself.

Nataku landed on silent feet, his white hair falling about his face once more. Golden eyes shifted lazily from Seishirou's form to those of Fuuma, Satsuki, and their unfortunate captive. The unnamed face played across Nataku's mind, juxtaposed on Fuuma's as the student continued on his way. The childlike music was accompanied by words, and Nataku's expression changed from something akin to boredom to a mild form of surprise. The faces were nearly identical.

Fuuma smiled toward Satsuki as she responded to his charms. It was quite amusing to him as he continued to walk down the path...which suddenly was blocked by Seishirou...and then again by another new face. The boy was younger and certainly more of a oddity than most. Fuuma stood his ground, gesturing for Satsuki to keep a eye on the captive. "Wait here..." He took a step forward to meet the boy. "Greetings, Might I ask who you are?"

Fuuma smiled toward Seishirou, knowing his friend wouldn't bring him this boy if he didn't have a interesting trick of some sort...

* * *

Okita watched the others leave. He sighed and touched his hair...he really needed to wash the dye out. He adjusted his clothes...maybe a bath was what he needed.

What of Yuzuriha? What of the world? What of his life ? Okita stood watching the shadows on the floor.

Yuuto stepped out from behind the radiator on the hospital roof. He had been hiding long enough. And he wanted answers. Besides, Sorata had retreated back inside.

"Strange place for a second rendezvous, ne?" he smirked in Okita's direction. "I certainly didn't expect to see you again so soon...and here of all places."

"My Mom works here...That's kind of why I had to check up on her. She's kinda all I have left." He smiled weakly, turning to look at him with a new found sarcasm. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon either..."

Yuuto shrugged. "Showing up randomly on the top of a hospital roof isn't exactly what I'd call normal," he replied, ignoring the young man's last statement. "And you know three of the Seals," he mused, putting a curious hand to his chin, not seeming to care that his words were quite revealing as far as the End of the World was concerned.

"Seals? You mean those three? Actually I only know one of them... the other two seemed about ready to tear me apart...but what would be the loss if that happened." He smiled brightly and sat down at the edge of the building, his back to Yuuto. "I take it, they are the side your "Dragon" doesn't like."

Yuuto echoed his melancholy smile and came to sit down beside him. Pushing the Fate of the world out of his mind for a moment, he tilted his head in question. "Now...why would a big famous rock star like you have a death wish?" he asked in a gentle tone. "Almost every guy in the nation--if not the world--would give up everything just to be you."

Okita looked thoughtful and finally nodded. "I guess it's because that's all I am...I mean I guess all that clay that should be keeping me from caving in is being used for decoration...Heh...not a lot of people know this but I'm kinda walking a fine line between Life and Death."

He laughed sickly. "Why am I telling you this?"

Yuuto kept his sorrowful smile composed. "Maybe you just need to get it off your chest, no matter who you're talking to. But I'm listening, if you have anything to say." He had no idea why he was being so kind. It had nothing to do with the fact that the famous Shreek was sitting right beside him. This was a young man who was hurting...in many ways, very similar to what Yuuto himself had endured when he had found himself in the presence of Kanoe and the chance to become a Dragon of Earth.

"Heh...Then I guess I'll tell you my dream." He jumped up and leaned forward, very close to falling. "I dream of death...A Death what will burn away all that decoration and lead to a rebirth that will fill in those gaps...make me whole again. Even if the fame isn't for me next time...even If I only had one fan...this is my wish." He straightened, no longer so close to death. "Pretty cool, eh?"

A broad smile spread over Yuuto's face. "That's quite possibly the most beautiful dream I've ever heard. And I can hear that same longing in your lyrics and your music." He paused to look out at the bright horizon of late morning. "I know your wish will be granted. And I sincerely hope you find a sound purpose for the rest of this life."

* * *

Being held in the arms of someone who hates you with a passion really isn't the best place to be after just having woken up, Kakyou thought dreamily, as he started to somewhat surface from his comatose state. 

The breeze of movement caught his hair and whipped it around his face and goose bumps rose on his exposed arms. Blinking a few times, he looked up to meet the gaze of a pair of cold maroon eyes. He found himself shivering suddenly and it wasn't from the cold….

The hatred and loathing radiated off of her in waves, making him quiver even more. She held his eyes and then said in a voice that could freeze even ice, "Are you scared Kakyou?"

The dream-seer remained quiet, but he managed to tear his gaze away from hers and moved his eyes to stare instead at his hands, which were curled in his lap. Mayouko let out a dry chuckle and began to once more bound along the rooftops toward her apartment. "You really are pathetic." she sneered down at him. If he could have seen her face then he would have noticed a gleam in her eye that hadn't been there before.. one that would have made him fear her even more right then and there, but Kakyou refused to look up and the rest of the trip was filled with a tense silence.

Thankfully, the trip was only a matter of minutes. Landing softly on the balcony of her apartment, Mayouko deposited Kakyou hastily into a nearby chair and murmuring to herself after a few minutes opened the doors and picking Kakyou up again entered the apartment, shoving the sliding door closed with her foot. BANG.

Kakyou shuddered at the loud noise and Mayouko's lips twitched into another smile. She entered the small guest room of her apartment and plopped Kakyou unceremoniously onto the bed. The dream-seer winced visibly again and turned his body immediately away from her, only to be met by a wall painted a pale robin's egg blue, which his green eyes centered on as if there were something engrossing about it that only he could see. Mayouko shook her head and walked out. Pausing at the doorway she turned her head toward him and said over her shoulder. "I wouldn't suggest trying to leave. It really isn't that wise. Besides the fact that you're weak, I will be watching like a hawk even though I might be doing something else."

Kakyou refused to even nod his head to acknowledge her and shrugging Mayouko continued forward, leaving the door ajar.

Mayouko stretched and shrugging her black trench coat off her shoulders threw it on to a chair as she headed into the kitchen. The apartment was small but it suited her. She had a few like this around the city, in case she couldn't afford to get caught after a job running back home. Not that it would have been a problem, but Mayouko didn't like that fact that there might be the possibly of getting caught. Bending she removed her boots and setting them on the hallway floor padded softly into the kitchen. Grabbing a bottle of water out of her frig., she opened it and took a few gulps to quench her thirst. After a moment of thought, she grabbed another bottle and headed back toward the guest room.

Kakyou was in the same position he had been in when she left and snickering Mayouko grabbed his shoulder and pulled him toward her, forcing him to lie on his back. "Would you like a drink?"

Kakyou forced himself not to cringe away at her touch. Staring up at her through blank eyes he shook his head. After placing both bottles on floor next to the bed, Mayouko's other hand grabbed his chin. Shaking him with the hand that was still clamped on his shoulder, Mayouko hissed, "Really look at me Kakyou. There's no way to block me out."

The fingers holding his chin jostled his head back and forth and Kakyou tried and managed to succeed at not letting a whimper escape his throat. _ How do you know? _

Mayouko smirked as her maroon eyes bored into his. "Still can't talk hmm?" She emphasized her words with another brutal twist of his chin. "I have always wondered why my brother regarded you so highly. Look at you.. you are nothing but a pathetic doll who sees dreams and has no recollection of the outside world. You are weak.. Nothing but a pawn in this game of Fate. Which might I add both you and he have changed just by you're shameless and selfish act yesterday.."

Kakyou's head jerked as she twisted but he still would not answer. Mayouko tilted her head at him and that gleam sparked in her eyes again… but this time Kakyou was forced to see it….

His eyes widened and he tried vainly to get away. He started to struggle within her grasp but he was too weak for it to make much of a difference. Mayouko wouldn't let him go anywhere. She was stronger then people took her for at times. She laughed then, full throated and deep. "Do you really think that your wish will be granted Kakyou?" The hand holding his chin suddenly let go and her fingers trailed up from his Adam's apple to stop and rest softly on his lips. "Oh yes you want to save Yuurei and that is the bargain you made with the Twin Star, but do you really believe that it will come true? He will die, there is nothing you can do to stop that. Fate has been altered but the end result is the same…" her voice trailed off and she smirked down at him, her finger beginning to trace along his lower lip.

The dream-seer took a sobbing breath as Mayouko's fingers trailed up his throat and stopped to rest on his lips. He tried to curl up into the fetal position to get away from her, but her hand on his shoulder held him fast. Without her hand holding his chin though he managed to turn his face away, tears were threatening to spill over again as he said quietly, "That doesn't mean that I can't try."

Mayouko chuckled as he turned his head away but she let him. "You can try my dear Kakyou. But in the end isn't it all for nothing? You are a dream-seer, one who sees the future, and yet you would deny the future that you see for the sake of one man…Yuurei.. my brother."

A single tear glided down his cheek at her words. He could not pretend that the words she was saying weren't true. They were and he knew it, but didn't want to admit to that fact. Another tear fell from his eyes and he shook his head violently and said in a hushed voice, "He would do the same for me.."

"Then perhaps there is something he sees that I do not." She bent and licked away his tears, her tongue gliding like a feather over his cheek. As her mouth moved lower and lower toward his lips she whispered, "And perhaps you will let me understand as well.." Her lips glided over his then in a light kiss and before she knew what was happening she was shoved away by a force enough to send her sprawling back and the room about them vanished.

She clucked her tongue as she gazed at the landscape, the sea was loud and the gulls were screaming. "Now now, Kakyou that was very uncalled for."

Kakyou stood a few feet away, his golden eyes carried a look of fear and anger. His white coat whipped widely about in the harsh wind. "You will never understand." he whispered, his voice trembling with emotion. "It is something so far beyond, that because you have no heart you will fail to recognize it."

Mayouko shrugged and looked out at sea for a moment. She answered back just as softly, her voice distant as if forgetting for a moment that he was a dream-seer, "And how would you know that?" She got no answer however, for when she turned back, Kakyou had already vanished and before her very eyes a wall of crystal closed in about her….

Kakyou had fled, blinded by tears he tried to will the pain that her words had caused from his heart and mind. His tears fell like pearls down his ashen cheeks and he couldn't stop stumbling. He had entered a dream he had never encountered before and he was not alone… Coming to a halt, he vainly tried to pull himself together and stood for a moment to listen…

There… a little ways away… and to the left. Kakyou started forward forcing one foot in front of the other until he saw a person. A man to be exact, one of the Dragons of Heaven. This thought filtered through his pain fogged head.

"Hello?" he whispered, his voice choked because of the tears that lingered in his throat..

* * *

Subaru found himself slowly fading into the all-so-familiar dreamscape.

At least here, it didn't hurt. At least here, he wasn't weak.

Well, not as weak.

Subaru's staccato footsteps clapped against the floor as the fog he found himself in slowly faded away.  
_  
"Hello?"_

Subaru wasn't sure if he should respond or not. After all, anyone could be in this dreamscape. Maybe he should just go back...


	36. Chapter 34: Confident Façade

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Confident Facade**

Nataku seemed uncertain, for a change, as to how to respond. The face - Fuuma's face - that had clouded his mind remained. While it brought with it a sense of trust and things long-forgotten, the creature seemed rather shocked to find the same face on another, who he was certain he had never seen prior.

"They called me Nataku." He felt more inclined to answer this stranger's questions than he had those of Seishirou. Yet, even as he said the words, another name quietly played through his thoughts.

* * *

Kamui had remained on the demolished roof top after the stranger had disappeared. Though he didn't have any real injuries, the mans incredible power had left him rather fatigued.

There wasn't much time to recover the energy he had lost. Especially after the strangers warning. He had to act fast.

Standing with the building, Kamui shut his eyes and began concentrate. It was difficult at first, but soon Kamui began to sense the presences of others around him. The stronger forces could be identified right away as the Dragons of Heaven and Earth. Though most seemed to be scattered, there was a large group quickly forming to the north of him. Some of the Ki gathered there was unfamiliar to him, but it quickly became apparent who they were gathering around...

"Fuuma..." Kamui whispered.

Had Fuuma taken it upon himself to gather the remainder of the Dragons of Earth? There was no way to tell right now, for now, he had to search for Kotori.

There were many smaller Ki signatures around, but no real sign of her anywhere. As Kamui began to expand his range further, he caught a glimpse of something of something to the East. It was weak...but unmistakable.

"Kotori...is that you?" he asked.

* * *

Kotori didn't hear her. Well...she had, but, there was nothing she could say. Kanoe wasn't understanding.

So, she sat in silence. Her hands rose to in front of her pale face, and she continuously intertwined her fingers in multiple ways.

The whole while, the same sickening smile was plastered to her face.

"Fate...heh eh..."

* * *

Okita smiled and laughed as he scratched the back of his head. "I suppose...Hey want to see something cool?"

Yuuto grinned. "Sure. What is it?"

Okita cleared his throat and began to adjust his voice...suddenly his voice became the very same Yuuto responded with..."I'm the guy in the pink suit..."

Yuuto raised an eyebrow, trying to hide the fact that his cheeks were beginning to burn a bit with embarrassment. "Nice trick," he commented smoothly. "I take it you're a master of sound waves?" he added, recalling the man's interference in their battle with the two Seals from earlier.

Okita thought about it as he touched his mouth with a finger and spun of his heel, pacing back and forth before turning back. "Yeah I guess I am...I always just thought of it as a gift...never really named it."

Yuuto grinned again. "Your powers are more than just a gift. It's destiny. You were meant to be a part of the End of the World all along." He knew this statement would cause numerous questions to arise, but it did not matter any longer. Sooner or later the young man would realize the truth anyway.

"Heh I wouldn't know the first thing..." Okita stood still a moment, allowing his coat to blow in the breeze.

Yuuto had expected Okita to be a little more intrigued, but it hit him then that the man truly did not desire this grand life that he had been given. The infamous Shreek would just as soon give up everything without question for a more meaningful purpose. "Tell me something...," he said, prudently tapping a finger against his chin as he gazed up at Okita thoughtfully.

"Hm?"

In a relaxed gesture, Yuuto lay down on the paved rooftop and crossed his legs, cupping his hands behind his head as he stared up at the sky. Then he closed his eyes and said with a smirk, "You like Satsuki, right?"

"Yes...She's out of my league though."

Yuuto shrugged. "She and I are pretty close. As close as one can get to her, that is," he chuckled. "But what would you say if I told you I could get you set up on a date with her? Would you be willing to give this business about Dragons and the End of the World a looking into?"

Okita eyes lit up for a second...then they faded to a sigh. "Look I appreciate the gesture but she has to want to otherwise it's forced...which means it's unpleasant for her."

Yuuto sat up. "Well, she's into technology, right? She has this computer that talks to her, but with your ability to manipulate sound, I'd be willing to bet you could talk to it without even knowing binary code. Like I always say, the best way to Satsuki's heart is through her wire-probing, sadistically manipulative computer." He laughed teasingly.

"But Binary is numbers..." He looked confused and finally shrugged. "You figure it out."

Not about to let himself become frustrated, Yuuto got to his feet and stood at the very edge of the building, still facing Okita. "So I don't know a lot about computers," he shrugged with a chuckle. "All I want is for you to give us a chance. But, if you're not interested..." Tipping his head back, he laughed out loud and spread his arms to either side as he let himself fall backward in a plunge that would take him straight down thirty stories, headfirst.

"HEY! Don't be stupid man...I didn't say I wouldn't listen..."

But Yuuto had already fallen over the edge. However, flipping over himself before he was even two stories into his descent, he shoved his feet against the wall and vaulted back up to the roof of the neighboring building. Then, folding his arms across his chest and nodding at Okita, he smiled guilefully and called, "Well, that's good to know. So why don't you join me and a few friends for some late-morning snack food? I think Satsuki will be coming..."

Okita blinked and shrugged. "I suppose I could but I really need to get home...this dye is beginning to flake and I haven't slept in a day."

Yuuto laughed. "You and me both...and probably half the other people I know as well. C'mon, it'll be fun." As much fun as hanging around a couple psychopathic murderers, a computer freak, and a hostage Dragon of Heaven could be...but he did not say this out loud. No need to scare the kid off completely.

Okita sighed and shrugged. " For a little while ok? If my manager finds out I didn't go home she's going to kill me."

Yuuto grinned and winked. "Just leave your manager to me. I can take the heat. For now, just enjoy yourself." With that he leaped back to the hospital roof and then down over the opposite side, where Fuuma, Satsuki, and the rest were just leaving. Nudging Satsuki in the side, he said impishly, "Hope you weren't thinking to steal my portion. Besides, I've brought a friend. You remember Okita, ne...?"  
Okita landed beside Yuuto...remembering a few too many faces to his liking.

* * *

Satsuki barely glanced at the Seal who Fuuma had asked her to guard. He wasn't in any condition to attempt an escape, and she was fairly certain that he wasn't stupid enough to do so now anyways. The girl idly watched as Fuuma talked to the new arrival, the one called Nataku. So, this was the one who BEAST had told her about, neither male nor female, but a being created through the miracles of science. The Dragons of Earth were nearly all gathered, a doubtless sign that the Final Battle was fast approaching.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a playful poke in the side, followed by a familiar voice. "Hope you weren't thinking to steal my portion," her blonde comrade said teasingly. Satsuki turned to face him, wearing a slightly amused smile. "Of course not, San-san," she said.

She momentarily shifted her gaze to the figure beside him and nearly flinched, but stopped herself in time. She thought that she had seen the last of that singer, but apparently Yuuto had other plans. Satsuki nodded briefly to the young man in greeting. "Okita-san," she said, in her usual cool tone. She didn't bother to attempt another fake smile. There was no longer any point in continuing her attempt to hide information about the Dragons. It was obvious that the singer was now involved; Yuuto had seen to that. Besides, the girl thought wryly, perhaps the young man would be dissuaded by her unsociable behavior.

Satsuki shifted her gaze back to Yuuto. "Sakurazuka-san's brought back a new friend," she said, nodding her head in Nataku's direction. "Another one of the Seven Angels. You can go introduce yourself, if you feel so inclined… or you can help me baby sit the Seal." Satsuki shot a distasteful glance in the captive's direction.

* * *

"A member of the Special Defense Force? That's a wonderful thing to do, to be able to help other people and to keep Japan safe." Karen smiled at the young man. He was indeed a most caring and compassionate person.

Her eyes widened slightly as her benefactor leaped off into the air as easily as if he were walking. So her instincts had been correct after all; this young man had special powers. Was it possible that he was one of the Dragons of Earth? Or was it merely coincidence, and he simply had special powers unrelated to the End of the World? The red- haired woman quickly pushed the thought from her mind. If he was indeed a Dragon of Earth, she didn't want to know. To think that she might eventually have to fight against such a kind young man brought an ache to her heart.

"Thank you so much," Karen said gratefully as they arrived in front of her apartment door. "The key's right under the doormat," she told the young man. The red-haired woman looked at her door and suddenly caught sight of the nameplate by the door. She began to laugh. "I just realized that after all this time, I still haven't told you my name. And you've been so wonderful, too!" She smiled brightly in good humor. "I'm Karen Kasumi. It's nice to meet you… or I should say that it's nice to have met you." She laughed good-naturedly.

* * *

Fuuma eyed the "boy" with interest, smiling slightly. "I'm Kamui...one of a set. Would you care to join us?" He noted the boy's sudden shift in mood...almost as if he say some similarity to something in Fuuma. He smiled wider, thinking about the boy's role...The pieces were all coming together.

His eyes looked toward the blonde man as he returned with someone in tow...That boy! He had returned...Kamui. A image of his childhood friend came to his mind as he grinned at Okita. Could it be a sign of Destiny? No...this boy was meant to serve him. He looked back to Nataku. "It would please me greatly if you came with us." This one was as well.

Perhaps...Yes he would have his army.

Okita instantly remembered the main two from before. The black haired man...looking to about his age despite his height, the man in black looming in the back, lovely Satsuki-chan, no longer hiding the truth from him were all gathered at random around him...pieces in a game of chess...Two new ones were added to the equation however, one of which didn't want to be there it seemed from the tension he sensed.

"Nice to see and meet you all again..." Okita smiled nervously and bowed.

With everyone and his dog introducing himself, Seishirou had sunk back into the shadows of the group, waiting for whenever it was time to leave. But he was growing impatient; he did not like standing around idly with no objective.

Going over to where Yuuto and the new kid Okita were standing, he brushed past them to grab the battered Seal's collar, yanking him back toward the direction of their destination. "Stand around if you want," he called back in a low voice. "You can meet us there."

Taking his hint, Yuuto followed quickly, gesturing for Okita and the others to come along. Quietly he whispered to the rock star, "That's Seishirou, the head assassin of the Sakurazuka clan, holding the title of Sakurazukamori. Trust me, it's a bad idea to make him impatient."

As he sensed the others walking along behind him, Seishirou paused and glanced placidly over his shoulder, waiting only momentarily for them to catch up before continuing. "So...Okita, is it?" he said, directing his words to the newest member of the little brigade for the End of the World. "I take it you have something to do with the Final Battle as well...with the special powers or whatever you want to call it? Since I know Yuuto would never be stupid enough to bring an ordinary mortal to meet with the Dragons of Earth..." He flashed a derisive simper in the water castor's direction.

Yuuto stifled a flinch as Seishirou gave him that sardonic look. He could almost taste the sarcasm dripping from the man's words. Satsuki had had to remedy his supposed blunder already, though in truth Yuuto knew exactly what he was doing. Okita was meant to be a part of this little game; he could feel it in the very core of his being. Whatever the others thought of his unusual trusting demeanor was beyond his control. For now, all he could do was look to Okita and wait for an answer.

Satsuki shot an irritable glance at Seishirou as he dragged the Seal away. Fuuma had ordered her to watch over the captive, and now she had no choice but to follow Seishirou to wherever he was taking the Seal. The girl pushed her hands into her pockets and walked after the Sakurazukamori. Passing Yuuto and Okita, who were some ways behind Seishirou, Satsuki walked along next to the hapless Seal being dragged along behind him.

"So, which café are you planning to take us to, Sakurazuka-san?" the girl asked mildly. She reached into the Seal's pocket, and, after a brief search, found and removed his wallet. She idly flipped it open and thumbed through its contents. There was a photograph there, of three people. One of them was the Seal; he was standing behind a woman and a little girl, wearing a happy and proud smile. No doubt they were his wife and daughter, the family that was so precious to him.

Satsuki only glanced at the photo briefly before replacing it where she had found it. Finding what she had been looking for in the first place, she took out a credit card and held it up for Seishirou to see. "There are three more of these where it came from," she said. "You should thank us, Aoki-san. When we're done today, you'll have enough frequent flier miles for your next vacation," she addressed the Seal without looking at him. She laughed humorlessly and pushed the wallet back into his wallet, minus one credit card.

Taking the card from Satsuki's hand, Seishirou echoed her humorless chuckle. When she asked where he wanted to go for their little snack time, he thought for a moment silently. A place nearby where he had taken Subaru for dinner once all those years ago entered his mind.

"Ever hear of Sansui?" he mused aloud. "Quaint little place. Maybe we'll try that. Afterward, Kamui-sama will probably want ice cream. I guess we'll leave that up to him to decide." He gave another curt laugh and kept walking.

* * *

Kakyou blinked and tried to fight off the tears that clouded his eyes. Swiping the back of his hand across his eyes, he looked back up and peered into the fog. Though the mist seemed to be retreating just now. He could see more clearly now. A man was walking listlessly along but he didn't answer Kakyou's breathy question. But Kakyou had enough sense to see what pain and suffering the man seemed to be in and he was not surprised to let the thought surface that perhaps they were in the same predicament.

Taking a deep breath the dream-seer tried again. "Please answer me."

"Sumeragi...Subaru," he replied coolly, not sure if he made the wisest decision. He pulled Kantoku-sama's jacket over him even tighter now, letting himself be coated in his still-lingering scent.

Kakyou's eyes widened slightly at the name but he recovered in time to for it to be safely said that Subaru wouldn't have noticed. Taking a few steps closer to Subaru he couldn't help but notice the jacket that the man pulled closer around him. It was Yuurei's jacket.

The dream-seer tried to dismiss this from his already troubled mind, and for the most part it worked. He knew Yuurei's role in the end of the world so it shouldn't bother him, but for some reason there was still sense of unreasonable that kept coming up in the back of his thoughts. Keeping his golden eyes locked on to Subaru's face and banishing his own unhappiness, he forced a few words out of his now dry throat, "We are very alike you and I, Subaru. Even though we are on different sides.."

"What do you mean?" Subaru uttered, wrapping the jacket around him even tighter. Suddenly, he felt insecure.

Plip-plop. Plip-plop. Little droplets of blood fell from his chest to his bare feet.

* * *

As Yuurei approached, Hinoto lifted her head to gaze at the Watcher with her blind eyes. As she watched him come forward the only word she could manage was..._ Why? _

That single word was like a knife in Yuurei's soul. Forcing his jaw to unclench and his anger to subside, he gazed at the saddened dream seer helplessly, unable to give her an adequate answer. "I don't expect you to understand...," was all he could manage to say.

She continued to watch him, her hands clenching the front of her robes. _ Not understand what, Yuurei? The fact that you have defied Fate and perhaps changed it for good. The fact that you're turning toward them... _Her voice was cold, but an edge had entered into it.

Yuurei could no longer keep his teeth from grinding together. "If Fate's will is to make the one person I love more than life itself suffer throughout eternity, then Fate can burn in Hell." He narrowed his crimson glower at her last remark. "And I am turning toward neither side, just as Fate decrees. I will remain neutral as best I can, but I will not abandon Kakyou."

Hinoto shook her head; she could tell he was angry with her, but at that moment the feeling seemed almost mutual. _ So you will give up on the Fate that has been chosen for you for the sake of one man, Yuurei? _Her voice lowered. _ When he cannot even be saved in the end...  
_

He grimaced. "I know his destiny, Hinoto-sensei," he replied quietly, though internally he was seething. "But you can't possibly expect me to abandon him and let him die alone believing that no one loves him." He fell to his knees before her and drew closer until his face was mere inches from hers. "So, do you think you can understand that? Do you know what it is to love one person more than your own life--your own Fate? Or was I right to believe it is impossible for you?" He knew his words were harsh, but there was no other way to get his point across.

Hinoto was taken aback by the harsh questions, but for her it was not impossible...not impossible at all.

_ Kanoe... _

Hands tightening within her robes, she looked down refusing to meet his gaze with her blind eyes. Her voice was soft and quavering as she said in on a whispered breath. _ I know what it is like, Yuurei. So do not go accusing me of having no feelings. I understand it just as you do.  
_

He backed away slightly, still kneeling before her. "Then surely you must understand, at least to some point, why I did what I did." He gazed mildly into her blind eyes. "I've found the one person who is more important to me than Fate itself. You can't ask me to deny him completely."

Hinoto dropped her head, _ I am not doing that, Yuurei, but still...because of him you have altered the course of Fate itself. _She returned her gaze to his as a flash of anger went through her. _ Did you not stop to think about how this would affect Fate? How it would affect the wishes of all the others? You were supposed to watch and observe, Yuurei, not get involved..  
_

Yuurei knew she was right. He had been selfish and biased in his actions. Kakyou was only one man, and was it not in the interest of the world to sacrifice one in order to save the rest? But still... He turned back to solidify his gaze. "The future you foresaw showed the world in destruction. What does it matter to you if I change it? As long as I survive until the Appointed Day, I will have fulfilled my duty. And besides, you said yourself that Kamui is the ultimate key to the world's Fate."

Hinoto shook her head vigorously. _ That is true. But it does not mean that each of the Seals is worthless. Everyone has a role to play. What you have done may not have changed the final outcome, but it has changed the way the appointed day will come  
about. _She took a deep breath. _ There will be more pain, more suffering...and wishes will be changed..  
_

And, of course, he knew this was true. Guilt began to take a hold of his soul, like cruel fingers clutching his heart and forbidding it to beat. He bowed his head in surrendering submissive surrender. He had failed both the Dragons of Heaven and Earth. He had done the unthinkable. What he had given up for Kakyou he had believed he could justify, but the other players in this merciless game were also precious to him. He could not simply turn his back on them...even for the one man he loved most. "What would you have me do?" he said at last.

Hinoto reached out to touch Yuurei's cheek lightly. _ I would have you not see him again, but it is already too late. _She chuckled lightly. _ Besides, I'm sure you wouldn't listen to me anyway. You can't undo the past, Yuurei, so you must choose...  
_

Yuurei snapped his head up at her in horror, eyes widening as dread clawed at his gut. "Never see him again...? No, Hinoto-sensei, there has to be another way." How could he consciously choose to abandon the sweet, fragile young man, leaving him to his Fate in Fuuma's callous hands? "Please...don't ask that of me. Anything else...but I beg you..." His voice cracked and he could not finished. However, he continued to stare into Hinoto's unseeing eyes, his own crimson gaze glazed with tears of what he knew he would do if she asked him to make that horrid decision.

Hinoto felt Yuurei's head snap back and she immediately dropped her hand back to her lap. She could feel the pain in his voice as he spoke to her. _ Then you must choose your side, Yuurei. You have become too involved when you were supposed to only watch. You can no longer be neutral. To fight for the Dragons of Heaven and save the human race, or fight for the Dragons of Earth and destroy it...  
_

He knew what she wanted. She was, after all, the dream seer for the Dragons of Heaven. But how could he choose the side of the Seals, with all he knew of human corruption and abuse of power? But he also knew that he could never work alongside a monster such as Fuuma. Yuurei did not necessarily agreed with human principles, but neither did he want to mercilessly slaughter the entire human race. There were many good people still in the world: Karen, Aoki, Saiki, Yuzuriha, Subaru.

_-Subaru...- _The name of the young man flashed through his mind like a spark of electricity. If he were to join the cause of the Dragons of Heaven, he would be enabled to protect Subaru from Sakurazuka Seishirou's cruel intentions.

He refocused his vision and stared pain-stricken into Hinoto's childlike face. A single tear streamed down his stalwart face. "Then...if it must be decided...I choose the Dragons of Heaven." Just as she knew he would.

_-Forgive me...Kakyou-kun...-_

He glanced down at the lovely silver ring still banding his index finger. His teeth clenched; his chin quivered. He could not seem to look away from it. Fate was against them. It had always been against them. Slowly, with aching remorse in every movement, he reached down and removed it, holding it out to Hinoto and dropping it reluctantly into her hand. "As you wish...Hinoto-sensei..."

Hinoto remained silent for the span it took Yuurei to think about his decision. Even though she had tried to regard his decision objectively, she couldn't help but feel a thrill and a sense of triumph go through her at his choice. The ring in her hand felt like lead and she gazed at it with blind eyes. _ You've made your choice then, Yuurei? And you are sure? _Her voice was quiet, the ring glittering coldly in the light of the basement room.

Yuurei grimaced at her words, still staring pain- ridden at the precious ring in her hand. Was she trying to make this as difficult for him as possible? "There are no positive decisions in this matter," he spat sullenly. "I will regret this choice for the rest of my miserable life, but in this case, it's only a matter of which side I would regret less. The Angels' intentions are good, but their leader is a deranged psychopath. I will not aid in their bloodlust and destruction." He lifted his glower sharply to her face with a stifled snarl, and his single unbandaged crimson eye seemed to ignite with flaming, distasteful fury. "So, yes," he growled in a low, throaty voice. "I'm sure."

Hinoto could feel the fury and anger rising up in him down to her very soul. His words, though, did make sense, but there was nothing she could do to fix the situation Yuurei had gotten himself into in the first place. Hinoto nodded. _ Then you must never see him again. _A single thought, and with a sharp cracking sound the ring in her hand split into two pieces. _ Was he really that worth it Yuurei? Worth going against Fate for...worth dying for? _

The words caught him by surprise. They sounded nothing like what he would have expected from Hinoto--the woman who had raised him from childhood purely through the power of her mind. She sounded...cold...menacing. And it chilled him to the bone.

An anger he had never known began to rise up within his potent chest, and his eye flashed with fire. Almost before he knew what he was doing, his hand had seized her throat, and he was looming millimeters from her face, spitting out his crude sentiments as bitter bile gathered in the pit of his own throat.

"Don't take me for a fool, Hinoto-sensei," he snarled curtly. "I'm not doing this for you. I would give up the world in an instant for him, not to mention my life. I'm doing this for them--for the others that have become important to me. I've watched them grow and mature; I won't abandon them." His grip tightened around her neck until he heard with satisfaction her soft choking gasps. "For you...I would sacrifice nothing."

* * *

Kakyou noted the blood that dripped from his chest but said nothing. He continued eyeing the man and said softly, "What we've been through...the pain, the suffering, the memories..."

"What do you know about me?" Subaru grew defensive of Kakyou's reference to HIS pain, HIS suffering, HIS memories. "You don't know me," he sneered.

Kakyou smiled a bit, his golden eyes never leaving Subaru's face. "You're right I don't know much about you but I can read your face and I can see your dreams..."

Subaru suddenly felt violated. "You've been sifting through my dreams?!" This certainly didn't appear to please Subaru, who frowned. His eyes narrowed.

Kakyou shrugged his shoulders. "I am a dream-seer I do not sift through dreams but I see the future and the past.."

Subaru raised an eyebrow. "Who ARE you?"

Kakyou smiled sadly. "Kuzuki..Kakyou."

"How do you know me?" Subaru's eyebrows furrowed, as he stared intently on Kakyou, trying to ignore the intense pain that enveloped his entire body.

Kakyou took another step closer, forcing himself to forget that Yuurei's jacket was surrounding the man but before he could say a word, a flash of pain jolted through his chest...and then another... the pain was so intense he fell to his knees and grabbed his shirt right on top of his heart. His breath is seized in his throat and he manages to mouth one word. "Yuurei..."

Subaru didn't exactly know the man, but he didn't NOT know him either. He couldn't help but feel concerned for Kakyou, even when he was in pain. He kneeled beside the man, wincing from the pain as he did so. "Are you okay?" He put a hand on Kakyou's shoulder.

Kakyou noticed the other man wince. The flashes dulled to a constant ache and forcing a nodded Kakyou said, "I'm fine thank you." Getting up was a hassle but he pushed himself to his feet anyway and then offered his hand to Subaru, forcing his hand to remain still even though it wanted to tremble.

Subaru took it, as much as his inner voice told him not to. "Arigato," he said in a husky whisper.

Kakyou gave a pained smile as he pulled the man to his feet. "It's nothing. Are you sure you're all right though?"

"I'm fine," Subaru said. Apparently Kakyou was just as stubborn as he was. Subaru half-smiled at the thought, as a drop of blood plopped to the ground. "You didn't SEEM fine a minute ago."

Kakyou shook his head in denial. "Nothing that concerns you. Just a feeling I'm having that's all. It has passed." But in reality it hadn't. the dull ache was still ever present on his heart and his breathing was shortened and came out a bit shaky.

"Hmph," Subaru retorted, pulling back a few steps. It was his fault if he didn't want to accept the help he was offering; for a moment, Subaru felt hypocritical and attempted to justify that thought...unsuccessfully.

Kakyou grimaced. "I take it you don't believe me."

"You should never use the same tricks against a person who uses them," Subaru said simply.

Kakyou tilted his head to the side. "What tricks? Going into a person's dreams?"

Subaru sighed a bit, unable to tell if Kakyou was feigning ignorance or if he really didn't understand what he was implying. "I use the same tricks you use. And I'm not talking about dream-seeing."

Kakyou nodded with remorse. "Ahh.. hiding the pain. Yes we both use it well. Didn't I tell you we had a lot of things in common."

Subaru brushed his blood-stained bangs out of his eyes. "Are you REALLY ok? Did this 'Yuurei' guy do something to hurt you?"

Kakyou shook his head and said in a wistful voice, "No Yuurei would never hurt me. It's just something must be wrong.." his voice trailed off as he returned his gaze to Subaru's face. "You look much worse then I do.."

Subaru sighed loudly. "Yeah..." he droned off. "Just lately, I've felt like such a big burden on everyone. Some days, I feel like I can't take care of myself, let alone the rest of the world." Subaru brushed his fingers through his hair, sending flicks of blood that were once dangling on the ends to the ground.

Kakyou nodded. "Though that I couldn't relate to I'm sure you aren't a total burden. People care about you." he pointed to the coat. "That man cares about you."

"How do you know that?" Subaru's voice was filled with contempt. "He did it out of pity; to him, I'm just a puppy needing protection."

Kakyou grimaced and briefly touched his hand over his heart again. "Because I know him...very well. And if it is out of pity it's for a good reason not because he thinks you are someone who needs to be protected."

Subaru sighed loudly-- yet again. "How is it that you know Kantoku-sama?"

Kakyou's golden eyes got a bit fuzzy as if he were staring at something else besides Subaru. His words were distant and barely above a whisper, "He is an old friend to whom I have given my soul.."

"Given your soul?" Subaru crinkled his nose, unsure of if he was interpreting this all correctly. He suddenly felt a ping of something inside of his chest--no, not physical pain--but something else. And it hurt.

Kakyou eyes snapped back to earth at the question. He answered the question with one word, wondering why Subaru suddenly seemed so unhappy. "Yes."

"Do you know where he is now?" Subaru asked, trying to brush the feelings away. "I need to tell him...thanks."

Kakyou shook his head. "That I can't help you with. Are you sure you will be all right?"

Subaru smiled cockily. "Of course I'll be." While he said this, another drop of blood made its way down the brim of his nose and plopped to the ground.

Kakyou nodded and eyed the drop of blood, very unconvinced even though Subaru tried to sound cheerful.

Subaru suddenly found himself overwhelmed by pain. Unable to hold himself up any longer, unable to sustain his confident facade, he fell to his knees, and then to his face.

Kakyou watched as Subaru fell in slow motion and managed to hurry forward in time to catch the man before he fell on his face. Grunting with the weight added to his already labored breathing Kakyou lowered Subaru to the ground. "Subaru?? Subaru?!?!"

* * *

Seiichirou ignored the Angel, even when she blatantly committed the crime of robbery. He tensed furiously as her eyes gazed thoughtfully at the picture of his family but other than that, he was careful to keep from showing any other signs of his anger. 

For the most part, he ignored all of them. He had long decided that it was best to keep silent, hoping that the strategy would allow him to fade from attention. So while he seemed subdued, passively following and paying for tea as was ordered, the wind master was actually listening attentively. Listening to the ongoing discussions, but even more so to the wind.

It spoke to him in soft whispers that only he could understand.

_Not yet, not yet..._

Seiichirou was a patient man. And he would bide his time, waiting for the opportunity of escape to present itself to him.

His eyes narrowed just slightly as he quietly tested his legs and arms. His wounds had healed themselves. His strength was returning. The wind was singing, increasing to a whistle.

_Almost... almost..._

As they neared their destination, Seiichirou coughed loudly. Loud, wracking coughs. He went suddenly limp and collapsed on the ground. Clutching his chest, he gazed upwardly at his jailers, still coughing, "Ano... I..."

At that point, he clutched his throat as if dying of thirst and motioned for them to bend nearer toward the dusty ground. "I..."

As the captive Seal collapsed to the ground from his clutches, Seishirou paused on the sidewalk and glanced idly down at him. The man had started coughing violently, obviously seized by whatever blows had been dealt to him during his battle with Satsuki and Yuuto.

But instead of stooping down to wrench the Seal back to his feet, Seishirou smirked at the situation. It could never be said that pain and suffering did not amuse the Sakurazukamori. Promptly and without warning, he embedded the toe of his sleek black shoe into Aoki's ribcage, satisfied at the sound of the crunching bones that ensued.

Only then did he lean over to grip the man's collar. Smiling guilefully as he yanked Aoki's face close to his own, Seishirou said quietly in a musing tone, "Seems the wind is picking up. Maybe we should hasten out trip and get this over with." His blind eye glistened in the sunlight as a sudden gust of wind, as if on cue, tousled his hair and left it in disarray.


	37. Chapter 35: Silent Tears

**Chapter Thirty-Five: Silent Tears**

Nataku continued to watch and remain close to the one identified as 'Kamui' as the group continued on their way. The familiarity, and the smile... they were almost too much, as if the memories that occasionally resurfaced wished more attention to be paid them. Nataku's silence and proximity to the Kamui of Earth seemed to cause his fellow angels to forget his presence.

The look he could see in the seal's eyes as Satsuki relieved him of a credit card was familiar, as well. Only, Nataku's attention remained on the Kamui.

Why did a second name seem to reverberate through his mind?

_'Kazuki-chan'_... and laughter. He wondered if the laughter could be Fuuma's.

* * *

Kusanagi smiled and nodded at the young woman's comment. "I try my best," he said.

He couldn't help notice that she was eyeing him funny after he had leapt into the air. She had to have figured it out by now that he was a Dragon of Earth. Hopefully she wouldn't react the wrong way and retaliate towards him, but that thought was erased from his mind quickly as he smiled down at her again. Thought they just met, he trusted her enough that she wouldn't do such a thing.

It wasn't long before they had arrived at her apartment and Kusanagi gently set the young lady back down on her feet. "There ya go. Hope that wasn't to rough of trip for ya," he joked.

_"I just realized that after all this time, I still haven't told you my name. And you've been so wonderful, too!" _

Kusanagi let out a heartily laugh. "Its no problem, really. I think getting those wounds patched up are more important than introductions."

"Its a pleasure to meet you Miss Karen. I'm Shiyuu Kusanagi." he said with a slight bow. "I'm pretty sure you can handle things here on out. For now, I'm going to see what I can for your friend back there. He seems like the strong headed type, but I'm sure he'll warm up to me if I try hard enough."

Karen smiled back at Kusanagi gratefully. "I can't thank you enough for all your help, Shiyuu-san," she said, bowing again in thanks. She unlocked the door to her apartment and pushed it open. "If you do find Sumeragi-san, please bring him here. I have some first aid supplies in the bathroom. I'll leave the door unlocked."

Bowing once again to Kusanagi, Karen stepped into her apartment and carefully shut the door behind her, leaving it unlocked. As soon as she had done so, she steadied herself slightly against the closed door; it felt like her legs were about to give out from under her. She realized that it had been more than twenty-four hours since she had last slept; she had also completely missed her work shift. Despite her injuries, the red-haired woman smiled wryly to herself.

It was no matter; she could live without one day's worth of salary, and she wasn't fond of her job anyways. While she was at it, perhaps she would skip another day or two as well. With her injuries, she was completely exhausted.

Karen staggered down the hall into the bathroom and steadied herself against the sink. Opening the medicine cabinet, she took out a first aid kit and gingerly tended to her wounds. Once she had properly cleaned and bandaged her injuries, she limped out of the bathroom towards her room.

On the way down the short hallway, she stopped first in her living room and arranged a blanket and some pillows on the couch. If Kusanagi found Subaru and brought him to her apartment, he would need a place to put the young man. After making up the couch, Karen continued down the hall until she had reached her bedroom. The red- haired woman quickly changed out of her clothes into a more comfortable slip and collapsed onto her bed. Pulling the covers around herself, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

* * *

"Sansui…" Satsuki echoed Seishirou thoughtfully. "San-san took me there for lunch once. Their noodles are quite good."

The captive Seal's sudden coughing distracted her attention. Satsuki stopped walking and leaned backward against the wall of a building, crossing one leg over the other. She watched impassively as Seishirou smiled darkly, viciously kicking the Seal in the ribs. The computer genius was definitely not stupid; she could tell that the Seal's  
coughing was simply a ruse. He deserved whatever blow Seishirou chose to deal him.  
But though Satsuki was indifferent to the Seal's fate, she was not indifferent to her own. The Seal was still her responsibility; she was certain that Fuuma would not be pleased if the Seal was killed without his permission. It was for this reason, and not out of sympathy for the Seal's predicament, that she spoke out, still leaning against the wall.

"I don't disagree with your idea, Sakurazuka-san. But perhaps it would be better to wait until Kamui-san comes," the girl said in her usual cool tone. She took a hand from her pocket and absently pushed up her glasses, which had been starting to slide down. "After all, we wouldn't want to risk angering the Twin Star. Perhaps he still wants the Seal alive."

Fuuma wasn't pleased as he gestured for Nataku to wait a moment. He casual strolled toward Aoki, hands in his pockets. He moved past Seishirou and Satsuki with a grim look on his face. "I suppose I was a bit too nice to get my point across...I'm sorry for that now."

Fuuma's eyes shot open as the anger filled them...he wasn't pleased. He concentrated and suddenly Aoki's glasses shattered, magically not injuring his eyes...as if Fuuma was entirely in control without touching him. "Too nice, eh? I mean I thought you would just smile and be happy nothing was going to really hurt you. So You're sight has been blurred and..." Fuuma leaned down and violently ripped the wallet for the man's pocket, giving him a look which dared Aoki to try his little wind trick.

Fuuma opened the wallet and removed the picture. "I'm keeping this ..." It was said in his usual comic manner but something evil lurked behind that smile as if the picture was a mere IOU card. "now lets see what Destiny will bring you...and how nice I can remain." Fuuma tossed the wallet to rest on Aoki's chest.

* * *

After Yuzuriha had been settled back into her bed, Arashi took a step back, "We'll visit later, Yuzuriha-chan... You just rest." She said evenly, turning to leave. She stopped next to Sorata, "Come now, she needs her sleep." She stated, continuing now past him. She'd lost her IV stand somewhere out there, and was a bit cut up. Though right now, she was more worried about Sorata.

Sorata looked at her with a smile. "You ok? That was quite a fight you put up."

She didn't smile. "I'm fine. You should be worried about yourself, Sorata." She said, turning to look at him, "You were the one that took the brunt of most of the attacks."

Sora laughed as the pain was finally pointed out to him...he had forgotten it. "I'm fine Arashi...I've taken more painful things back home."

She gave a shrug, turning to walk again, "Very well, but I'm still going to dress your wounds before they become infected."

Sora leaned in real close. "Only if you let me return the favor." He poked her nose playfully,smiling.

Arashi's eyes narrowed and she thought about twisting his arm back again. However, it wouldn't do well to pop his arm out of socket. "You don't have to return the favor. As a Dragon of Heaven, its my duty to keep my comrades in working order."

"I'm a Dragon too...You're Logic is being used against you dear." He grinned widely.

Arashi kept her monotone expression, and ignored his comment as they entered his room. After some rummaging, she pulled out the first aid kit, "Sit on the bed." She said, setting the kit on the nightstand next to the hospital bed.

Sorata eyed her as he sat. "What's with the cold act all of a sudden?"

She set to work on his wounds immediately. "Its not sudden. My attitude during the past hours has been slightly warped." Even she thought the excuse was pretty bad. But oh well. Sorata already liked her far more than she enjoyed. At this rate he would give his life for her, and that she just couldn't handle.

Sorata eyed her oddly. "I see...well whatever...if you want me to get lost...then I can."

That was precisely what Arashi wanted, "Don't worry about it." Wait a moment! That wasn't what she was supposed to say! She finished dressing his wounds, wondering why she'd just given up the chance to be rid or Sorata, even for a little while.

Sorata smiled and looked into her eyes. "Don't worry...I've seen it before..." He rose from the bed. "You don't have to worry about my feelings..." He felt the worst pain he had ever felt…how could he even begin to get this girl to like him...probably would fail…just like with the ones in the past.

"I care about hurting your feelings though." She said, a hint of emotion in her voice. She silently cursed herself for it. She was opening herself up for heartache again. She was being stupid, and she couldn't get her mouth to stay shut. Idly, she stared at the floor, wondering what kind of reaction she would get form the man before her.

Sorata turned back and smiled. "You don't need to sit on the floor." He offered his hand.

She looked up at him, and took his hand lightly, allowing herself to be pulled back into a standing position. "Thank you..."

"You need to stop acting like I'm going to leave though...I mean if you want me to stay I will...I promise."

She turned her head away from him. "How do I know that...? What if you die?" She asked quietly.

Sorata smirked. "You're going to have trouble killing a cockroach like me." He laughed and hid the vision Stargazer gave him.

Arashi turned to look at him. Before she could stop herself she touched his face, looking at him through pained eyes, "But you can't... promise me that you'll never leave me... Or make me cry..."

Sorata looked into her eyes and held her hand. "I promise Arashi...but you have to know something...even if Destiny tears us apart...I'm going to be here." He touched where her heart would be. He smiled at her. "I'm going to give up my best to protect you.."

A smile actually appeared on Arashi's face... maybe... just maybe she'd give him a chance. He seemed sincere, he really did. She looked down, a small blush crossing her features, "Thank you, Sorata..."

Sorata smiled back and grinned. "Didn't know you could do that..." He leaned over and kissed her softly.  
She allowed him to do so, and even kissed him back. She pulled away after a moment though. "Perhaps we should check on Yuzuriha-chan... or call Karen-san and see how she is doing."

Sorata pouted softly. "But I just got the girl...can't I enjoy this a bit longer?"

Arashi let out a soft chuckle, "What else did you have planned?"

Sorata smiled and suddenly dipped her, kissing her in the cliché style of action heroes in the movies. "That among other things."

Arashi was.. surprised to say the least. So surprise that she found her arms now around Sorata's neck, mostly in an automatic attempt to keep herself from falling. Her face was redder now, "I should have expected that from you, Sorata." She grinned only a little.

"Wow you can grin too? I must have done something right." He locked lips with her again, enjoying being so close to her cool embrace.

Despite the many reasons to hurt him right now, Arashi kept her calm, and even enjoyed herself. Once Sorata pulled away, she ran a finger down his jaw line, "We really ought to call Karen-san." She whispered to him.

Sorata sighed and nodded. "I guess so…We have all the time in the world to be together, eh?" He removed his hat and placed in on her head. "KAWAII! It looks so good on you."

Arashi chuckled, adjusting the hat on her head. "Thank you." She said with a smile. She felt herself opening up. If that was good or not, she couldn't yet predict. "We'll use the payphone." She said with a nod, because the phone that was supposed to be in Sorata's room was missing.

Sorata nodded and followed her, placing a supportive arm around her. He wasn't going to let this one get away.

Arashi headed out the door, allowing Sorata to keep his arm around her. It was comforting knowing he was there as she headed for the elevator.

Sorata smiled widely...life was better than he imagined..._Hey old man I'm happy again.._

Upon reaching the elevator she hit the down button. "I think I saw one when we came in on the 1st floor near the exit."

"Yeah that's the most likely place...by the way...What did you think of the kid who knew Yuzu-chan?"

Arashi's nose scrunched up in annoyance. "I don't like him... at all." She said sternly.Sorata laughed at the return of her old self. "He's quite something...All I could tell was he cares about Yuzuriha for some reason."

She gave a slight nod, "He does... but I still don't like him. There's something... twisted about that man..." She murmured as the elevator dinged and the doors opened.

"Yeah I saw that too..." Sorata held on to her. "So lets make this call so we can be alone again."

She shook her head slightly, her smile returning, no matter how hard she fought it to stay away. She stepped into the elevator, and hit the 1st floor button.

Sora smiled and seized a kiss as the door closed. "Habit...sorry"

"Forming habits already?" Arashi asked with a grin.

Sorata smiled and poked her nose. "You're lucky I'm not clawing at your clothes."

"Knowing you- I'll bet I am." She smirked as the doors open and she slipped from his grasp, heading out onto the first floor to attempt to locate a payphone.

Sorata laughed as she escaped. "Hey come back here...I want to form some new habits!"

She gave a laugh as she heard Sorata's call, "I'm sure you do. But your far to injured to form more expressive habits, Sorata." She said as-a-matter-a-factly.

Sorata smiled and retorted. "Wrong...One is never **THAT** injured."

She shook her head, and continued walking... Finding it rather difficult to locate a payphone.

Sorata followed closely behind. He eyed the surroundings.

"I know I saw one around here... I couldn't have been hallucinating." She murmured idly. She turned to face Sorata, "What's the matter?"

Sorata smiled and shrugged. "Being protective...the Angels have always shown up at times like this so I'm being careful."

She gave a smile, "You've got a point... But I don't think they will be bothering us for at least the rest of the day... even they don't enjoy their enemies escaping alive several times a day." She nodded quietly.

"Yeah I guess you're right." He relaxed and stood beside her. "Still have to be on guard..."

"Very true." She said, turning the corner. That damn payphone was very eluding for an inanimate object.

Sorata nodded and looked around. "So where is that phone?"

"... it was near the entrance? Perhaps I was hallucinating." She gave a bit of a shrug.

"Maybe it's a sign?"

"A sign for what? That we shouldn't call Karen-san?" She asked idly. She wasn't much of a believer in that.

"Yeah..." He shrugged. "Destiny works in funny ways."

"True, I suppose..." Arashi stated, still intent upon finding the phone. When she last seen Karen, the woman had been badly injured, and Arashi wanted to know if she was alright.

Sorata nodded and leaned against a wall. "Maybe they don't have one..."

Arashi stopped, "I... suppose not. But that's very odd. Hospitals always have pay phones." She gave a small sigh.

Sorata puts a arm around her. "It's cool...why don't we just show up at her place?"

Arashi thought a moment. "... I suppose." She murmured. "But first I'd like to get out of this hospital gown." She gave a nod.

Sora nodded. "Want me to go get you you're clothes or you want to burrow some of mine?"

She thought for a moment. Her clothes were a disaster as much as she hated to say it. Blood stains and rips wouldn't look good as they attempted to get from he hospital to Karen's. "I'm going to be forced to borrow some of yours..." She said idly.

* * *

Yuzuriha watched as Arashi and Sorata left. She lay down, not sure what to do. She still didn't really understand what was going on, but for some reason, she knew that they knew.

Yuzuriha tried to lay down, but she just couldn't stay still. She felt the dog's eyes on her, and it made her uncomfortable.

"Inuki is your name, right..?"

**-flash-**

_"Inuki is real!!"  
"Liar!!"  
"No, Inuki's right here!!"  
"Yuzuriha has an imaginary friend!!"  
_  
**-flash-**

The dog seemed to nod.

"Why am I here? And why did you protect me? Yuzuriha asked herself, not really expecting a response. "Why is this building that was nearly crumbling now fixed now?"

She found no answer.

"I've got to find out for myself. Who I am, and where I'm from...my purpose," Yuzuriha said seriously.

"I'll go." Yuzuriha stepped by the window, eyes reflecting the light of the moon, her hospital gown gently flapping in the breeze. "I'll find my purpose."

She leapt from the window, Inuki following close behind.

* * *

The breeze came through the window of the shrine, light and fragrant. It was intoxicating to the senses, or would have been had one been awake to catch the sweet scent of the air from outside. What a sweet scent, and yet no one noticed it… save one shudder.

A young man lay silent, sprawled across his bed, still dressed, and apparently exhausted for some reason. Perhaps he had blacked out or perhaps he was just exhausted from the constant activity that always took place within Tokyo. Either way, he lay asleep like a rock.

His name was Tokuichi Shouri, a young man surrounded by mystery. Despite his appearance of being in his early twenties, he really didn't know his age at all. His spiky black bangs covered the closed emerald orbs that often glistened in the sunlight, and teased the soft skin that seemed to flinch from just being touched. He paid no attention to those around him, for only his mentor Matsuko was ever in the shrine and tourists had taken a break from visiting for a while.

He shifted uncomfortably as his peaceful rest was interrupted. His mind seemed to explode. He could hear a painful screech that battered the walls of his mind. Something horrible was going on outside of his dream world…something that he needed to pay attention to.

_'… Wake up, Shouri.' _An echoing voice chirped within his mind. _'Wake up, now! Death is drawing near…'_

_'To me?' _A mirror image of himself appeared in his mind.

The warmth usually felt in this dome was corrupted. Something dire must have been happening. He only felt this way when someone truly did need his help…or when Sasori felt a presence of any sort that he knew faced with death. He shuddered within his mind as he saw the small, white-haired child staring at him. Her eyes flashed slightly as she leaned towards him.

_'… You're needed. You must wake up! Wake up!' _she called. _'Brother, please!'_

Shouri paused for a second as he felt the cold touch of the small child upon his forehead. Within a brief second he felt himself pulled from the strange dream and into reality. He woke up. He was sweating… and very badly. He smelled blood, though he was nowhere near the substance. It was abundant. It was horrible. So Sasori had had a good reason for waking him!

"…Sasori-chan… tell me where…?" He whispered as he scrambled up from his bed, tossing his sheets messily back where they should have been.

_'You've awakened. Good… I don't know… but… the scent…' _The child's voice was far more grown up than it sounded… but it echoed as if it were bouncing off of walls.

Within his mind, like a split image, Shouri saw the little girl sitting as if she were at a tea ceremony in her white kimono. Her arms laid limp at her side as she stared ahead, silent within the little room of his mind.

"… Right. Let's go… try and contact whoever it is." Shouri said, taking the first turn for the door and tossing it open. "I'm going out!" he called, knowing Matsuko would worry if he didn't let her know.

Within a flash, he was out the door. His black denim pants, black tennis shoes, dark brown tank-top and black vest made him appear to be the sweetest little thing as he ran down the sidewalk.

_'… Where are you?'_ Sasori called out in her mind, hoping to make a break through. It was rare that her dear brother ever had any kind of… mind break…

The sun hadn't risen yet. The young man shivered. It was rather cold, really… but he couldn't ignore this, could he? His black bangs whipped at his forehead and at the back of his neck as he went, causing a light sting. It wasn't his concern at the moment… hopefully he wasn't too late. He shuddered again. The scent was worsening within his mind. It wasn't like he hadn't planned to get up early. He had woken in the night and showered and everything and had planned to go on a walk… but had fallen right back to sleep.

He looked up towards the sky. He doubted the sun would be smiling when it rose.

* * *

Subaru felt himself falling from the dreamscape he found himself in; for a moment, he thought he was going to throw up. Everything thathappened between Seishirou and himself combined with the sickening feeling of a free-fall...

When he fell, he found himself back in his body. He brought his hand to his mouth, but quickly pulled away. Leaning over his half-toppled body, he threw up; it was the skimpy lunch from the day before and blood. This definitely wasn't good.

Subaru had no intentions of being a burden on anyone. No one was going to worry about him. No one.

He used the bus stop bench to push himself to his feet, the strong taste of vomit overwhelming him almost made him want to throw up again.

Instead of making it to his feet, he toppled over yet again. Frustrated, he tried once more...

Shouri stopped as he felt the wind turn. Where was she now? Near the park... near the busses. He glanced around weakly. Perhaps he should have eaten something before coming out, but it didn't matter. He gritted his teeth lightly in frustration.

"... Can't you pick up anything, Sasori?" he asked aloud, frowning.

_'I'm sorry...' _Came the reply.

The wind shifted again. He caught the scent of blood in the air. It was like a poison, drowning out the sweet scents of late night and purging it of all goodness. Without another word, he headed in the direction only to stop at the turn on the corner. His eyes flashed slightly as he took a step back. What in the world had happened!? He saw a man... and there was something familiar about that man... though what it was, he could not quite place it. After a minute of overcoming his hesitance, Shouri rushed forward, stopping only a few feet away.

"... What happened?" he asked simply, frowning as he quickly  
offered a helping hand.

"Nothing..." Subaru declined the man's hand, still trying to prop himself up onto his feet, using his hand to push him up. "Nothing at all." Subaru looked up, gazing into the young man's green-blue eyes.

Not in all these years had he ever forgotten that poor man's eyes. Not once. Subaru remembered every person he met, even if he only met them once. He knew them all by name.

"Tokuichi...-san?" Subaru uttered, staring up at the young man's eyes.

It took a minute, but as soon as he had a good look at the man, Shouri recognized him. It was a shock to him, as he was never use to meeting anyone twice really besides little kids at the park, maybe... but he was more than surprised to say the least.

"S-Sumeragi-san?" he stuttered, pausing for a moment as his eyes met with the other's. "... Is it really you?"

_'Sumeragi-san!' _Sasori seemed to say within her mind. She couldn't forget that face...

"Hai," Subaru finally managed to pull himself up, albeit on wobbly legs. "Good to see you again, although in such bad conditions." Subaru tried to force a smile, but instead, felt the taste of vomit fill his mouth.

He collapsed yet again, and leaning over the gutter, gagged once more, another mixture throw-up and blood.

"What happened?" Shouri inquired, and then paused as he knelt by Subaru. "Never mind. You need medical attention right away. We've got to get you somewhere.."

He glanced up. The hospital wasn't that far, but he knew that the house was probably closer. He couldn't quite decide. Matsuko knew how to take care of wounds and certainly knew a few remedies for such horrible vomiting... then again, a hospital might be better. He looked at Subaru again, waiting for a slow to the vomiting before he spoke. Just the sight of vomit made him want to faint.

"Do you think you can walk?" he asked.

"Don't worry about me," Subaru said, pulling away from Shouri. Once again, he attempted to stand, and this time, managed to, with a bit of help from his equilibrium. "I'm fine. I'll be all right. There's nothing to worry about," he lied. All what he needed now was pity from people he barely knew. That'd really help his self-confidence right around now.

Shouri sighed as he stood up fully. It wasn't his place to force others to do what was probably better for them... and it wasn't his place to just barge up and act the way he had. He looked at him again, shaking his head.

"..You really should go to a hospital..." he said, his tone quiet again as some of his worry faded. If he could stand, he would be alright. Obviously Sasori was making no objections...

Subaru sighed loudly; he knew that Shouri was right, but he didn't want to listen to it. He was being stubborn. If he was going to make it to the hospital, it'd be by himself, without the aid of someone else. Or at least, he should get to his apartment. After all, within the next few hours, schoolchildren would be making their rounds to school, and Subaru was sure that his corpse would be quite a surprise to a gaggle of schoolgirls.

"Fine." Subaru nodded. "I'll go."

"Good." Was the reply.

Unfortunately, his social skills really did lack. Shouri had never gotten out too much and wasn't headstrong enough to stand up to people, even where it concerned their well-being. He gave the other a look that almost begged to let him come. If it hadn't of been for Subaru in the past, he wouldn't have had any real connection with Sasori... and without her, he felt that he would be lost... even if she only did live in his mind. He felt that he owed Subaru, and had felt that way since he had assisted him... though how he would repay that debt he was still unsure. Perhaps ensuring that Subaru made it to the hospital was fit enough.

"... I at least want to be sure that you make it there." He said, a bit slow to say so at first. He somehow felt like a child that kept nagging... but his conscious wouldn't let him rest.

"That's fine," Subaru said firmly, stumbling over his own feet. "Just don't interfere. I can do this myself." He turned in the direction of his apartment, deciding that explaining this to the doctor would be over-complicated. He really couldn't think of anything too complicated right now...his mind seemed so phased out. All the thoughts he could think were childishly simplistic, as if anything complicated would make him burst.

"We're going to my apartment. It isn't far."

He gave a light nod. "Mhm."

Within his mind, he wondered if Subaru would make it. He looked like he was going to collapse again, and it made Shouri worry. What if he couldn't make it? He shook the thought from his mind. The man in front of him was far stronger than he would ever be... and much more determined, too. He would follow, and that was that. Besides, to leave a person in such a condition without knowing they were in a safe haven... that thought alone made him shudder.

"How have you..." Subaru thought for a moment he was going to gag again, and brought his hand to his mouth-- nothing came, thank God. "...been, Tokuichi-san?" Subaru knew if anyone saw him from a distance in the condition he was in, they'd probably mistake him for a drunken businessman, headed home from a night of karaoke. Oh, if only they knew. If only they knew.

"Considerably well." Shouri managed, trying to draw his thoughts away from anything having to do with blood or vomit. "... And you?"

He felt his stomach twist a little. He really shouldn't have asked that question. What could have caused such a thing, though? It wasn't a mugging or anything like that. He could tell just by the look. It was something else. How annoying the mind's tricks could be... it would tell when one was in danger, but not what had caused it...

From her place in the mental box, Sasori listened and watched everything that moved as though she were behind them...

Subaru smiled cockily at the question. "I've been better." He continued to stumble through the street, leaving a trail of blood behind. Occasionally, he would nearly fall, but would catch himself with his bloody palm and use the rest of his force to push himself up.

Shouri smiled a little. At least someone still had enough energy to joke. He looked ahead for a minute and paused as he looked back at him. All that Shouri had to do was keep himself from thinking of blood and vomit... and that was when a thought occurred.

"... How has your sister been?" He asked timidly.

Subaru's half-smile quickly turned to a frown.

"She's dead."

Shouri frowned and glanced to the ground. Well, strike one for him. It was strange how he always managed to bring up the wrong thing.

"...Oh...I'm sorry..." he managed to say in a quieter voice. "... I didn't..." He lost his words.

... That.. was very hard to believe. She had been such an energetic person, and so friendly... well... maybe too friendly.. But still...

Subaru shook his head, clenching his fist. "Don't be sorry. DON'T." He gritted his teeth, increasing his grip, digging his nails into the palm of his hand. If he could just focus on the physical pain...he wouldn't have to think about the emotional pain. He didn't have to relive it again. He didn't. He didn't. "It was my fault she died. My fault." He thought of Seishirou. "It is my duty, as her younger brother, to avenge her death." Subaru looked to Shouri, his hand still gripped, blood slowly trickling out of the sides of his fingers, "I failed, even at that."

Shouri frowned as he glanced back up at him, and what could be described as an encouraging look replaced the forlorn one. 

"Don't say that... she wouldn't want you to give up so easily... She loved you very much and wouldn't want you beating down on yourself like that, right? You'll find a way. You're a strong person Sumeragi- san, and I envy your strength... because it's that strength that will be sure to see you through in whatever you meet, ne?"

Shouri glanced ahead again. He somehow felt that Sasori must have felt the same way because she was so silent. He nodded again as if to reassure himself. He was now wondering about the words though. Avenge? That meant she was killed... but who would have killed Subaru's sister? She was such a sweet girl...

Subaru shook his head. "I'm so weak. Hokuto would be ashamed to have me as a younger brother. Even with the power I have...I couldn't protect her. I can't do anything right."

* * *

Okita followed the Dragons of Earth with a awkward smile. He was comfortable but he realized that this feeling may switch faster than he could react...He watched Fuuma brutalize the nerdy man, with a even more awkward smile...man was this a crazy bunch, why did they want someone as plain as him...It was then he heard a familiar voice as he passed a Electronics store...his eyes widening and his face becoming reminiscent of a certain Battousai seen on TV.

It was definitely his commercial...Hair gel seemed to be what he was pushing...his hair was blue in this one so it wasn't that recent. He noted the fans crowding around the TV as if were the brightest light in all of moth land...Okita kept his expression because he knew exactly where this was going to lead if he said something...he started to back away, hoping none of these girls would turn around...

Too late...One of the more hyper girls turned, without looking forward, "I've gotta go guys, See 'ya!" , and running into Okita knocking him over. "Gomen...na..sai.." She stared face to face with the man in the commercial..."Are you?!" He actually walked around like that?! OMIGOSH! He was soooo cool even in person! It was then this particular girl let out a excited squeal...as if signaling the others to look.

Okita smiled nervously, backing up slowly. "Umm Hi..." Now wasn't the time especially in front of Yuuto's very insane friends. He was caught though as the others turned and squealed or yelled his name...It wasn't very long, about a minute before he was swarmed by the fans...Okita laughed nervously, trying to do his own PR.

Fuuma blinked and looked over toward the squeal...Fuuma eyes widened a very nervous smile appeared on his face...Did that many girls actually exist?...

Wait there was one boy near the back...Wait that was Okita trying to escape...he was pulled back in by gropers. Geez, There was even too many to grant wishes to without attracting unwanted attention from a less giddy source.

"Umm...San-san...Who exactly is that boy?"

Several small sweat drops appeared at the back of Yuuto's head as he chuckled nervously at Fuuma's question. Okita was already running at top speed from a pack of rabid fan girls, and they were gaining fast.

"Do you listen to J-rock, Kamui-sama?" he questioned the Twin Star without really thinking. "He's a quite popular musician...especially among the ladies, it would seem." A nervous twitch outlined his eyebrow, but he kept it suppressed enough as so not to be too obvious.

Sighing lightly, he grinned and straightened himself. "I'll get him out of it," he said with a wick in Satsuki's direction, and a quick nod to Seishirou and Fuuma. Then, leaping quickly across the street, he spotted a fire hydrant and, concentrating on his power over the water that lay just beneath, he timed the event perfectly. Just as Okita passed, Yuuto summoned forth a sudden burst of energy that caused the side spout on the hydrant to erupt into a violent torrent of water, cutting off the girls from their objective.

Just as lightly and effortlessly, Yuuto then landed in front of Okita and gestured back at where he had come from. "Hope you don't mind my cutting short your session with your beloved fans," he said cheerfully, his friendly smile spreading rapidly across his face.


	38. Chapter 36: Cry Through the Darkness

**Chapter Thirty-Six: Cry Through The Darkness**

"Hinoto-hime!" Two identical voices cried out simultaneously from opposite sides of the room. Souhi took several steps away from the door, a quick movement of her hand against her waist revealing a hidden dagger. Her sister reached out to touch Yuurei's arm with her hand, but both girls remained unsure of how to protect their beloved princess while Yuurei still gripped her by the throat.

"Yuurei-san!" Hien's other hand flexed at her waist, where a dagger identical to her sister's was hidden. "Stop this, or Hinoto-hime will-" He seemed to be ignoring her. "PLEASE STOP THIS!"

The door slid open, and as Souhi turned, she was blasted by a strong gust of wind. Standing in the now-open doorway, breathing somewhat heavily, one hand on the open doorframe, was Saiki. He needed only a moment to take in the situation before acting.

"Stop it, damn you, you're going to kill her!" Gusts of wind surrounded the young man, circling outwards in a concentrated blast towards Hinoto's assailant. Souhi, unfortunately, was knocked against the wall and slid from consciousness.

* * *

"... If you keep saying that, that will become the case." Shouri said, looking at him with a slightly more determined look in his eye. "The way you're talking now.. I wouldn't be surprised if she was ashamed... you helped me a long time ago to find my sister... and I can't thank you enough for that... so I won't let you give up. I owe you and your sister that much." He nodded again, glancing ahead.

Why was he being so bold? He was never this bold... well, he knew it would break in two if he felt weak...

Subaru felt like he was going to die right then and there. Not literally, of course, but Shouri had totally shot him down. His words became kinder, and for a minute, Subaru almost considered leaning on him, as he was having trouble keeping his balance. He nearly fell several times already, and while he thought he could make it home, he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to make it home alone.

Why was he so dependent on people? He even relied on people he hadn't seen in years.

"Where have you...been...all these years?"

He looked back at him and paused. "... At the small shrine just by the park... Takanuka Shrine..." He said a she thought it over.

If one could have peered into his mind, they would have seen a small smile on the face of the child within.

The pain was becoming unbearable. Subaru was tearing himself apart moving in this condition, and he damn well knew it. It was time to  
stop being so damn stubborn and ask for help, even if he hated himself for it. After all, he could always beat himself later over it.

He pulled himself over to Shouri's side and leaned on him, just a bit. Just barely. Just enough to use him for a support, but not leaning on him heavily. In fact, his body barely frisked Shouri's side as Subaru attempted to adjust his pace to Shouri's.

Noticing the change in Subaru's pace, Shouri slowed a little bit to be helpful. He looked ahead. He was right... if Subaru didn't get settled down and at least get those wounds cleaned up, he was going to faint probably. He barely felt that he was being leaned on, but he knew that he was.

'... Shouri, sometimes I wonder what would happen if you didn't have me.' Sasori murmured in his mind.

He ignored the thought as best he could. He knew- he would be absolutely crushed. The world as it was hard enough to handle... but he was also wondering precisely what had happened to put Subaru in such a horrible condition. He wouldn't press it... but perhaps he would find out later, ne?

The two approached Subaru's apartment complex, and Subaru managed to make his way up the stairs by leaning on the railing. As he pulled himself up, he fumbled for his key, and realized that it was gone. Probably inside the house from when Yuurei helped him earlier.

Sighing loudly, Subaru uttered, "Looks like we're locked out."

"Locked out?" Shouri paused as he moved to the side, taking a look at the lock. ".. I might be able to pick it... maybe... but if you have a security system..." He glanced back at him.

He knew he wasn't good with locks... and he knew that he could probably get at the door's hinges if he tried, but he didn't want to break the door or anything of the sort. That was the bad thing about apartments... no windows that weren't several stories up.

"I've got...security system," Subaru's words were disjointed, and it was clearly visible that his breathing was getting heavier by the second. He brought his hand to his chest and clutched Yuurei's trench coat; where was Yuurei now? Had he abandoned him?

The younger boy frowned as he glanced back to the door. "..I'll disable it after we're in."

Shouri knew it might be a little disturbing, but at the moment he didn't want Subaru just flat out fainting right there. He looked at the lock, taking a closer look... and straining to focus. He doubted it was wise to do what he was about to, but it would have to do. Within the door, the sound of the lock fidgeting... and finally opening. The mental force used in it, concentrated, made Shouri shake almost uncontrollably. As soon as it was unlocked, he heaved a sigh as if he had been holding his breath.

Shouri looked to Subaru quickly. "Can you tell me the combination?" He asked, not sure if it would go off due to the fact that the thing had been unlocked manually...

"Two...-_huff_-...Eight...-_huff_-...Four...-_huff_- One..." Subaru clutched the handrail, trying to hold himself up. The blood was falling faster now, dripping downstairs to the pavement below.

As quickly as he received it, Shouri deactivated it. "Done and done."

He turned his attention quickly back to Subaru, darting to him. "Come on... you're getting worse..."

Originally, Shouri had planned to go as soon as he had gotten Subaru there. He couldn't leave him there though.. not in that condition. He looked at him with wide eyes, hoping that he would let him help. He nearly cursed himself for being so careless of the situation...

Subaru shook his head and stumbled into the apartment, somehow making it to his room. The blood he was leaving left a path, the same path he had taken not so long ago with Yuurei. He laid on his bed, which was still covered with the ribbons that was once his trench coat. He laid on his bed for a moment, curled up like a kitten, trying to ignore the pain that had overtaken him.

After what happened with Seishirou...Subaru wasn't sure if he wanted to be here anymore.

If he couldn't even avenge his sister's death...  
...if he couldn't even be a good Dragon of the Heaven...  
...if he only hindered everyone...  
...why was he here?

Shouri stood in the doorway still. Should he stay, or should he leave? He didn't want to be a burden... but he somehow felt that someone was needed. He almost wished that Subaru's sister was there... she would've known what to do, wouldn't she? He looked back out, beyond the railing of the apartment and out at the sky.

"... I'm not sure what to do... I think he'll be okay... but... ..." He glanced back off to the side and frowned. "It's not my place to interfere... is it?"

_'... No... it really isn't... Shou-kun, you're a good person... but I fear that your soft and good heart may someday cause you much pain.' _Sasori's voice spoke into his mind. _'... Even if we did stay, the chances of him surviving are-'  
_  
".. He's strong. I have faith in him, Sasori." He murmured, glancing back in the direction that he had gone. "But maybe... I don't know..."

Subaru gazed blankly at the ceiling. There was no reason for him to be here. With him here, all what he'd bring would be suffering. All those around him would be hurt because of his stupid decisions.

Like him deciding to go off on his own with Seishirou.

_'Idiot...I'm so stupid...' _Subaru thought to himself.

At least if he died now, he wouldn't burden anyone...  
...and he'd be re-united with Hokuto.

No more Seishirou. No more Yuurei. No more being left behind. No more hurt, no more pain...

Subaru winced as he stomach burned with pain.

That wasn't the only thing hurting.

The wind shifted again. That sweet scent of the air combined with a stranger scent of blood almost caused him to get a little sick. He shook it off and sighed, turning. He needed to speak with Subaru... perhaps he could help, maybe...

He turned hesitantly and followed the trail of blood that had been left behind by Subaru. He frowned as he came to the door and stopped for a second. Should he? ... Mhm. Yes. He blinked for a second before lifting a hand and knocking lightly.

"... Sumeragi-san?" he asked, hearing an echo in his mind. Had Sasori also said the same? He shook it from his mind.

Subaru heard the voice, but didn't respond. Maybe if he just thought about it really hard, he'd just...die.

But what of his onee-sama's revenge? What of Seishirou? Could he let him live after all that he had done?

No. Death was too lenient of a punishment for one who had done something  
so cruel. Subaru felt the tears welling up in his eyes, and tried to push them back, without avail.

"... Sumeragi-san?" He called again, glancing back once the way he had come and whispering to himself, "Perhaps I should go... This matter... isn't mine..."

What could he do? What could he say? He didn't even know what the problem was. He felt himself beginning to spiral and quickly leaned against the wall to keep himself up. What a blast... too much concentrating. He really should have eaten... even if it had been raw rice or something of the sort from the kitchen. He sighed weakly. In his mind he thought he heard a quite familiar laugh that made him jump sky high. He had only imagined it... right?

He shook his head again, focusing fully.

_'I don't need this place,' _Subaru thought to himself, shutting his eyes tightly. _'I don't need anybody, or anything...except Hokuto...'_

A flicker of light seemed to illuminate the room briefly. Hovering over Subaru was a rather innocent looking young woman to say the least, looking a bit between upset and utterly disgusted. Her name was Sumeragi Hokuto.. and her reasons for being there she would reveal within a matter of seconds.

"... Sumeragi Subaru, open your eyes." She said, sounding a little cross.

Subaru opened his eyes immediately. That voice was WAY too familiar for him not to. "Hokuto-chan!" he shouted out, smiling at the vision. He sat upright, ignoring the pain throbbing through the lower half of his body completely. "Hokuto-chan, is that really YOU?"

"Of course it's me!" She replied, crossing her arms.

There was something perpetually dark about Hokuto at the moment. While she seemed happy to see him, she seemed to be masking emotion in her voice. She stared at him for a minute and then glanced away, her voice uncovering a slightly... upset tone. "Though I'm not quite sure if you're you."

"What do you mean, Hokuto-chan? Of course, I'm me! I'm Subaru!" Subaru pointed out the obvious, who was starting to become a bit delusional from the pain.

Hokuto face-faulted. She shook her head, a bit of a cross-tone coming. "Are you really? You surely aren't the little brother that I knew! The little brother I knew would never just give up! He would never let himself fall into such a position... and he would never dare to think of letting anyone...anyone..."

She seemed to be getting even more upset, a look of disappointment appearing. "I'm... I'm ashamed of you, Subaru-kun... I thought you were better than that... you can't be my brother... in fact..."

"No-no-no-no-no! You don't UNDERSTAND Hokuto," Subaru protested, knowing damn well that Hokuto understood. "You don't understand how I feel...you don't understand at ALL!" he yelled out, his voice raspy. Drips of blood flew from his mouth as his words lashed out at Hokuto.

Her eyes narrowed as she pointed one slender finger at him accusingly. "Don't you yell at me, Subaru! You KNOW that I know you better than anyone else, better than Seishirou! How can you let him walk all over you after what he's done to us? What he did to me!? How can you sit there and mope and whine, pitying yourself!? I KNOW you're better than that Subaru! Perhaps you should learn to yell at HIM as you would your sister!"

Her eyes were actually tear-filled, though still filled with anger. She was shaking.

Shouri could hear Subaru outside, but no one else. He frowned, holding himself back from opening the door. _'... I wonder what's going on in there?'  
_  
Subaru recoiled in shame; he was starting to feel like the little boy he was seven years ago. "No...no, it's not like that! Seishirou- san...Seishirou-san..." Subaru fumbled for an excuse, but found nothing.

"Seishi-SEISHIROU-SAN!?" Hokuto spat almost like she was going to fume over. "How can you call him that!?"

"I-I-I-I-" It was quite evident that Subaru was incredibly intimidated by his onee-sama. "I-I-I-I d-d-d-unno."

The girl suddenly just burst into tears. "I can't believe you!" She wailed, tears just flowing. "Whatever happened to my strong little brother? The one that didn't know any limit? Did Seishirou really take your will, as well as everything else away from you?" She whispered, sounding almost terrified...

Subaru blinked in surprise. "Hokuto-chan!" He pulled his sister into his grasp, hugging her tightly to his chest. "Gomen ne, Hokuto-chan. Gomen ne."

She seemed to shudder slightly, but hugged back. "...Subaru...promise me something?"

Shouri's worry was increasing as he let himself sit in the doorway in front of the closed door. He needed to rest for a minute...

"Anything for you, Hokuto-chan..." Subaru held his sister close. "Anything for you..." he echoed.

"Don't give up... and don't you ever let Seishirou win... promise me that..." Hokuto whispered. It was a sad tone hidden in her voice now...

Subaru suddenly froze in place, unable to convey what he needed to say. Deep inside his heart, he already felt Seishirou had won. And if that were the circumstance, then he had already broken the promise he had just made.

"But...But Seishirou-san...Seishirou-san...has won."

"... Sumeragi Subaru... you are no brother of mine..." Hokuto whispered. "...if you can't make that promise.."

Subaru's eyes widened as he felt his heart crush under the formality of Hokuto's words. "Why...do you want me to make that promise, Hokuto-chan?" Subaru forced a smile. "It's a silly promise, Hokuto-chan."

"... I need for you to remember who you are... and I need for you to know I'm with you. Whatever happens to you... it happens to me..." She said.

If one had looked at her closely, it would have become apparent that she looked probably about as beaten as Subaru, though not quite like a mirror reflection. She looked completely broken, though not quite... it was as though she had something protecting her from it.

"...We're both bleeding.. can't you see that?" she asked, a pain seeping through and projecting itself in her voice.

"H...Hokuto-chan...Hokuto-chan, I don't want you to be hurt," Subaru said, once again taking the girl into his arms and holding her so tightly that he thought he might break her. "I don't want you to be hurt...I wish that instead of you, it could be me...not you..."

"We're brother and sister... and we're twins. You can't hurt one without hurting the other... that's why you have to win... for both of us. Or will he take even that bond away from us?" She asked, somehow managing not to wince from the tight grip.

"How would he take it away?" Subaru cried out. "That's the only thing he CAN'T take away from me...Hokuto-chan," he smiled lightly.

Hokuto smiled a little. "... Maybe I was wrong... I think you will win, Subaru... I know you will... you won't let me down... I know you won't... even if he does try..." She smiled again, a smile that could melt the polar ice caps.

"Aishiteru," Subaru breathed into Hokuto's ear, happy to finally be able to say the words he was never able to convey, "...Hokuto-chan."

A small smile formed, destroying the small frown that had been there. She looked up at her brother. He really had grown so big, taller than her...

"... Aishiteru, Subaru-kun..." she said.

* * *

"Now where could have that kid gone off to?" questioned Kusanagi as he gazed off into the distance from the roof of a building.

He had been searching for the young man named Subaru for over an hour now and wasn't getting very far. He wasn't bound to break his promise to Karen and come back empty handed, but it started to seem that way by the minute.

Not to far off a weird group of people had been gathered around a young man. It was only a few people at first, but the crowed began to grow larger, swooping over the young man caught in the middle.

"This could very well turn into a riot," said Kusanagi watching further. "I should do something but, this is really a job for the police here. Besides its my day off and I already have enough to deal with."

He turned his back in the opposite direction was about to begin his search once again when he stopped in mid track. "Why cant I have a normal day off like everyone else?" he sighed heavily before jumping off towards the crowd.

Landing behind an alley, Kusanagi appeared out before the crowd. "Ok people, move along!" he shouted as loud as he could. "Nothing to see here! Please disperse in an orderly..."

Weather or not these people could hear him, Kusanagi was cut short when a young blond man appeared and cut off the mob with a wave of water. His mouth dropped open and his heart skipped a beat as he stumbled back a few steps. The mans Ki was incredible. He never sensed anything like this before. It was just then that he began to sense the Ki of a few others around him. They were powerful, but one seemed to stand out amongst the rest.

A young man dressed in white was emitting a frightful power that sent shivers down his spine. It was different…but also similar to Kamui's. "Are they…the Dragons of Earth?" he questioned.

* * *

Leaping from building to building as fast as possible, Kamui continued to follow the weak ki signal that Kotori was emitting.

_"Hang on Kotori..." _Kamui thought. "_I'm almost there_!"

* * *

Before the two monogamous drones could touch him, a blast like a hurricane hit his back, and he heard the furious voice of Daisuke Saiki behind him. Yuurei smirked. It was just like the kid to get involved in matters that were completely over his head.

Without so much as glancing over his shoulder, he directed his words at the young man as he continued to glare into Hinoto's blind eyes. "Don't do anything stupid, now," he warned bitterly. "This really doesn't concern you."

He shoved Hinoto abruptly to the floor and stood, rolling back his shoulders and rotating his neck in the fashion of loosening his muscles. Then, turning around to face the enraged wind castor, Yuurei clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes. He had no intention of hurting the young man, and he admitted inwardly that his violent actions toward Hinoto had been more than just a bit headlong.

With dogged agitation in every step, he strode toward Saiki and, with sudden movements that a lesser eye would have missed altogether, he lashed out with one hand, slicing through the wind swirling about the man and clutching his callused fingers around the wind castor's throat. In one swift motion, he shoved Saiki back against the wall, baring his teeth as his single un-bandaged eye flashed a bloodthirsty crimson.

Bitterly he leaned forward until his face was less than a foot from that of the younger man. Now that he had broken his bounds of a neutral Fate, he was not about to tolerate such insolence. "Do you wish to die today?" he seethed in a low, vehement tenor. "Because I am in just the right mood to tear something apart..."

* * *

Arashi was heading back for the elevator, still wondering with that damn payphone could have escaped to.

"Hurry up, Sorata." She said easily, hitting the up button for the elevator. She rubbed her arm slightly as she waited.

* * *

Even if it was late, and not exactly an appropriate time to be out, Mitsu "Uo" Houou never let that bother her. She was a headstrong girl with silky, dark brown hair that went to her waist. She had sad-blue eyes, and was a fairly light color and very well-built. Not only that, but she was a very active person, being in school and all. She was rather spunky, not afraid to show a little edge, or her genius for that matter.

There were many odd things about Uo. She had a laboratory in her home and worked part time in an auto-shop somewhere as a mechanic or an extra pair of hands. She couldn't help it. She loved machines and anything to do with them. She always had time to do her school work though... and to hang out with her friends. Speaking of friends...

_'... Kotori-chan's been out of school for the past few days... a bit too many days, especially for her...'_ Uo thought as she walked along the sidewalk towards the church. _'I haven't seen her or heard from her at all. I sure do hope she's okay...' _she thought as she walked along the sidewalk, hands slipped into the pockets of her very loose, black denim pants.

She was wearing black denim pants, a red midriff, a black leather jacket over it, black tennis shoes, and two spiraled, sterling silver earrings shaped in the symbol of Pisces. She frowned as she stopped a bit away from the church. Something just didn't seem right about any of it; the wind was moving oddly, too. She was standing on the sidewalk, but close enough to the church... ... and then she noticed it. Two figures were there... that, or her eyes were playing tricks on her. One she recognized all too well...

"Kotori-chan!?" Uo gasped, eyes widening slightly as she rushed forward, stopping in front of the mysterious woman who was holding Kotori in her arms. "Wh-what happened here!?"

Had there ever been a time that Uo was overprotective and afraid, it was then. Kotori had been missing from school, hadn't returned calls, hadn't been seen for some time... and now she came to the church to pray and found her in- well, NOT good condition, that was for sure! She tried to keep a straight face, but she couldn't manage to. She stared at the woman still, waiting for an answer.

"... She's okay." Kanoe said, looking at the upset brunette. "She's just in shock... can you take care of her?"

Uo's eyes widened. She was nodding and she didn't even realize it! She was all the more shocked when the woman handed Kotori to her. She didn't object, but rather knelt on the grass and let Kotori lay there, partially holding her up with her left arm so that it was like she was sitting half-way up.

"Kotori-chan! Kotori-chan, can you hear me?" She asked, trying to spit her words out straight without stuttering. "Kotori-chan! Come on! Snap out of it!"

While Uo was occupied, Kanoe seemed to slip into a shadow... And vanish...

Uo glanced up, and now saw no one. The smell of blood was in the air, too. The night wind stung Uo's cheeks, even if it wasn't cold. The stench coming from the blood caused her stomach to churn... and her worry for her friend, for Kotori, only made things worse. Her eyes were brimming with tears. She needed to get her to the hospital or something... but she couldn't leave her to go to the payphone! She had left her cell phone at home and-well, the priest...

"Kotori-chan... Kotori-chan, if you can hear me, say something. I'm here for you. It's me, Uo... say something.. anything..." she said, forcing herself not to sob, though her voice was beginning to crack.

Houou was known well for her strength, emotionally and physically. She often boasted it... as well as did her friends who preferred her to guard them. In a way, she liked to be one of the rough girls at school who wasn't afraid to show a little spunk and attitude... but right then, the tears she was trying to hide wouldn't stop coming...

"Kotori-chan... Kotori-chan..." she kept repeating, trying to think of anything she could do. "It'll be alright..."

Another tear fell. Just what had happened to Kotori anyhow, Uo had to wonder. What had happened? True, she had wanted her prayer, for Kotori to show up, answered... but not that way... not that way...

* * *

Subaru smiled at the loving tone of his onee-sama's voice. It was good to know that she returned the same feelings, but at the same time, Subaru wasn't positive she meant it.

It wasn't that he questioned her words, he just...he just felt as though maybe she only returned the words because he said them first.

Hokuto smiled softly and placed a hand on her brother's cheek. "... I meant that."

It was like she knew what was in his mind... everything. After all, since when had Subaru EVER been able to keep anything from her?

Subaru had forgotten over the years how well his sister knew him, even if she never showed it. But even so, his confidence in his sister's feelings wavered. "Hokuto-chan...please stay with me," he pleaded.

She glanced down rather suddenly, eyes flickering a little. "... Subaru-kun... I can't... I wish I could.. but... I.. I don't have a say in this.."

"Yes you can...you can, because you're Hokuto!" Subaru said, half pleading, half disillusioned by his own self-wishes.

"Subaru-kun, I'm surprised I've even had this much time with you... I really can't." She frowned, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes.

How her soul had possibly gotten free... even for a short time, she wasn't sure. It shouldn't have been possible... but this... it was real, wasn't it? She forced herself not to cry... well, tried.

"I can't... because... because I'll be pulled back again." She frowned, looking up at him. She hoped he understood, but doubted that he did...

Subaru shook his head. "Why? Why did you do it, Hokuto-chan? Why did you let Seishirou-san kill you? You didn't have to, Hokuto- chan...Hokuto-chan is strong..."

"I did it for you, because I love you, Subaru-kun... and if I had to do it again, I would... so long as you stayed alive... nothing else mattered..." She trailed off, her voice cracking just a little bit.

"Stay alive? How could getting yourself killed help me stay alive?" Tears well up in Subaru's eyes. "If anything...if anything, it hurt me...so much, Hokuto-chan. It didn't help me."

"Gomen ne, Subaru-kun..." Hokuto was about ready to break down. Her time was running out...

Outside, Shouri listened. All he could really hear was Subaru... But the presence from the room was far different. He slowly stood up...what was he to do now?

"Yoru no nikumu..." he murmured to himself...

"I don't need apologizes," Subaru suddenly grew violent, his eyes growing cold with anger. "I NEED YOU, HOKUTO-CHAN!" he slams his fist into-and through-the wall, and the blood oozing from his chest spurts from the outburst, and blood begins oozing faster. "I NEED YOU!"

Hokuto frowned, standing suddenly. "Subaru-kun! Yamete!" She seemed to grow pale as if something were eating at her. She seemed to take more damage than he could of. "Yamete!"

"Hokuto...I won't let you go! No one will take you away from me again!" Subaru shouts, throwing himself at his sister, clutching at her, refusing to relinquish is grasp on her.

"Subaru-kun...neither of us have a say in this." She frowned slightly, wishing she could make her brother understand. "I wish I could stay... believe, I want to... but..." She glanced down again. "It's not possible... I've tried. Watching you grow up has been the hardest part.. and seeing you now, full grown and all... it's hard to believe you're really my little brother..."

"No! It is, it is! Because you're HOKUTO, it is." Subaru tried to pull himself closer, but found himself falling back on the bed, through Hokuto's now-opaque body. "H...Hokuto-chan?"

"It looks like I'm out of time... I'm so sorry Subaru-kun... ..." She began to sob, but tried to stay strong. "...You've got to stay strong.. remember that. Don't you dare lose...because if you do..." She looked at him with eyes filled with terror still. "... I'll feel it too... I'm always with you.. maybe I'll find a way to see you again..."

"Hokuto-chan, nonono! Don't go, don't go!" Subaru keeps trying to wrap his arms around Hokuto, only to fall once and once again.

"Subaru-kun... yamete!" Hokuto took a commanding tone again. "... You know how you can help me..." She began to flicker and sighed, closing her eyes. "... Aishiteru, Subaru-kun..." She whispered...

And then se was gone in a single flash of light...

Subaru screamed out in anger, and threw his fist through the wall once more; his knuckle started to bleed, trickling blood down the wall. Subaru pulled his hand out, and collapsed in a fit of tears, blood and angst.

Shouri frowned upon feeling the very wall shake. At this, he stood up and frowned, opening the door and taking a few steps forward. "Sumeragi-san..."

His eyes flickered suddenly. The strong presence.. whatever it had been had faded... and it had left Subaru in horrible condition, too. He frowned as he walked forward. He had a feeling that he knew precisely who that presence had been, at least he thought he did. He stood over Subaru frowning, and frowned as he knelt down, placing a hand on Subaru's shoulder in a firm grip instead of weak. He didn't care if Subaru through his hand off... he just didn't think it was right for him to have to suffer in any such alone. Everyone needed a friend, and right then, Shouri was going to be a friend.

Subaru pulled away. "It's isn't fair. It isn't FAIR!" Subaru threw his fist for the third time that night, sending it any direction he could throw it.

"Sumeragi-san! Calm down!" Shouri called, raising his voice a little just so that he felt he could hear himself. "You've got to calm down!"

He was a bit shaken by the sudden outburst. He wouldn't back down though. He knew he wouldn't be able to move too fast, being as dizzy as he was...

"NO! I'm not about to calm down! I'm NEVER going to calm down!" Subaru shouted. "Not until he's dead, not until I KILL HIM, not until his blood is on my hands will I CALM DOWN!" He threw the last few words in Shouri's face, sending spats of blood splattering across his face.

Shouri frowned for a minute and paused, wiping the blood away. "Well then you'd better listen to me! Whoever it is you want dead will pulverize you in your current state so you had BETTER calm down before you give yourself a heart ache! You want vengeance, right? Well at least allow yourself to recuperate before seeking it, or our attempts will be in vain!"

_'... If talking doesn't work, you shouldn't try to...' _Sasori trailed off, feeling the slight dizziness from Shouri's mind.

Subaru shakes his head. "I can't wait that long. I can't wait that long. He killed Hokuto-chan...he broke me..." Subaru fell into tears once more. "Just look what he's done to me! LOOK AT ME!" Subaru falls back into angst, barely pulling himself off of the bed, as if he was presenting himself to Shouri. "LOOK AT ME! THIS IS WHAT HE'S DONE!"

The man's eyes flashed slightly. Subaru... ..that's...that's..."

Shouri couldn't find words. Whatever had happened WAS bad. Just looking at the damage done caused him to flinch slightly. He frowned and took another step forward/

"Sumeragi-san... I can't help what he's done, but I can help you, if you'll let me. Whatever and whoever... it was who did this to you and why... I don't know... but I'll do what I can to help... And right now, you're making it difficult... ...you can't fight in this condition. You have to get your full strength back or it will just happen again. .. do you want that?"

"It's more than just this. It's more than that..." Subaru slumped, crying again. "More than just that. He took more than just my sister, he took more than just that..."

Shouri frowned, walking over and sitting by him with a frown. "... What else did he take...?"

_'... He.. who is this 'he'?'_ He thought to himself.

Subaru didn't respond. Instead, he looked down, head bowed in shame, his face covered in a deep red blush.

After a minute or two, Shouri nearly fell off of the bed as he realized precisely WHAT it was. "Oh..Oh GOD!"

He was surprised at his own words, but it wasn't entirely inappropriate. For a minute he stared blankly at the floor on which he sat. Wow... well... well.. .

"Sumeragi-san... oh.. I. .and... oh.." He lost his words about on the second or third 'oh'. After a minute, he slowly sat up again. "...W-well then..."

Subaru felt even more shame now that Shouri had figured it out. After all, it was worse knowing someone knew. If no one knew, it didn't happen? Right? RIGHT?

"... I won't say a word." Shouri said after a minute. "If you don't tell I won't tel.. ...Sumeragi-san... I'm willing to help you. I've said it before... and I'm going to... I view you as a very close friend, even if we've only met each other once before... and I value my friends above all else. Whoever did this to you... I'm going to make sure you get them back..."

_'... Don't make promises that you can't keep.' _Sasori said in his mind.

Subaru looked up at Shouri, eyes gleaming with tears. "Arigato..."

"Daijob... daijobu..." Shouri nodded, smiling weakly.

Finally... hopefully, Subaru had calmed down. Had Subaru been a girl or a younger man, Shouri would have hugged him... but Subaru was older, that, and he wasn't a child. He looked back at him again.

"... If you need to cry, I'm here for you." Shouri said.

"Hai. No problem." Shouri nodded slightly.

It didn't take him a few seconds to get the necessary supplies, with a little help. He began to work on bandaging Subaru up without hesitance. He kept himself focused, not letting Sasori's comments get at him...

Subaru winced every time the bandaged touched his raw skin. He knew within a day or two's time, he'd be fine again, but now, everything seemed to make him ache; even the air his skin breathed burned his flesh.

"I don't think any is infected." He commented out loud, more to himself than to Subaru. "You can't be too active though... And no more pounding your walls, okay? I don't think your neighbors, or your knuckles, appreciate it."

Subaru smiled at Shouri's attempt at a joke. "Hai," he responded.

"Almost done." He said, nodding once with a little smile as he continued. He was a quick worker, but also liked to make sure that the bandages were secure and wouldn't easily come off or undone. After a minute more, he gave a satisfied nod. "That should do it! Good as new..."

"Arigato..." It still hurt, but not nearly as much. Maybe the bandages were cutting off his circulation. "Can you get me some aspirin out of the kitchen cabinet?" Subaru glanced at the sheets. There was no chance he could get those dry-cleaned without someone asking some questions.

Shouri nodded and stood up. He headed for the kitchen, walking idly along without hurrying or rushing too fast, though he moved at a quick pace any how. As he came to the cabinets he paused. In the first one, there was nearly anything inside, and certainly no aspirin. In the second, he found the aspirin.. but it was also very vacant. He checked a few others... VERY vacant. He frowned... perhaps he'd ask later? Shaking his head a second, Shouri glanced back and then proceeded ahead again and back to Subaru's room. How weird...

Subaru swallowed the aspirin whole, without even taking a glass of water. I hope this knocks me out, he thought, before settling down in the bloodied sheets.

Shouri glanced at Subaru and paused. "... I'll buy you some new ones later today... when the stores are open." He said, pausing as he took a few steps towards the door. "...You wouldn't mind if I got a glass of water or anything, would you?"

His dizziness had cleared a little.. but Shouri knew if he didn't drink something that he was going to get a headache soon. "Anything I can get you?"

Subaru shook his head. "No, help yourself. I don't need anything." His eyes followed Shouri as he left the room.

With a nod, Shouri had gone back to the kitchen. He still wondered why the cabinets were so empty. Well, it was probably best not to ask questions. Subaru needed sleep, or at least a little bit of rest, and Shouri wouldn't be a distraction. He could keep himself occupied and would check in on him so every now and then. He had Sasori to keep him company... and that was good enough for him. Sitting down idly in the kitchen, he simply listened to the silence... it was almost eerie. Oh well, it was fine... right? He looked down again as he sipped his glass of water.

_'... Matsuko-oba-san will worry... ah well... she'll understand...' _he thought with a nod.

Subaru laid down, clinging to the sheets as he closed his eyes. He wished he could fall asleep again, make all the pain go away.

But all he could think about was Seishirou. About how much...how much he wanted to kill him. How much he wanted to crush him with these hands. How much he wanted to destroy him.

Subaru never felt so much contempt for himself in his life. He would have to redeem himself.

By killing Seishirou.

Sitting idly in the kitchen sipping a glass of water, Shouri was unaware of the thoughts Subaru was having. He was trying to think if he knew of anyone in the past that might've wanted to hurt Subaru. Not really. The only people he truly knew were Subaru and Hokuto... and anyone else they had known he was oblivious to.

Taking another sip of water, he felt himself recharge a little bit. He glanced back to the door.

".. I don't understand it quite." he murmured aloud. "Why would anyone... want to hurt Sumeragi-san?"

_'... I'm not sure.'_ Sasori replied in his mind. 'Either way... It isn't our concern.'

".. I'm making it our concern." he murmured aloud again as he sighed. "Sasori-chan... I already made a promise and I won't break it."  
_  
'... Shouri-kun...' _The small child in his mind frowned and said nothing more...

Subaru felt himself sleepless. If he would, he'd toss and turn like he had been doing a lot. It was always like that, either he'd fall fast asleep and not wake up for another 12 hours, or he'd find himself without sleep for a couple of days.

He hated it.

The young man glanced back as he strummed his fingers idly over the counter, shifting in his seat a little. "...I just can't figure it out..."

_'Shou-kun...' _Sasori trailed off again.

"Hai?"

_'... Could it have been that man...?' _she asked in his mind, shifting from her position as she stood.

"... That man?" Shouri repeated out loud.. frowning at the visual image that appeared. "Him... him.. his name... I can't remember it but him..."

An echo of the evil laugh that Shouri had heard upon first entering the apartment came through to his mind. He shuddered for a minute and paused. "Yes... him. I don't KNOW him.. but I've seen him... with the twins before... perhaps... if only that shadow wasn't over his face... is that all you have on him in there?"

The little girl glanced around, prying through Shouri's memories like a worm of some kind. _'...No, brother...'  
_  
"... Perhaps it was him.. but... if I don't know who he is entirely... and don't even know what his face looks like.. how am I suppose to...?" Shouri sighed as he sat back and rested his left hand upon his forehead.

Subaru sighed loudly and sat up. There was no way he was going to go to sleep now. He stumbled to the wall and he pressed his body against it for support. "Tokuichi-san..."

Shouri looked up as he heard his name called. He stood up, leaving the glass of water there and proceeded to the hallway, and then to where the voice had called him. "Ah! Sumeragi-san, you called?"

Subaru had no idea why he called out Shouri's name; maybe it was because he couldn't stand the unbearable loneliness, but now he just felt plain stupid.

He struggled to his bed, and sat down. "No..."

He blinked for a minute and followed, leaning in the doorway. He watched him, not quite wanting to leave him alone, really. He HAD said he'd check on him... and people didn't call for no reason.

"... Are you sure?"

"H-hai." Subaru laid back down.

He frowned again but nodded, taking a step away and sitting against the hall's wall. He sat in Indian style, not minding or noticing the simple fact that he was still a bit shaky. He controlled his shaking well enough. He hummed lightly to himself, a tune that he usually played on his flute... even if it was odd for a young man to play a flute, he did. He liked his flute... very much. The music he could create from it was what often kept him company, besides Sasori.

Subaru listened quietly to the tune, closing his eyes. Maybe he could fall asleep.

No. No such luck. He rolled over and stared at Shouri, listening to his song. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say.

Shouri continued to hum the tune aloud, not realizing that Subaru was listening. It was light and very airy, sort of slow and yet something that might calm down a frightened child. He continued to hum, keeping himself awake simply because he had to concentrate to get every note right... if only he had remembered to bring his flute...

"Tokuichi-san...that melody sounds familiar. What is it called?" Subaru tried to make conversation; he obviously wasn't going to be able to sleep so easily.

" _'Kodomo no Kibou'_... I've played it often since I was a little boy." he said with a light nod and a smile. "It's become quite popular in the city..."

Perhaps Subaru had heard it when passing the park, or perhaps he had played it for Hokuto and him when he had met them as a 'thanks'. He wasn't quite sure.. but he did know that it was well known through out the city...

* * *

Kamui's heart pounded faster and faster in chest as he leapt towards the next building. He was already out of breath and his chest burned from exhaustion, but he didn't care. Nothing mattered more to him right now than finding Kotori.

Yuzuriha leapt to the same building, not even realizing that Kamui stood nearby. She looked down as she neared the building floor, and saw Kamui standing there. She managed to miss hitting him-- but just barely. "Gomen'asi!" Yuzuriha apologized profusely.

He didn't quite expect to run into anyone on his way, so Yuzuriha's sudden appearance had caught Kamui off guard. He stumbled back, trying to avoid colliding with the young dragon and lost his balance, falling flat on his back.

He glared up and snarled at her as he rose to his feet. "So your back feet again, eh?" he said ignoring her apologies.

"Do I know you?" Yuzuriha wasn't trying to sound rude, but this guy was talking to her so informally.

"Know me?" Kamui questioned. Her response threw him off guard. Was this some kind of joke? "Look kid, if your not going to be serious, then get 'outta here. I don't have time for any of your games right now. I'm busy."

Yuzuriha glanced at Kamui quizzically; he looked familiar, but... "I'm not kidding."

"I said quite bugging me!," he snapped back at her. A cold wind blew past him, ruffling his hair as he stood silent for a moment gazing down into her eyes. There was something strange within them. Almost a sense of purity and honesty. "You not joking...are you?" he finally spoke.

Yuzuriha shook her head. "No, I'm not."

Turning away from her, Kamui sighed heavily, gazing off into the distance where he should have been. He didn't have time for this. Kotori's life was at stake and that was all that mattered. Slowly, he began to walk away from her, ready bound off once again, but something stopped him. A sense of guilt for leaving the young girl behind began to over come him. "Why out here anyways?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be in the hospital or something?"

Yuzuriha nods. "Probably, but...I got left behind. There's so many things I don't know. Like, this dog..." Yuzuriha motioned to Inuki, who sat beside her. "It seems to be magical, somehow..."

She didn't even recognize her own dog spirit. This was serious... Inuki ears folded back as he began to whimper towards Kamui. It was as if he was pleading toward him to help the young girl. "Damn it..." he whispered.

"Come on..." said Kamui as he turned back towards his destination. "Follow me. And be quick! If you get left behind I'm not coming back for you understand?"

Yuzuriha nodded, and despite her aches and pains, managed to keep up with the fast-paced Kamui.

It seemed like all his energy had been spent fighting off the Yuurei, but somehow Kamui managed to press on. It was then that he could not longer feel Kotori's presence. His heart sank and his stomach began to churn as the worst possible outcome had ran through his mind. "No...Kotori!" he shouted and began to run faster than before. The church beckoned him from the distance and it was then that Kamui realized that is there that he felt her ki. Landing down on the streets below, he caught a glimpse of the young girl.

"Kotori!" he shouted and ran towards her, scooping the tattered girl in his arms upon arrival.

Yuzuriha felt something go off inside of her at the sound of that name.

**-flash-  
**  
"You're Kamui-kun's friend, aren't you? Want some pocky?"

**-flash-  
**  
Yuzuriha shook the feeling off and ran after Kamui, holding her aching chest as she did so.

Her torn blood stained clothes, her worn body, the burning scent of her dry blood...it was to much for Kamui to bear. He did all he could to hold back his tears. "Who...who did this to her?" he choked. Holding her body tightly in his arms, he shot up at the young school girl that was there. "Who did this to her! Answer me!"

* * *

Satsuki watched incredulously as Okita was swarmed by the huge mob of girls. She knew that he would have to have some fans if he was a J- rock star, but she didn't think that he was that popular. She looked over to the electronics store and noted the TV in the window, still playing Okita's commercial. And in the commercial, his hair was… blue? That was indeed quite a change from his current look, Satsuki mused absently.

The girl noted idly that Okita was now completely occupied with attempting to keep his fan club away – which meant that he was paying no attention to her. Her joy at this realization was cut short, however, when Yuuto leaped off to rescue the J-rock star, not before throwing a mischievous wink in Satsuki's direction. Satsuki stared back at her fellow Dragon of Earth with an irritated expression, silently cursing Yuuto for his interference. It seemed that her freedom from being around Okita was about to be cut short.

Sighing in resignation, Satsuki decided that she might as well browse the electronics store while Yuuto saved Okita from the mob. The girl casually strolled across the street to the store, skillfully navigating her way around the mob surrounding Okita.

But as soon as she reached the other side of the street, a young man in an army uniform appeared, seemingly from out of nowhere, and shouted for the crowd to move along. At almost the same time, Yuuto caused the fire hydrant to explode in a not-so-subtle fashion, which definitely caught the young man's attention. The young man looked across the street to where her fellow Angels were standing. "Are they... the Dragons of Earth?"

Satsuki smiled slightly to herself. BEAST had told her everything she needed to know about her fellow Angels; she knew who this young man was. Kusanagi Shiyuu, one of the missing Dragons of Earth, had finally made his appearance.

The girl walked over to where the young man was standing, stopping a few feet away from him. "Yes, they are," she said coolly, in answer to his question. "And you are one of them, Kusanagi Shiyuu."

She continued to speak, ignoring any reaction that Kusanagi may have made. "I am Satsuki Yatouji. I, too, am a Dragon of Earth. We've been looking for you." The girl nodded towards the other side of the street, where Fuuma was standing. "That is the Twin Star, the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth," she said. She began walking back across the street, without looking a second glance at Kusanagi. "Come with me, if you please. I'm sure he would like to meet you as well."

* * *

Kotori was pushed into a female pair of hands, only to be pulled out of it again. She looked around in a dazed state, trying to figure out who held her. "Eeehh...let go!" she screeched noting Kamui's grip on her.

"Kotori!" Kamui shouted trying to keep his grip on her. "Its me, Kamui."

She tried frantically to get out of his hands. Her arms flailed about, pushing her palms against her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at him.

At this, Uo blinked several times, forcing tears away. If Kotori was scared, then it wasn't a good thing... but obviously this man didn't mean harm to her, right? She frowned a second, "Easy! Kotori-chan, calm down... it's okay."

Uo...!" she cried out. She reached out for her school friend's hands. "Yuzuriha-chan!" she called, seeing the girl behind Kamui as she pulled her hands from her face.

Yuzuriha backed away, frightened by Kotori's condition. She nearly burst into tears, bringing her hand to her mouth as she began to remember the events of two days before.

**-flash back-**  
"Want some pocky?"

"Sure."

**-flash-  
**  
Kotori stared at Yuzuriha with pleading eyes. If her legs worked correctly, she would have pulled herself away from Kamui herself. But all she could was plead to get away... "Uo...Yuzu..."

Why wouldn't Uo help her? She'd always protected her back in school, always stood up for her when Fuuma couldn't...why not now...?

Uo wasn't quite happy with Kotori's condition. She looked at Kamui for a minute and back at Kotori. "... I think she's scared... I don't know why... but... it isn't her fault..." She frowned, and gently swept Kotori from him.

Yuzuriha stared at Kotori, horrified. "A...an..o..."

Kotori sniffed, her eyes filled with tears. "He's evil...just like him...they all are..." she muttered. She grabbed Uo's shirt, and held it tightly, pulling as far away from Kamui as she could.

"Daijobu, Kotori-chan. He isn't.. calm down. It's okay." Uo forced herself to be strong, giving Kamui a helpless look as if she wasn't sure WHAT to do at the moment.

Yuzuriha gulped down her fears, and approached Kotori, forcing a smile. "Daijobu," she said, kneeling down beside her. "Where are you hurt?"

"My..." Kotori couldn't explain it. She stared at Yuzuriha with her glazed eyes for a moment. "It all hurts...It hurts inside..."

Yuzuriha held a hand out to Kotori. "Let's get up, okay? We'll get you somewhere where you can be safe. You're about my size, so you can wear some of my clothes." Yuzuriha tried so hard to smile, despite the fact she was trembling in horror.

"... I... it was..." Uo frowned as she tried to snap out of it. That was crazy! She knew Kotori and... her brother... very well... ... she considered them like family, well, Kotori more than him.. but... still!

Uo frowned. "Who did this to you, Kotori-chan? Tell me." If Uo was good at anything, it was certainly vengeance and defending her friends. She frowned a little, ready to pick up Kotori if needed.

Kotori averted her eyes from the helping hand to Kamui. She didn't want him to touch her, if it could be helped. Inside, her feelings burned, but she was in too much of a shock to think about it. Her soft eyes glared his way, before she took Yuzuriha's hand, and tried to stand. Without much effort, she stumbled. "Who...who...it doesn't matter who.." she said with a wicked smile on her face.

Yuzuriha tried to catch Kotori as she fell, and managed to pull her up. "Kotori-chan, daijobu. Daijobu," Yuzuriha echoed, saying it more for her own well-being than anyone else.

Uo twitched slightly. She'd find out eventually. She frowned as she looked at Yuzuriha. "Are you sure you can keep her up?" She continued to glance at Kamui. She would talk to him when Kotori was taken care of...

Yuzuriha shook her head at Uo. She definitely would need some help.

Kamui's heart sank as he released his grip on Kotori, handing her over to Yuzuriha. Though its seemed like she needed some help supporting the young girl, he was afraid to touch her. What had happened? "Kotori..." he whispered quietly.

Uo frowned again, and nodded a little as she looked at Kamui. "She'll be fine. I'll see to it. If you know anything though..." She trailed off as she walked to Yuzuriha's side.

Kotori kept smirking in Kamui's direction. "You..." She struggled to stand on her own. With him around, she couldn't be weak. If she was...then he...he could do what Fuuma did..

Yuzuriha allowed Kotori to lean on her. "Daijobu, let's go...are you ready?"

"Where are you taking her?" Kamui asked. Kotori nodded to Yuzuriha, her hair matted to her face. "Hai...ready.."

Yuzuriha trudged towards her apartment, which luckily, was only a few blocks away. Hopefully, Kotori would be okay there.

Will he find us where we're going?" asked Kotori.

What do you mean he?" Kamui asked. "Do you know who did this to you?"

Again, the brunette frowned, glaring at Kotori. "Kotori-chan, you stop that..." She said, not too rough in her choice of tone, though. "Come on... let's get you out of here..."

" I know...all too well..."

"Stop that...? Stop what...? Did he listen when I said stop..?" she spoke in complete monotone, her eyes staring at nothing in particular as she moved her legs with much effort to walk.

At this, Uo paused. "... Who is he?" She was beginning to shake. If she didn't find out soon she was going to explode...

"Don't force her," Yuzuriha snapped at Uo.

"But this can be our only lead!" said Kamui. Walking over to her, he placed a hand gently on Kotori's shoulder and gazed at her in the eyes. "Kotori...please...tell me who did this."

Uo looked like she was ready to draw Kotori back should she go into a tantrum of any kind. She gave a clear look that said 'be careful'.

Kotori moved her hands in front of her. She pushed out with the little bit of strength she had left, and pushed Kamui as she much as could to get him away. "You know who did it! I don't want you...to touch me.."

The frustration and anger began to build within him. It became almost impossible to contain. Grabbing her by the arms Kamui shouted. "Kotori! Snap out of it! Tell me! Who did this to you!?"

Kotori glared, grabbing at Kamui's face. "I don't want you touching me! You'll copy him!!" She screamed, trying to pull at his skin with her raw hands. With no one around, she was ready to fight him to the ground. He wasn't going to do what her brother had done. And with no one to stop her...

"Kotori-chan! Yamete!" Uo cried, grabbing her shoulders lightly and giving a little pull to see if she could pull her back. It wasn't her full strength, either... and then she noticed it. "...Th-that...!?"

Yuzuriha helped Uo pull Kotori away. "Calm down!" Yuzuriha shouted.

"Ahhhgggg!!" Kotori hissed. Though, she allowed herself to be pulled away..mostly. She left one hand to continue to scrape at Kamui. She wanted to feel his skin under her nails...

Kamui held her back at bay, keeping her hands away from his face. It was a struggle for him not to use his powers and hurt Kotori by accident. Breaking away finally ,he watched as the Uo and Yuzu managed to get a grip on the frantic young girl. He could suddenly feel a slight warm drip down the die of his cheek. Brushing a hand across it, he smirked at the site of his own blood.

She stayed down this time. Kotori was far too weak to try anything again. "How could you let him do that?!" she asked Kamui, tears running down her face, wetting the dried blood again. "You'd promised to protect me!!"

"... Him." Uo repeated out loud again. Well, that shirt didn't match Kotori at all... and Kotori would've have worn it. The scent on the shirt was strong though. Uo's eyes went very, very wide...

"..."

"What?" Yuzuriha noticed Uo's sudden change in expression, and was curious as to why it had changed so quickly.

"... I... it was..." Uo frowned as she tried to snap out of it. That was crazy!

She knew Kotori and... her brother... very well... ... she considered them like family, well, Kotori more than him.. but... still!

Kotori sniffled and glared at Kamui. "Stop stuttering! Why!? Why Kamui!?"

"I tried!!!!" cried out Kamui. "I looked for you every where! But I couldn't find you...and there was no one to help me." His tears began to burn and swell up in his eyes and it wasn't long before they escaped him...

"Gomen ne sai...gomen nasai..." he whispered.

Kotori couldn't help it. She wasn't being herself, and she felt almost nothing to the way that Kamui was acting. Nothing showed on her face, no expression of caring at all. She just looked at him, the wet blood slipping down.

"It was him." Uo said after staring at Kotori for a minute. She looked between Kamui and Kotori. Even if she had known Kotori since she was small, she wasn't sure she knew this boy at all. That didn't matter..

"Him? Him who?" Yuzuriha looks completely befuddled.

Uo seemed still dazed and slowly looked up at the sky. A light whisper escaped her; a single word: "...Fuuma."

Kotori's reaction more than enough proof than he needed. He clenched his fist in anger, trembling. "F...Fuuma..." he hissed.

Yuzuriha pulled Kotori into her arms. "It's okay, it's okay. He won't find you at my apartment," Yuzuriha re-assured her.

"Can I have some clothes...?" Kotori asked. It had struck her of what she was wearing, thanks to Uo.

"Sure." They reached Yuzuriha's apartment, and she fumbled through her pocket. Nothing. The key was at the hospital. She hit herself in the face.

"What's the matter?" asked Kamui.

Kotori watched Yuzuriha. "What is it? Is something the matter? He isn't here, is he?"

"No, no. I don't have my key!" Yuzuriha cried. Inuki's ears perked, and he took a more opaque form, walked through the door, and a few seconds later, there was the sound of a lock turning, and the door opened. Inuki stood at the other side of the door, wagging his tail.

Yuzuriha blinked in surprise, and ran up to Inuki. "Wow! That's great!" She gives Inuki a big hug.

"Yuzuriha-chan...that dog of yours is pretty smart." Kotori said.

Yuzuriha blinked in surprise. "You can see Inuki?"

"Why? can't anyone see Inuki?"

"Of course I can see Inuki...he's right there...Can't everyone see him?" Kotori asked. She stopped talking, and glanced nervously around her. "Lets just go inside.."

Yuzuriha stepped inside, and ushered Kotori to her room. She pulled a crimson dress, poofy sleeves, lace, the whole bit, and offered it to Kotori. "Is this OK?"

Kotori nodded softly. Anything was fine, so long as she wouldn't have to have her brother's scent around her. She reached out with fragile hands, and graciously accepted it.

Yuzuriha smiles, and digs into her closet and pulls out a t-shirt and jeans for herself. She turned away from Kotori, and began to strip down into bra and panties. It was very evident that Yuzuriha was more injured than she was letting anyone onto. Her entire stomach was wrapped with white bandages. She quickly hopped into her jeans and tossed on her shirt, and waited for Kotori to finish changing before turning back around.

It took a bit longer for her to get undressed. Though her clothes were merely shreds, it hurt for her to move too much. She fought for awhile with her dress, before it merely fell off. She took the crimson dress, and stepped into it slowly, careful not to touch any sore places. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, and looked at Yuzuriha. "What do I do with these?" she asked, motioning to the cloth at her feet.

Yuzuriha took the clothes from her. "I'll bring them to the wash tomorrow, unless you want to throw them away."

"I don't really think there is anything left of my dress..." Kotori said. "You can do whatever you want with them." she told Yuzuriha. "I don't need them."

Even with her clothes on, she still felt naked, and she pulled her arms to her body, as she stepped out of Yuzuriha's room.

Yuzuriha took the clothes and pressed her foot against the step on the trash can and tossed them in. She followed Kotori into the other room.

Kamui said nothing as he leaned against the wall near the doorway. He was to ashamed to even look at Kotori and hung his head low.

Yuzuriha looked at the girl and the young man that had accompanied Kotori and herself. "I don't believe I've caught your names. I'm Nekoi Yuzuriha."

"Kamui..." was all he could say.

Kotori looked down at her hands. She felt really grimy. She looked at her broken nails, and used her right hand to pick out the skin she had torn from Kamui's face. She still didn't show any emotion.

"Kamui...Kamui-kun." That name was so familiar...

Uo seemed not to respond, but merely to be in a daze. Her thoughts were intertwining so much that she hadn't heard the question.

"That's my friend from school. You can call her Uo." Kotori said.

"Hajimemashite!" Yuzuriha exclaimed, bowing politely.

Kamui didn't respond at all. He wasn't much for greets.

Uo snapped out of her daze and nodded, bowing lightly. "Hajimemashite." She nodded again.

"Would you like to make a cake, Kotori-chan? To get your mind off things?" Yuzuriha asked the blonde girl. "I'll help you. I'm pretty hungry anyway!"

Kotori paused for a moment, looking at Yuzuriha. "Okay," she said, standing, and following after Yuzuriha, who was already running into the next room.

* * *

"Yuzuriha...hand me that milk, and a bowl, please?"

Yuzuriha handed Kotori the half-gallon of milk, and a bowl as well. "Do you need a measuring cup?" she asked, pulling one out of the cabinet.

"Sure." Kotori said. "If you would, pour a 1/3 of that milk into the bowl." She attempted to pull open the top of the box, and remove the cake mix.

Yuzuriha measured the milk carefully, event taking the time to tilt the measuring cup so she could make sure that she had measured the milk perfectly.

Kotori pulled the mix from the box and dumped into the bowl.

Kotori glanced around the kitchen. She found what she was looking for and walked over to the oven, turning the dial to 350.

Now...we've got the mix, and you've got the milk...what else..?" Kotori mused.

Uo glanced back silently to the ground. Her eyes flickered once more as she glanced up from the ground. She looked back to the way the others. _'This is all a bad dream... or is it? Fuuma, why would you abandon Kotori-chan like that?'  
_  
"I promised I'd always protect my friends if I could... I'd do everything in my power to do so, no matter what. My friends are my family... and not one of them have I ever failed to protect," she murmured, looking down.

_'... Fuuma had better hope that I never find him...' _she thought, twitching slightly. She finally looked up and looked at Kamui. "... Kamui, was it?"

"Hai.." Kamui said softly while eyeing the young girl.

"Eggs?" Yuzuriha said, offering Kotori two.

"... How long have you known Kotori-chan?" she asked with a light hint of curiosity.

"Ah, yes!" Kotori exclaimed, taking the eggs. "Arigato." She took one into her small hand and knocked it slowly over the edge of the bowl until it's shell cracked. Then she dropped the egg into the bowl, without a mistake, and repeated with the other egg. "Would you find me a spoon please? Or a mixer?" Kotori asked Yuzuriha.

"Whisk?" Yuzuriha asked.

Kotori laughed. "That works. We need to beat this stuff down until all the lumps are gone. Would you like to do that, or should I?"

He didn't really like answer anyone's questions, it was such bother. But he wasn't about to upset her or anyone else more than they already were. "Since I was a child..." he told her while pushing off the wall.

"I see..." She seemed to trail off, going into thought again as she allowed the silence to eat at her. "... ... Then you'd know him too."

"You can do it; you're probably much better than I am," she said, handing it to Kotori, sweat dropping.

"Him?" Kamui questioned. "You mean Fuuma...don't you?" There was a tone of annoyance in his voice that he was unable to hold back. The very thought of that man or the sound of his name began to stir up the anger inside him.

Kotori took the whisk, and placed it into the mixture, turning it lightly.

She picked up the bowl, and it against her chest as she churned the mixture. "The way you cook is all in your mind." she told Yuzuriha. "Pan please."

Yuzuriha handed her the pan. "Pan," she echoed.

Kotori smiled. Yuzuriha was such a nice girl, and so friendly. Kotori placed the pan on the table and poured the cake mix into the pan. She held the whisk up to Yuzuriha. "Want to lick it?" she asked.

Yuzuriha grinned. "SURE!" She took the whisk and licked it up, saving a bit for Kotori. "Want some?" she offered, realizing that she was being a bit greedy.

Kotori smiled and shook her head. "That's okay. You can have it." She reassured her. She picked up the pan, and brought it to the open, placing it inside.

Yuzuriha finished licking the batter off of the whisk and peeked into the oven. "Mmm, smells good already!"

"It sure does! We'll have to wait for awhile, why don't we go join the others?" Kotori suggested.

"... Now is not the time to release your anger." Uo said, as if instinctively knowing what he was thinking. "... Save it for him." She murmured.

Yuzuriha nodded, and scampered out of the kitchen, keeping a wary eye on Kotori Yuzuriha really was worried about her.

Kotori followed Yuzuriha. "The cake will be ready in awhile." she said with a soft smile.

Yuzuriha plopped on her couch, and winced silently as she landed. Meep, that hurt! She really needed to be careful, she was still sore.

"Take a seat," Yuzuriha urged Kotori.

Kotori nodded, and walked over, sitting next to Yuzuriha. "Thank you."

"So, what were you guys talking about?" Yuzuriha asked.

Kotori looked at Uo and Kamui. "Was it anything good?" she asked.

Kamui stood silent for a moment, afraid to speak. "We...we were talking about how long I've know you...Kotori," he said.

Yuzuriha glanced at Inuki, and then at Kotori. Childhood friends? They definitely WERE a cute couple. Inuki hopped beside Yuzuriha, and she patted him as she spoke.

Kotori nodded. "I see...that's nice." she said softly.

"Hai.." Kamui spoke softly. "We...we were pretty close back then..."

Kotori looked at Kamui, settling back into the couch. But she watched him carefully, being sure to advert her eyes if he ever looked at her.

She was uncomfortable, and yet she couldn't why. There was something tragic that had just happened, but it was all fuzzy; almost as if Kotori's memory had shut down on her.

Uo finally broke the silence. "... Something odd is going on here. If someone won't tell me then I'll find out eventually." She glanced between the other three silently...

"Something odd?" Kotori asked. "What do you mean?"

"Its better that you stay out of this," he warned. "You don't want to get involved..."

"I already am." She replied, glancing at Kamui and then at Kotori, softening her tone. "I'm not quite sure... that's the thing..."

"You act like your prepared for anything that might arrive," Kamui smirked. He walked over to her and glared down into her eyes coldly. "You have no idea what this is all about. I suggest you leave and forgot you ever met us. Unless…"

"No!" Kotori stood with a start. "I don't want Uo to leave! I want her to stay with me..." She rushed over to Kamui and placed herself in between the two people, inches from Kamui's face.

Yuzuriha blinked in surprise. "Uhm, anooo...what is it that you're talking about?" Yuzuriha asked, sweat dropping.

"Kotori-chan, it's okay. I won't leave. I don't intend to leave. I'll handle whatever comes my way, but I'm not going to leave." Uo looked at Kamui and nodded.

"I'll take beatings when they come. I don't leave family, and all of my friends are family." she remarked...

Kamui didn't know why he was even concerned over this young girls life. Maybe it was because Kotori was so attached to her or rather...he didn't wish to see any more people die over his foolishness and arrogance. He stepped back and away from her, smirking. "Suit yourself..." he said coldly. "Don't say I didn't give you a chance to save yourself..."

Kotori pushed forward, stepping further between the two. "I don't know for sure Yuzuriha..." she said with a hoarse voice.

"I'm going check the food." Kotori said quietly, shooting eye-daggers at Kamui as she sauntered to the kitchen.

Yuzuriha stared at Kamui. "That wasn't very nice, Kamui-kun."

Kamui ignored her remark and turned away, folding his arms.

Uo looked to Yuzuriha and paused. "It's fine. He's right... I will regret it. I feel it, but it doesn't matter... anyhow... I've got a question for you..."

"Hai?"

She suddenly seemed to go into a childish mode, a child filled with glee. "Is your door voice activated? How'd you get that lock to open?" Her mechanic's mind had kicked in.

Kotori shuffled through the kitchen and dug around looking for an oven mitt to remove the cake from the oven.

"Uhm," Yuzuriha scratched the back of her head. "Well, ah...I uhm, I'm not sure. Uh, ah,...I think it was unlocked the whole time."

"Oh? Hmn.. well, if you ever need mechanics help, I'm the person to call." She said with a light nod, smiling. "I could've sworn it was something..."

Kamui slowly followed the young girl into the kitchen. Afraid that he might upset her again, he kept a slight distance from her and leaned up against the counter. "It...it smells good.." he complemented.

"You're Kotori-chan's friend, nee?" Yuzuriha asked Uo. "How long have you two known each other?"

"Well, ever since kindergarten..." She said with a light smile. "I guess 'ya could say I wasn't the friendliest person at first, though.."

Kotori turned around startled. "Ah...Kamui-kun..." She quickly turned back to her searching. "Yes, it does. Hopefully I won't burn it now..."

"Mmm-mmm! There's nothing I like better than some chocolate cake! Well, besides ice cream of course!" Yuzuriha sweat dropped. "I think I'd love some Haagen-Dazs. We should all go there, later!"

"You wont.." Kamui said flatly." I've…known you long enough to know that you never burn anything when you cook..."

"There's a first time for everything." she said, accenting the last word. She opened a drawer and pulled a mitt from it.

"I could run down to the corner store and get some." Uo volunteered. "That is, if Kotori-chan wouldn't object."

"I'll go with you," Yuzuriha offered, before whispering to Uo, "...the two lover birds probably need some time alone."

Kamui stood silent and watched as Kotori began to remove the cake from the oven.

Kotori pulled the chocolate cake out, and softly set it on Yuzuriha's counter. She turned around and closed the oven, before she stood there in front of it, unmoving, unsure of what to do with Kamui there.

"Are you sure you want to risk your house?" she asked in a whisper. "Kotori-chan may appear not able to do much.. but... when she wants to..."

"Are you alright?" Kamui asked. She seemed in easy with him around.

"I'm fine. How could you think anything different?" Kotori asked with the deepest possible sarcasm. She turned around and went back to the cake.

"Yuzuriha, do you have frosting somewhere?" she called into the next room.

"Risk my house?" Yuzuriha looked totally confused.

"Oh yeah! Check the cabinet!" Yuzuriha shouted. "Should be some chocolate in there."

"Ah, nothing." she said with a light nod. "But like I said, one of us should stay unless Kotori gets scared again..."

"Arigato!" Kotori yelled. She looked at Kamui. "Don't just stand there, help me."

"Help you?" Kamui asked. He wasn't sure what to do exactly. Sure he knew how to cook a little, but this was something he had never done before. "What do you want me to do?" he asked slowly approaching her.

"Find the frosting, like Yuzuriha said." Kotori said automatically. When he stepped by her, she stepped back, turning and going to find a knife.

Reaching into the cabinet above him, Kamui pulled out a container of Chocolate frosting. "Been a while since I had anything sweet..." he said looking down at it.

"Is that so...?" Kotori asked in monotone. "Today might as well be the day to start." She said, pulling out a knife, and heading back to the cake.

"Today seems to be the start of a lot of things..." he said.

Kotori paused. "... Bring me that container." she said.

Popping open the container, he passed it along to Kotori and stood next to her watching.

Kotori took the container, her fingers brushing Kamui's. She shivered, and quickly pulled the container from his grasp. She took the knife, and starting scraping the frosting onto the cake.

"Ah, yes, I'm sorry about that." Kotori said, pointing to his cheek.

"Its nothing.." he said brushing a hand across the wound. "It'll heal...they always do..."

"It depends." she said. "I've had many wounds, but I remember most of them. So, they must not have healed right." Kotori muttered, never looking at Kamui.

She handed the knife to Kamui. "Do something with this."

"So... what now?" Uo asked aloud, pausing. "I really don't want to leave Kotori here alone.." She seemed a bit more up-beat finally...

Yuzuriha nods. "We should ask her and Kamui to come with us, then. I still don't know what flavor I want," Yuzuriha mused.

"Alrighty then!" Uo stood up and ran to the kitchen, peeping in. "Hey you two! You almost done yet?"

Kotori jumped at the sudden entrance of Uo. "Ahh! Uh...uh...hai. Are you two hungry or something?" she asked sweetly, moving farther away from Kamui.

"Well, yeah... but we also got an idea. How about we go down to the corner store and get some ice cream to go with it?" She grinned childishly.

"Ice cream..?" Kotori mused. "Are we all going?"

Kamui stood silent, unsure of what to say.

"Of course! That is, if you two want to... I think it'd be fun!" Uo said with a nod, smiling her award winning smile.

Yuzuriha beams.

"But...if I leave, then he'll find me.." Kotori protested.

"It'll be ok..." he assured her.

"He will not. I won't let him hurt you if I can help it anyways, Kotori-chan. Remember that... he has to go through me first." Uo nodded with a smile. "Y'should know that by now."

Kotori looked down. "Hmm..." she whimpered. "I guess..."

"Great! Kamui, you're going to come and help, too, right?" she paused, remember the promise thing Kotori had mentioned. "We'll need some help, y'know... if I can't protect Kotori, someone has to."

"That was my intention all along..." he said quietly. He looked a Kotori for a moment, but then quickly turned away and began to walk towards the door. "Come on. Lets go before it gets crowded."

Kotori swallowed. "Errmm..." She pulled the oven mitt off, and skittered towards the door. "Don't leave me! Please.."

Yuzuriha opened the door, Inuki following close behind. "The ice cream shop isn't too far away!"

Uo nodded and paused, letting Kotori go ahead of her. "We won't. Let's try and lighten the mood a little!" She smiled kawaiily.

Hearing Kotori's plea, Kamui stopped in his tracks and turned to the young girl. He took her hand gently in his and smiled weakly. "Don't worry...I wont leave you...never again.."

Kotori sniffed. When Kamui took her hand, she stiffened, and her hand twitched, almost as if it was about to pull away. "K-kamui-kun.."

"Come on..." he said while puling her closer. "Everything will be fine. I'll protect you. I promise..."

There still felt like there was a gap between him and Kotori somehow. He didn't blame her, not after what she had been though. Maybe things could go back to normal...

Kotori coughed uncomfortably. "H-hai!!" Kotori called. She looked at Kamui.

"We'd better get going. She pulled from his grasp, Thankful and unthankful to Yuzuriha for her calling, and walked out the door. "Let's go."

Yuzuriha skipped to the ice cream shop, despite the nagging pain at her waist. "Here it is, guys!"

Kamui nodded, and followed closely behind Kotori should anything happen.

Uo giggled slightly and paused as she looked around. "Sure are a lot of restaurants…whoa.. do I smell pizza?" She blinked curiously.

"Yuzuriha...Uo…wait..." Kotori said softly, scared. She hurried to catch up to the two girl's, leaving some space between her and Kamui.

The aroma of the food began to make Kamui's stomach rumble. Hiding a slight blush he turned away.

"I'm a pepperoni fan!" Uo interjected, giggling at Yuzuriha. "Can't live without 'em! Double cheese and pepperoni is the best! Absolutely!!"

Kotori stayed close to the group, her eyes adverting cautiously around her into the crowds. "Its him..." No…it was a look-alike. All these people were making her paranoid.

"Why don't we get some pizza first, and then ice cream and cake afterwards?" beamed Yuzuriha. "I haven't eaten since sometime yesterday morning."

"Yeah! Yeah!" Uo nodded, and then paused as she looked at Kotori. "It's okay, Kotori-chan... some pizza'd cheer ya up quick, ne?" She smiled a little.

"Are you alright?" Kamui asked noticing the nervous look on Kotori's face.

Everyone was suddenly giving her a ton of attention. "Ee...I'm...okay..." she said slowly. She flashed them a soft smile.

* * *

Shouri paused as he stopped humming. After a second or two, he looked over at Subaru. "... Say, Sumeragi-san... are you able to walk?" He asked curiously.

"Sort of," Subaru admitted. "I'm sure with your help I'd have a better chance of getting around. Why?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could go get some ice cream or something, seeing as you can't get any sleep... I think we both deserve a treat. Besides, it's late and not many people would be there." He smiled a little at the thought. How long had it been since he had gone out and gotten ANYTHING that wasn't herbal?

Subaru shrugged. "Sure." He really didn't have any intentions of getting ice cream, but he didn't want to be left alone, either.

Subaru took the help gratefully. "Shall we go, then?"

"Hai." Shouri nodded with a light smile, helping his friend towards the door. Ah well, at least he'd be eating something, ne?

Subaru's arm dangled around Shouri's neck as they took the seemingly short trip in the direction of the ice cream shop.

Walking the sidewalk was har, but he managed. Ice cream was worth it, right? He thought he saw a strange group ahead. A peculiar group, too.

"Is that...Kamui-kun...and Yuzuriha-chan??" Subaru's eyesight was a bit off in the night, so he wasn't sure if he was seeing things.

"I'm not sure I know them, but we can always ask." Shouri said.

* * *

Okita was silent when he watched the mob get cut off...It wasn't surprising to see some of them try to cross the barrier...getting hurt in the process. His eyes widened as yelled. "Hey don't do this for me!" The fans didn't stopped to listen to their idol's words, making them all want to try again, Okita just sighed and removed his jacket...he really liked this one but these people were starting to get on his nerves...He tossed the jacket upward toward the fans watching them forget about him for that moment and mob the jacket...

Okita quickly moved away, finally looking to Yuuto...shivering slightly. He was wet and the dye was beginning to run from his hair, beginning to turn platinum "I could've handled it...But thank you." He smiled slightly...before that cough occurred...that horrible cough that sounded like his lung being rejected from his body...That cough that splattered blood against the ground and caused him to fall to his knees. He began to wheeze followed by another such cough.

Fuuma watched the boy...so frail. He turned his attention to the computer girl for a moment...It seemed she had a found another one of his comrades lurking around...Was he a Dragon of Earth though? Fuuma smiled darkly as it was coming together.


	39. Chapter 37: Near Death

**Chapter Thirty-Seven: Near Death**

Sorata returned carrying a stack of his most questionable fashion. He smirked and presented her with a pair of navy blue baggy cargo pants, one over sized belt, a pair of red sneakers, a XL orange shirt with the Engrish phrase "Spread Beaver, Showing the Vaginal area", and navy blue tech vest. He smiled at her as he bowed as he presented her with the clothes.

Arashi was fine with most of the clothing.. until she saw the English shirt. Her face turned red as she pitched it at him, "I am NOT wearing that!" She exclaimed rather loudly for her typical demeanor. Obviously Sorata couldn't read English... or he could and was attempting to be even more perverted than she thought possible.

Sorata blinked at the sudden change in her behavior. "What's wrong with it? It's one of my favorite shirts...look the color works with the outfit. Plus it's in English and that's cool supposedly I'm told." He didn't get why she was so defensive with a innocent little shirt.

"You want the shirt I have on now?" He pointed to the 'A' with the arrow.

Arashi's eye twitched a bit. "Sorata... you have no idea what that shirt says do you?" She asked, eyeing him. She had taken the shoes, jeans and belt and currently held them in her hands, "And yes, if you have nothing else, the shirt you're wearing would be better than... the other one."

* * *

A morose chuckle escaped his lips as Fuuma broke the Seal's glasses without so much as touching him. He was quickly growing restless. This late afternoon outing was starting to bore him. Stepping away from the Twin Star and the hostage Seiichirou Aoki, Seishirou shoved his hands into the pockets of his formal black slacks and continued along the sidewalk, ignoring the embarrassing fiasco that was happening across the street. How could Yuuto call himself a Dragon of Earth, acting like that? And associating himself with someone who had girls chasing him around all day... What an imbecile. Seishirou was surrounded by fools.

And then he stopped short. The familiar aura pricked at his neck before he saw the figure standing some distance down the street. The young man's dark hair was matted to his forehead with sweat and traces of blood, and bandages covered his slender frame. He was dressed in fresh new clothes now, instead of the rags Seishirou had last seen him in.

_-Subaru-kun...- _In an instant all the memories from the night before came flooding back into his mind, and his eyes widened subtly. He tried to push the thoughts away but failed. Why was this matter affecting him so severely? Subaru was on a mission to kill Seishirou for the murder of his twin sister Hokuto. And Seishirou was also on a similar quest...to end the life of the Thirteenth Head of the Sumeragi Clan. So why did the image of the man's pain cause his chest to tighten so intensely?

Subaru was not alone. Alongside him walked a man of similar height and age, with almost identical short, dark hair and sad emerald eyes. Seishirou had never seen this man before, and something like a vague sense of jealousy--not unlike when Subaru had spoken so softly to Kamui the previous night--began to swell within his stalwart breast. It was absurd. He had never let his emotions play a significant part in his life before. Last night had been a matter of power, not some sentimental show of twisted affection.

...Or so he kept telling himself.

As they drew closer, he briskly shook the stunned expression from his face and replaced it with his usual haughty smirk. For having been raped and tortured not even twenty-four hours earlier, he had to admit Subaru looked good. However, he remained silent as the two young men approached, his smooth gaze never leaving Subaru's bruised yet beautiful face...

Subaru struggled to quicken his pace to catch up with what seemed to be Kamui and Yuzuriha and the others. The streets weren't crowded, and as Subaru started to call out Kamui's name, out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone familiar.

Very familiar.

He stopped completely, turned around to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

He wasn't.

It was him.

"Seishirou," Subaru growled.

"... Seishirou?" Shouri repeated, pausing as he kept up with Subaru.

Judging on the tone of the other man, that man... must've been responsible for whatever happened to Subaru. The vision in his head suddenly became clear. It was him. Yes, he now remembered that man.. At least faintly. He had always been hanging around the twins... whoa. Was it him, or had he gotten... scarier? He frowned as he felt Sasori trembling. She must've been scared after seeing how bad Subaru had looked just a few hour ago.

"... P-perhaps we should speed up." Shouri suggested with a frown.

He was tired. Incredibly so. His latest change of clothes was already bloody and in shreds. Even the boost of energy Fuuma had given him could not remedy the fact that he had not slept in nearly two days.

But when Subaru met his gaze, all of that became obsolete. Just the night before, Seishirou had torn the young man apart. He knew Subaru loved him. He had used that knowledge to take advantage of the poor Sumeragi head. Part of him would have gladly done it again if he were given the chance. And yet...a part of him that he could not yet define...ached at the sight of the beautiful man's anguish.

Careful to keep his smooth composure, he strode forward confidently, head lowered and eyes narrowed, a smug simper plaster across his ashen countenance. He was not sure what he was doing. Maybe the lack of sleep was finally getting to him. But he approached the pair nevertheless, his gaze never leaving Subaru's bruised face.

At last he came within a little over ten paces away from them, and he stopped. "Good to see you again," he said with derisive amiability in his tone. "I trust you're doing well. And..." He flashed a swift, flaming glare at the other young man before quickly reverting his attention to Subaru. "I must say," he muttered in a lower voice, stepping closer until he was almost at Subaru's shoulder, "I enjoyed last night immensely..." Subtly he ran his tongue along his upper lip in a sensual gesture.

And with that, he started to pass by the two young men as casually as though he had not said anything to them at all...

Subaru's eyes widened as he felt Seishirou's words pluck his cheek. For a moment, he just stood there, dumbfounded by Seishirou's words, before turning to Seishirou. He felt his left foot move forward, and with that movement, he felt his legs collapse beneath him as a painful stinging sensation overwhelmed his chest.

Bringing his hand to his chest and slipping his small hands through the tiny slits between buttons, he gently touched his bandaged wound, and pulled back.

Blood.

Shouri frowned slightly as he looked at Subaru and then back up at Seishirou. He stepped in front of Subaru almost protectively. He wasn't stupid enough to charge forward and attack or anything like that. That hadn't crossed his mind. He was merely doing what he felt was the best thing at the moment. He watched him in silence, eyes narrowing slightly.

He didn't hear himself say it, but he did- just barely hearable, too. He didn't know that he had. "... Please, no more blood..." He muttered.

Seishirou stopped in his tracks, hands still in his pockets. For a moment he just stood there, listening to the words and letting them repeat in his mind. Then slowly he turned around to face the young man who was standing so defensively in front of Subaru.

With a voice full of apathy and an expression void of concern, he said simply, "He brought it on himself." Not waiting for a response, he began to turn back the way he had been going.

Subaru pulled himself to his feet, his teeth grinding in anger. HE HAD BROUGHT IT UPON HIMSELF?!

Seishirou would just see. He'd see whose wrath he had invoked!

Subaru held out his hand, preparing to form a kekkai from it.

Shouri froze stiff. what was that odd energy beginning to consume the area? He turned back to Subaru and frowned. "No! Don't! You're too weak!"

Sasori, inside of his mind, had been the one to feel that weird feeling. She frowned inwardly as she stood. "Shouri! What are you doing? I don't like this! Let's get out of here!"

_'We're not going, Sasori! Sumeragi-san is in no condition to fight! I won't allow it!'_ Shouri paused, his mind suddenly tensing... and within that brief minute, the ground around him was heavily inflicted with the intense force of gravity. The ground broke beneath him heavily, but he seemed to still be standing. He didn't feel too weird yet. but that tenseness was painful.

"Sumeragi-san, don't you do anything that I'll regret." Shouri said, frowning as he stared ahead at the ground blankly. "You're still not in any condition to fight... and.. I don't intend to let you endanger yourself for that reason."

Subaru stopped the energy from flowing into his hand; the same energy he had pulled into his hand before stopping was still evidently there, but he hesitated at the sound of Shouri's words.

"I know," he said solemnly.

"Just..." he smiled, "...tell my oba-san that I said 'gomen'asi' and 'sayonara'..."

"Don't do it!" Shouri protested once more, not even quite sure what 'it' was. "I'm begging you, Sumeragi-san! What if you should fail? You're death would be in vain! Think about your sister! Don't let your anger be your judge..."

Sasori was shaking. _'You're out of line, Shouri-kun! Stop that NOW! I-'_

Something was sitting in a tree nearby. The tree was dead... or so it looked. It was rather disturbing really... for in that tree sat a figure that could quite possibly make angels and demons alike swoon. That figure was a very handsome man indeed who seemed perfect in every way, from his light skin to his dark, dark bangs that seemed to play in his eyes as the wind moved. His clothes were strictly nothing but black. A black shirt, black pants that were so silky and so tight they seemed glued to his skin. His shoes were black leather and he wore a strange looking black trench coat that seemed to be more of a cloak really, draping over his shoulders and billowing in the wind. What was most disturbing were his eyes, those beautiful eyes that seemed to have nothing within... and had no end. He was perfect... the dream of all beings, human not... and certainly better than anything one might dish up in life. The creature looked up silently, eyes hidden by his silky black bangs. The presence he emanated was... So strange...

Shouri froze stiff as he felt that weird presence. Did anyone else? He was shaking. "N-nani o?"

Subaru felt a strong presence and he swung around in the direction of the immense energy; at first, he mistook it for a Dragon of the Earth. No, this man definitely wasn't.

"Do you have any business here?" Subaru asked dryly.

Shisa didn't answer. He simply stared ahead at the ground in silence, his eyes still shadowed by his black bangs. He looked up slowly, eyes flickering like diamonds as he paused. His energy level boosted slightly as he stared at the three in silence. His eyes were empty.

Shouri paused a minute as he winced. Why was that presence so familiar? He paused a second as a picture of that man suddenly appeared in his head... A picture of that man walking towards him in darkness, flames in the background burning everything up. The memory ended quickly as he looked up again.

"... Wh-?" He frowned slightly as he glanced back and forth. Who was he?

Sasori winced. How she wanted to project herself in an astral form, but never had quite been able to do so properly unless in dreams. She wanted out... to speak to this specter.

Shisa stared silently at Subaru and Seishirou, his emotions emitting instead of words. The emotion emitted was more of a warning... A warning not to do anything rash... and could have been interpreted as a threat, though it couldn't be backed up by anything. His expression didn't shift.

Subaru turned away from the man, sighing as he did so. "No one seems to have faith in me these days," he half-whispered, half-sighed.

Shouri stood up, forcing that gravity binding feeling off of himself. "I wonder why. Sumeragi-san, will you please reconsider? At least post pone it for now?! It's not that I don't have faith in you... but any form of fight now... ... it'd be like two little kids slapping each other just to see who becomes the most red! I know you have better sense than that!"

"Better sense than that?!" The ground beneath Subaru rumbled from beneath him, as Subaru's energy suddenly became stronger and gathered into his hand. "AFTER EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME, YOU EXPECT ME TO JUST WATCH AS THE MAN THAT KILLED MY TWIN SISTER, THE MAN WHO DEFILED ME AND BROKE EVERYTHING THAT HAS EVER MEANT TO ME WALK BY AND NOT DO A DAMN THING?!"

Subaru's voice grew calm as he placed a warm palm against Shouri's pale face. "You are mistaken."

"It was nice knowing you, Tokuichi-san. I'm afraid this is the end," he said, as a shield of energy began to flow from Subaru's hand and surround the area.

Shouri winced lightly as he paused. He felt like he had just been strengthened or something. When he looked back to see that man, that man was still there. He seemed to flicker and waver. Glancing up again, Shouri felt that boost pushing him. Was that man telling him what he was to do? Was that where this new strength came from? It didn't matter. He had time to stop Sumeragi from making one big mistake.

"You'll hate me for it... but I can't... allow it." He murmured, eyes flashing as the space above Subaru suddenly tightened.

In that instant, the gravity was increased on Subaru using Shouri's mental force. He didn't use full force by any means. He only wanted to stop him... not kill him. He was in pain as it was, just from having used it so much and not haven got enough rest. He had even stopped his training for a while so his physical condition was poor... though his mental ability was paining him. He frowned, muttering something under his breath, "Gomen, Sumeragi-san..."

Subaru flew backwards, and landed on his back; the kekkai began to wither away and pull itself back into Subaru's hand.

This incident, however, was unfortunate. Subaru wasn't giving up so easily.

Subaru pressed forward, against the pressure; his newly-open wounds spewing blood. Plip-plop. Plip-plop.

Subaru growled in anger, pushing upward; when he found this to be damn near impossible, he pressed his hand upwards. Once again, a kekkai began to form, but much slower than before.

Shouri winced slightly. How much longer could he keep it up? If he went any harder it could REALLY hurt Subaru, and the point was NOT to let Subaru get himself killed. He doubted Sumeragi understood, but he was, in his own opinion, doing it for his own good. He thought for a second. What if he released that force field suddenly? How bad could that be?

"Sumeragi-san, gomen... but I can't let you. I assure you... this hurts me more than it hurts you." He winced as his head pulsed. Why was he having so many problems with his mind at the moment?

Subaru struggled, nearly tumbling back for a second, as out of seemingly nowhere, an ofuda appeared in between his index and middle finger of the hand he held the highest. "On sowahanba shuda saraba tamara sowahanba shudo kan...On tatagyato dohanbaya sowaka..." Subaru started chanting, and the ofuda began glowing a white hue.

Suddenly the shield uplifted all on its own as if something had just caused an abrupt uplifting of it. Shouri collapsed, panting heavily and ready to curl up and cry. The small crater around him was enough to keep him from doing anything... but something was just keeping him from going on.

_'...Am I this weak?' he thought to himself, wincing. ''... It's got nothing to do with that chanting.. .but...'  
_  
When Subaru finally found the pressure release from him, he almost pulled himself up too fast and tumbled forward. He managed to regain his balance and continued, "...On handobo dohanbaya sowaka... Onbazoro dohanbaya sowaka... On basaragini harajihattaya sowaka... On barodaya... SOWAKA!" Subaru yelled out the last word, and the kekkai went up.

In all honesty he had had every intention of returning to his apartment to sleep for about a week straight. But suddenly the kekkai was formed, cutting off his path, and after several bouts with the expanding and contracting wall, it finally stabilized.

Seishirou winced inwardly. His muscles were aching; his back was sore and tense. He was in dire need of a hot bath and a massage. There was no way he could fight again. But...by the looks of it...Subaru was in a worse condition than he.

Gradually he turned back around to glare severely at the young Sumeragi and his companion. Though he did not feel at all like maintaining a sense of humor, he forced a smirk and tilted his head at Subaru's determined efforts. "So...you want more, do you? You could have just said so last night... No need to go to all this trouble, you know..." Then his face hardened, and his gaze became like cold stone. "You're a fool if you think you can fight in this condition. Go home and sleep. I don't want to fight you like this. It might actually make me feel guilty for tearing you apart..."

He did not, however, mention that he himself was very close to crumpling over in pain. Not from loss of blood, for Fuuma had fixed that. But the muscles in his legs and hips were starting to cramp from his strenuous movements. He would certainly not initiate the battle. But it did not look as though he had a choice if Subaru decided to attack...

* * *

Just as he was about to smile charmingly and answer Okita's thanks with brisk sentiments of "Oh, it was nothing," or "Any time, don't mention it," Yuuto was caught off guard when the young man suddenly fell to the ground, choking up a mouthful of blood. In an instant Yuuto was at his side, kneeling down beside him and placing a comforting hand on the man's back.

Worry consumed his voice as he said, "Daijoubu desu ka? What happened to you? Are you injured?" He tried not to hound the poor young man with too many questions, but it was hardly possible to avoid. Okita did not appear to have any wounds that might inflict such spasms of hysterical coughing. Then what had caused it? A disease of some sort? Yuuto was a huge fan of Shreek and had read everything he could find on the famous young J-rocker. But never had he come across anything that might indicate a situation like this...

Still kneeling beside the young J-rock star, Yuuto was caught off guard when the kekkai suddenly surrounded them and cut off all exits, transporting them into another dimension. And yet Okita was still at his side, which meant he had been right.

"I knew it," he said with a light slap on the man's back. "You're part of this. Now, if you can just clear up this hacking problem...I think we might have another little bout on our hands..."

When he glanced over his shoulder, he was not surprised to see the Sakurazukamori in the midst of the chaos. He seemed to have a knack for sparking trouble. But the wounded Seal who was putting up the kekkai also looked familiar, though he had just arrived.

And as he looked around, Yuuto's gaze darkened ominously as he mentally counted the people still in the vicinity. All normal mortals had been excluded from the battle now that they were inside one of the psychic barriers. But there were still several people remaining. All of the Dragons of Heaven who had been traveling down the street for snacks, their hostage, and there were also two new small groups approaching. One was the wounded Seal who had initiated the kekkai, and he seemed to be joined by one or two others--a close companion at his side, and a figure that was more of just a strong essence in a nearby tree. And then there were the other Seals Yuuto remembered from earlier. All converging here. All trapped inside the force field.

This was to be a decisive battle indeed...

* * *

Satsuki had just reached the middle of the street when suddenly a kekkai surrounded the area, trapping her and her fellow Dragons of Earth within. The girl stopped walking and sharply glanced about for the Dragon of Heaven responsible for the kekkai. Her eyes quickly fell on a figure slightly off in the distance who she hadn't noticed earlier. It was Subaru Sumeragi, the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi clan and the object of Seishirou's affection- or obsession. Not surprisingly, the Sakurazukamori was standing confrontationally in front of him, wearing his usual dark smirk. Satsuki mentally sighed in exasperation and glared at him irritably. He just had to drag the rest of them into his personal problems with the Sumeragi.

The computer girl glanced around at the people who were left in the kekkai and mentally cursed to herself. This was definitely not good; there were far too many people to ensure a quick and decisive battle. Most of the Dragons of Heaven seemed to be there, as well as most of the Dragons of Earth. Curiously, though, there seemed to be other people as well. Subaru was accompanied by another young man, and there seemed to be a strange aura in a nearby tree.

Swiftly analyzing the situation, Satsuki determined that Seishirou was in an unfavorable position. He had not yet completely recovered from his previous battle with the Subaru, and he was in no condition to fight. In addition, the young man with Subaru would probably assist the Sumeragi. A battle now would definitely have an unfavorable outcome for the Dragons of Earth.

The girl mentally sighed to herself. Though she had no desire to involve herself with Seishirou's personal problems, he was still a fellow Dragon of Earth, and they couldn't afford to lose such a powerful ally so early in the game. The girl glanced over across the street to Yuuto, about to call out a plan, when she noticed that Okita had fallen to the ground and was coughing blood. Was the young man injured?

In any case, Yuuto was now occupied with watching over the young musician, and thus unavailable for assistance. But Fuuma could help, and so could the new Dragon of Earth, Kusanagi Shiyuu. Satsuki's eyes fell on the hostage Seal near Fuuma, still looking dazed from his injuries. Now that the other Angels were here, it seemed that Dragons of Earth would have use for their hostage after all.

Satsuki casually took her cell phone from her pocket and punched a code in the button panel. Instantly, black cables erupted from the ground near Seiichirou. Before the Dragon of Heaven could react, the cables knocked him to the floor and tightly wrapped around his body, effectively binding him and rendering him helpless. The computer girl nodded at her work, satisfied. She put the cell phone back into her pocket and strolled over across the street to Fuuma.

"It looks like we have a battle on our hands," Satsuki remarked carelessly. "I'll watch this Seal for you, Kamui-san," she said, prodding the captive Seal on the floor with her foot none-too-gently. "The other Dragons of Heaven will probably come for him. And when they do…" The computer girl left her sentence unfinished, a dark expression in her eyes.

* * *

Subaru hunched over, trying to keep his balance as best as he could. The familiar scent of blood overtook his sense as he straightened his posture; blood dripped from the ruby-stained trench coat. Amidst all of this all, Subaru made a mental note to buy Kantoku-sama a new trench coat-- if he survived.

Subaru folded his hands into each other, and with each word, his fingers changed positioning; "Shuku... Dou... Shou..." was his retort to Seishirou's request to stop the fighting.

White shikigami-birds emerged from a bright flash of alabaster light. Subaru smiled sardonically, amidst the current situation.

"You're the fool, Seishirou-san."

Shouri couldn't move. He barely felt himself breathing... but that was odd. He suddenly felt as if something had lifted off of him, something strong that had lifted off of him. His strength was returning, was it now? He paused as he glanced to the side. Why was there a... peculiar looking sutra slapped in half by his right shoulder. He stared closely.

"What the-?" A clueless look came to his face before it hit him. When Matsuko had fallen sick a few weeks ago and he had had to stop his training... had she planted the sutra on him? He couldn't quite read it as it crumbled into nothing... but obviously it had been blocking his physical boundaries and causing mental havoc... and she hadn't even told him! He winced slightly as he stood up. So he could do a little more now? Maybe? Yep. He pulled himself from the crater, letting his elbows rest on the center ground that wasn't broken, letting his head rest on his arms. "... Great... I'm too old for this..."

He paid attention closely. Yep, something told him that they were all going to die.

* * *

Why hadn't Uo listened? Why hadn't she been a good child and not beaten up those boys always pushing her around and trying to take her lunch? Why hadn't she learned endurance with her younger siblings instead of leaving them alone in the park sometimes? Why hadn't she been a better friend? Why hadn't she worn a skirt every now and then and maybe actually gotten a boyfriend before it had happened? - Those were the questions going through Uo's mind as she glanced around.

Kamui, Kotori, and Yuzuriha were just.. GONE! Even some people who had been on the street were missing. Was she the only one who had noticed!? Was she the only one left!? What had SHE done to deserve such a punishment?

Her eyes were really wide as she looked around, panicking. "Eeee! Kotori-chan! Yuzuriha-san! Kamui-san! Where are you?" She began to fidget insanely, frowning at weird looks she got from people. "If you were going to turn into H20 or oxygen, you could've at least warned meeeeee!"

Her school-girl personality seemed to kick in rather than the ever-so-serious personality. She couldn't believe it! Perhaps this was all some horrible dream, or perhaps some ancient prophecy from some unknown religion had come true and half the world's population had gone. Maybe they had never even existed and her whole life was an experiment... sort of like that one she was working on in her home in her laboratory, maybe, on a rabbit.

"This isn't funny! Kotori-chan?! Kamui-san??" She looked around, beginning to get unusually dizzy as she suddenly charged forward in a run to look for them...

She stopped, panting at the entrance of a dark alley and just froze stiff as she leaned against the wall for support from dizziness.

"This isn't funny!" She called out, nearly pouting. "If you guys were gonna ditch me to go double dating or something you REALLY coulda told me! I wouldn't have minded! Really!"

A guy gave her an odd look as he ran out of the back alley, screaming something about an insane person.

Uo growled slightly as she fell limp against the wall of the alley at the very front in a considerably clean spot. She was really, REALLY getting to old for this, ne? Yep.. this was what happened when she didn't go to church for a month and a half. Science had grown into a significant part of her life... machines, electronics, chemicals... All of it was just a big part of her now. She seemed to pout even more. Due to teenage hormones, her mind lingered on the simple fact that she was always the single one, had no dating experience, wasn't the nicest person, and had probably done something to offend her friends. She wasn't feeling herself, but she couldn't help that either, could she?

She crossed her arms and pouted, glaring at the sky. "... You had better not of let them sneak off on a double date without me... I'm sensitive!" She said, grumbling. "Not like 'ya care that much anyways..."

She sighed and bit her lip, frowning as she suddenly tasted a little blood in her mouth. "Ow... ah well.. I might as well keep looking. Whatever Kamui was talking about sure is getting to be weird..."

Uo stood up again. She didn't want Kotori out of her sight at the moment at all. Kotori was her friend... and she had said she'd protect her. There was something fishy going up. Perhaps she should've been more attentive. As she stood again, she sighed.

_'... I swear, this has gotta be my worst weakness... dang emotions. Why can't people stay in one place and not vanish without a trace? It's not like I ask for this...'_ she thought, storming in silence along the sidewalk and back where she had been.

"... Kotori-chaaaan? Kamui-saaaan! Yuzuriha-san? Hell-oooo? Will someone just answer me!"

"I will!" A rather stupid looking boy said, grabbing her shoulder.

For a split second, Uo stared forward, eyes shadowed completely. When she looked up, her death stare was piercing right through him. She grabbed his arm and twisted it behind him, stabbing it into the joint and kicking him back. "SHI NE!"

She stormed off again.. still scouting the area. She was going to find them... even if she had to deal punishment to everyone in the area!


	40. Chapter 38: All Over

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: All Over**

Seishirou smirked at Subaru's stubbornness. He had not changed a bit. "You know I'll kill you. Your friend as a point," he spat dryly. "Your death will be in vain and you'll never avenge your beloved Hokuto."

Subaru growled; but no, he wasn't going to stoop to Seishirou's level. He wasn't. He was better than that. Better than...better than.

"HIKUU!!" The shikigami flew towards Seishirou, lunging at him in a powerful burst of energy.

Seishirou had been dreading this moment. To make his muscles work would take a great amount of effort, let alone to make them work with honed speed and agility. But he forced it upon himself. Dodging the white birds of Subaru's psyche, Seishirou summoned quickly the shikigami of his own black aura and sent them to cancel out the attack.

But his actions were still slower than normal. He nearly staggered as he pulled himself back upright to brush himself off, though he attempted to hide it with a guileful simper. "You should know those pitiful spells won't work on me."

Subaru yelled out in pain; he had definitely put too much of his energy into that attack. He stumbled a bit, nearly landing on his knees, but managed to catch himself, bow-legged.

"Amirita gyarabi... Amirita shiddi..." Subaru tried to keep his focus on the spell, flicking his fingers back and forth in pattern with each word.

A white pentacle began to materialize in front of Subaru.

The sight of this shield both relieved and worried Seishirou. It meant that Subaru was already precariously weak and could not afford to be hit by any attack and was using his last bit of energy to defend himself. However, Seishirou also knew the power of that spell. It would not be easy to get through. But instead of summoning his own inverted pentagram, Seishirou conserved his strength and waited silently for what the young man would do next...

"Amirita teisei... Amirita beki an--" Subaru suddenly choked on more than just his words-- he coughed up blood. The pentagram started to fade away...

It was reflexive for him to bring his hand to his mouth, but instead, he forced himself to continue to spell once more, "-dei..." he continued, the spell's light starting to increase to its original power...

At the sight of Subaru's pain, Seishirou felt that familiar twang in his chest. He started to take an instinctive step forward...but stopped himself. "Subaru...," he warned huskily, "you're killing yourself..."

Subaru knew it was true. He knew it was. That didn't matter any more. All that mattered...

Was KILLING Seishirou.

"Kisha..." another cough, "yogyarei...sowaka..."

The pentacle began spinning, slowly at first, then progressively more and more furiously.

"Sei...shirou-san..." Subaru closed his eyes. "Sayonara..." He fell to his knees, still holding his spell strong, "Amirita gyarabi... Amirita shiddi... Amirita teisei... Amirita beki andei... Kisha yogyarei sowaka..." Subaru continued chanting, moving his fingers in rhythm.

* * *

Arashi felt an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. She turned and looked at Sorata, forgetting momentarily the shirt incident, "Sorata... I think a kekkai has gone up." She murmured, turning towards the exit. she still held clothes in hand as she jogged towards the doors, and flung them open. Sure enough a kekkai was raised- Subaru's. Her eyes narrowed. "We need to get there." She mumbled, "Shirt- now." She said, turning to Sorata.

Sorata had already to taken off the shirt and was changing into the other one...still eyeing Arashi oddly for her reaction to it. It couldn't be that bad. He grinned and stupidly gave a thumbs up when it was on.

Arashi had slipped into the clothes easily, putting the new shirt on, then slipping the gown out from the neck-hole. They were rather baggy on her- but they would do. "Sorata... do you feel something...?" She asked. She had an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong.

Sorata blinked and nod slowly. "I'm a little numb with all the good stuff that's happened but now that you mention it..." He touched his chin as thought of something. "Hey Arashi..."

She looked to him, "Yes...?"

Sorata kept looking at the Kekkai but in his outstretched hand he had his baseball cap. "Mind wearing this since we're going steady...I mean You look so cute in it and... well I would like you to have it so you'll think of me always." He turned to look at her with a cheesy grin.

Arashi shook her head slightly, but gave a faint smile. She took the hat and slipped it on her head- there were worse things he could ask her to do. "Very well- now come on. Our friends need our help."

Sorata smiled and sighed contently. "Right...But could you leave me in elevator a second?"

Arashi raised an eyebrow, but gave a nod and exited the elevator. She headed for the exit, and stood next to it, waiting. She stuck her hands in the pockets of Sorata's jeans.

From the closed elevator Arashi could hear the loud cheers of excitement. "WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! SHE TOOK MY HAT!! YES!!!! OH MAN I'M COOL!!! HEH SORA IS DA MAN! " was a few of the cheers that broke the barrier between them. The Elevator opened and Sora calmly exited. "Shall we go?"

Arashi stared at him for a moment, and had to restrain herself from laughing. He sure was a pill. "Yes- and let's hurry. Who knows what's going on and who's involved." She said, exiting with a smile.

Sorata raced ahead of her, leaping upward as he called back. "Last one there is a rotten egg!" He grinned down at her from a building before taking off toward the Kekkai.

Her eyes narrowed, "Sorata!" She yelled after him, leaping into the air. She caught up quickly, attempting at an evil glare.

Sorata blinked at her in confusion. "What? Too fast for you?"

"No." She stated evenly as they continued towards the kekkai, "You're just always so joking." She gave a brief smile. She knew soon she wouldn't be able to smile- a large fight was coming up again and she would have to be all business.

Sorata shrugs. "I get the job done...I mean if I don't have fun now when can I? This is our life..." He straightened his face. "Don't worry about me though...I'm not gonna let anyone else lay a hand on you...I'd get too jealous." He pointed to himself with a slight smile.

She laughed a bit, "I'm sure." She landed squarely outside of the star shaped kekkai. "Subaru-san's." She stated evenly. She held out her hand, and her sword sprung forth. She caught it with ease, "Care to join me, Sorata?" She asked, entering the kekkai quickly.

Sorata shrugged and stepped into the Kekkai with his hands in his pockets. He watched Arashi with a smile, she was his hot girlfriend...that was his final thought before he got serious.

* * *

Okita kept coughing violently as he held his throat. "In...**-cough**- ail...r" He wheezed, trying to reach into one of the pockets on his leg. He found himself coughing up more blood as he again tried to reach his pocket, this time he managed to grip the inhaler in his pocket.

He pulled it out, dropping it during his next coughing fit. He looked to Yuuto with wide eyes, then to the inhaler...He wheezed with each breath, trying to deal with the pain in his lungs...Was this death? He felt the world go black and white for a moment. He looked again to the inhaler...trying to reach toward it...

* * *

Shinomori Kaori was impatient.

Incredibly impatient.

She pulled out her cell phone and pressed 1. Speed-dial for Okita's cell phone.

"You'd better pick this up...You'd BETTER pick the phone up, Okita," she thought to herself. "PICK IT UP!"

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

* * *

If there had been anything more frightening that he had seen in his life, Shouri surely couldn't remember. He watched in silence, staying in the curve of his small crater in silence. The only noise that came from him was the constant shaking- why shouldn't he shake? He was frightened.

It was Subaru's choice right? But he hated to see someone throw their life away... it was almost as painful as trying to put up with- well, he really didn't know, did he? All memories he really had before the orphanage and many after that were faded and very light, hidden in the darkest recesses of his mind.

Shouri watched in horror as Subaru keep going. That was one of the things he had envied Subaru for- his endurance, his spirit, his will to go-go-go at things! Even now, he found himself still jealous. If he had had the drive that Subaru did, he would've already stopped the fight, or at least tried.

He now looked around. Had anyone noticed him? Well, it wasn't hard to notice the crater he was hiding in, even if it was rather tiny. It wasn't hard to MISS that demonic, beautiful creature whom held that peculiar… aura, sitting in the tree either, was it? How he wished Hokuto were there! How he wished that everything would have been alright! Sasori would not even comfort him through this! When he had opened his thoughts to her entirely, she had refused with no response. She was frightened, but, as she was another person altogether, even if in the same body, she had pretended not to hear him and blocked him from communication.

The poor boy frowned slightly as he stared ahead. _'... I want to stop him... but... but there's something bigger to this, right? All of this... This separation... everything... and... ... still, I find a friend and now he's going suicidal. What am I suppose to do? Let him die? Hokuto-san... I wish you were here... you'd talk him out of it...'  
_  
"Amirita gy-" Subaru coughed up once again "...arabi...Amirita shiddi..." The blood started flowing faster and faster, as the pentacle began to spin even faster than ever.

"S-Sumeragi-san... yamete." Shouri managed, frowning as he knew his voice was probably inaudible over that chanting.

_'I can't do much without hurting him... I bet I could, but... ...it'd take whatever life in him is left..' _he thought, shifting uncomfortably.

He was shaking now. Maybe if we could get Subaru to faint or something, everything would be fine. But, how to make him faint? Sometimes Shouri wished he could manipulate people's minds! He glanced weakly around and then back at Subaru, biting his lip. _'... Damn it... ... I hope you don't kill me for this…'  
_  
With that, Shouri was up on his feet. He knew it wasn't going to look quite proper... a friend attacking a friend, but he had his reasons. Subaru might hate him, but he'd just have to hate him! He gulped as he glanced around him. This was going to be the single most stupid thing in the world that he would ever do.

"Amirita teisei... Amirita beki andei... Kisha yogyarei sowaka...!" Subaru threw his quivering arms in front of him, blood flowing from his hands and down his arms, "Amirita gyarabi... Amirita shiddi..."

Shouri tensed slightly as he took a few steps forward. Yep, he was an idiot and this'd prove it for sure. He sighed... it wasn't like he could actually hurt the other man, right? He suddenly went forward in a charge. If he could just wind him, knock him over so he couldn't get up... then that'd settle it! Besides, he could protect Subaru from Seishirou... even if Subaru was trying to strangle him at the same time, ne?

He directed his charge at Subaru, ready to literally slam himself into him. The stench of the blood was getting to him though… and it made him dizzy...

"Amirita teisei... Amirita beki andei... Kisha yogyarei sowaka..." The still-spinning pentacle flew in Seishirou's direction; seconds later, Subaru collapsed, and the kekkai disintegrated.

Shouri stopped about halfway in his charge and broke into a run. How he managed to do that without tripping was beyond him, but he was worried sick! He didn't quite care if the attack hit Seishirou or not... what he cared about was whether or not Subaru was still alive. After all, he had said that he was going to make sure that Subaru was all right, right? He skidded to a stop by the body and frowned, kneeling and checking the pulse.

Ugh. That scent- the scent of blood- it made him sick... so very sick. He avoided doing anything rash, though he quickly began to check for any signs of life.

"Subaru-san! Subaru-san!" He didn't quite care if he was calling him by the given name or not. "Are you alive? Are you still breathing? Can you hear me? Damn it, answer me..." His voice was so light he could've been mistaken for a girl or something- of course, his voice was always light and always innocent anyways so it couldn't be helped. "Sumeragi Subaru, if you don't open your eyes now, I'll- I'll... I'll... ..." He was running out of words.

... So he really did consider Subaru a true friend. Weird how overprotective he was. He was the same way about the old woman Matsuko and the kids at the orphanage. It wasn't unusual for one like him... though to others, it was probably just creepy. He frowned, shaking Subaru a little more, that worried look not leaving his eyes.

In the distance, running up and just barely managing to stop, was Uo. She looked sincerely unhappy just seeing all of those people.. APPEAR. It was unnatural. for a minute, her mind set to work about how that could just happen... after all, who was the one with her own laboratory in her home?

She stared blankly for a second, taking a step back. "..Nani? Who are all of these people.." she frowned as she scanned over, staring... even if they were scattered. "... So bizarre..."

After a second of staring, she paused and fully intended to get SOMEONE to acknowledge her. "Yuzuriha-san! Kamui-san! Kotori-chan!" she called, YELLING full throttle.

* * *

As the kekkai began to dissolve as quickly as it had been put up, Yuuto glanced back down at Okita offhandedly. The young man was reaching desperately for something while trying simultaneously to hold his throat and mouth...as though keeping himself from falling apart.

Hurriedly Yuuto snatched up the inhaler and shook it swiftly, snapping off the cap and holding it to Okita's lips. "Hey, man, don't go dying already," he exclaimed in a tone something akin to cheerfulness. "That's a pretty wicked cough. It's some sort of disease, isn't it?" he asked as he gave a few squeezes to the inhaler, ejecting the stuff into Okita's mouth methodically.

Okita inhaled the medicine coughing a little before his wheeze began to grow fainter. He looked to Yuuto with a weak expression, nodding to answer the man's question. After a few minutes he managed to say, "Tuberculosis...it acts up when my body is weak or has too much stress..." He clutched himself to keep warm, wheezing a little as he stared into the street.

He heard his mobile phone began to play it's custom ring tone, one of his favorite songs...He reached toward his other pocket, pulling out his phone and pressing the answer key. "H,hello?" That wheeze was still in his voice.

"HELLO!? OKITA, YOU ARE SO LATE! GET YOU ASS OVER HERE NOW, OR ELSE!!" Kaori screamed into the speaker; she was very evidently not pleased; an intern blinked in surprise and edged a few feet away from her.

* * *

Arashi had slid through the kekkai with ease. Now she looked about. She didn't see anyone quite yet... And the kekkai had begun to dissolve. He headed for the center, keeping her eyes open for anything suspicious.

It wasn't long before she spotted Subaru... and a whole mess of other people, including the man they'd fought earlier. She watched from her little spot, waiting until some help was needed. After all, the place was overrun with Dragons of Earth and poor Subaru-san... he didn't look well at all.

* * *

Hien practically leapt to catch Hinoto as the dream gazer tumbled to the floor. Once assured of Hinoto's general well-being, Hien turned her attention first to the crumpled pile of cloth against the far wall she knew to be her sister, then to the two young men near the open doorway.

"Yuurei-san, Saiki-san, please stop this!" She had a feeling that they didn't intend to listen to her.

"I don't - know what your problem is - today," Saiki gasped, struggling to get the words out despite Yuurei's grip on his throat. He was just as angry as the other seemed to be, although currently at a disadvantage; the wind about the room picked up as if taking Saiki's anger upon itself.

"Whatever it is - I - can't let you - harm Hinoto-hime." His words were decisive, even if his voice seemed less so.

As Hinoto felt herself lifted by an angry Yuurei, the two ring pieces fell to the floor, forgotten. She could say nothing, only choke, trying vainly to claw at his hand so that she could breathe. Her eyes were filled with pain, and she began to turn blue from lack of oxygen. Giving one last ditch effort with her fingers, she tried to pry his hand from around her neck but to no avail.

At that moment though Hinoto felt a strong gust of wind.. _ Saiki... _her mind managed to think.

A few seconds later she was suddenly dropped but it was too late. Her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she became unconscious, her breath coming in sharp gasps to show that she was at least alive...

* * *

After already dodging one attack, his reflexes responded more easily to this new threat. The gyrating pentagram sped toward him with astounding velocity, but Seishirou lunged to the side just in time to prevent being severed at the waist. However, he was still not quick enough to avoid the attack completely, and he caught a wince in his throat as the distinct edge of the spell sliced through his left upper arm.

And then suddenly the kekkai dissipated, and Seishirou glanced over to find that Subaru had collapsed. His attack dissolved along with the barrier. The young man accompanying Subaru was at his side in an instant.

Seishirou was immensely exhausted. He did not care about snack food anymore. All he wanted was to sleep through the next two days straight with no interruptions. But Subaru was on the verge of death. And for reasons unknown to Seishirou, he could not bear the sight of it. Maybe it was because he wanted to kill the man himself. But whatever it was, it changed his actions nonetheless.

Forcing his body to move rapidly across the vicinity, he stopped beside Subaru's body and knelt quickly to scoop the light young man into his arms, not even giving Shouri a second glance. Then, knowing the Seal's companion would probably give him chase, Seishirou wasted no time in leaping high up to the nearest rooftop, bounding from building to building in the direction of his apartment...

* * *

Yuzuriha turned the second the kekkai went up. That man...

...he looked familiar.

She was motionless as Subaru's attack grew stronger and stronger in power before it blasted in Seishirou's direction. It missed him, barely, and Yuzuriha now found herself in the path of the attack.

"Eeee!" she just barely leapt out of the way, looking up just in time to see Seishirou, holding Subaru, leap from building to building.

She turned to Kamui. "Wha--what was that?"

* * *

It took a minute for Shouri to realize what had just happened. Was it him, or was Subaru an icon of some kind? It seemed to him like everything in existence wanted him dead! Why? He didn't understand it at all... but he did no one thing and that was that he had to follow. He wasn't going to leave Subaru with some wacky character who had already damaged him the night before in some pretty awful ways. His innocent mind couldn't quite fathom anything truly devious though... so he thought it was some unmentionable torture of some kind.

He stood up and frowned, clenching his right hand into a tight fist. How was he going to follow- woaaah! Hold up. Now he was a little bit shaken. How was he suppose to follow Superman? He licked his lips and frowned. No thoughts from Sasori. She must've been really bugged...

Without thinking, he began to run to follow. Even if he was on the ground, he could keep up by watching the jumping shadows, right? Well, that was hard when the streetlights decided to turn off and on. He didn't care. Who knew what that man would do to Subaru... he didn't want to think of it.

_'Right. Keep running.. must follow... ...'_ He felt himself began to shake a little. _'... Should've eaten something, too..'_

His emerald eyes had averted to the ground, so when he looked up he saw could barely see the shadow moving. He couldn't lose them! Not now! Not when he was so very close...

But running so fast through Tokyo was a hard job, as was not getting hit by cars. It was hard to jump or dodge them, especially when they were going so fast. It couldn't be helped, though. He had to do something.

He clenched his right fist tightly and concentrated as he ran. Within seconds, several particles of water had gathered in his hand to form a small red bird. When he opened his hand, the red bird grew to six inches tall, still in the form of water though- crystal and clear. It's wings flapped slightly. It was not red like his Aka-Submerge... it was clear blue. Nodding at the small creature, he threw it ahead. "Follow them! Don't lose track of Seishirou and Subaru-san!"

The blue water bird took flight, staying low by the buildings. It followed Seishirou nonetheless.

_'... This isn't my day.' _Shouri thought as he ran.

* * *

In that ancient room, the one that appeared to be a large bedroom from an imperial palace, hidden in Shouri's mind, was Sasori. She still wore those pure white robes that she always did. She stood in a kneeling position in front of an empty space where no stuffed animals or other things could possibly reach.

Her closed eyes slowly opened. Subaru was asleep. Perhaps she could reach him now...

Slowly, her eyes opened to reveal nothing but pitch black. She reached out to try and connect to his mind... hopefully he was in a blank space...

* * *

Fuuma's eyes narrowed at yet another interference by his unaided Dragons of Heaven...Another attempt by these fools to save their beloved humanity...It was obvious Fuuma's message wasn't getting across. It was obvious these...misguided pawns were going to have to be taught a lesson. Fuuma's eyes closed as a eerie wind began to spin around him...as if a storm was coming, a sudden chill ran down the spins of those nearest to him.

"It is very obvious I have been way too nice to not only this man but all parties involved..." The street began to crack as the wind grew stronger, spinning around Fuuma faster and faster. "I suppose it's time I taught my opposites a lesson...a hard lesson in the futility of their cause." Fuuma's eyes shot open. "Learn now foolish ones what it means to be hopeless..." The wind suddenly shot out in one large telekinetic blast...shattering windows and slamming into walls violently. The street's supports began to tear out from under the cement, the iron bars curling into spirals as shining bits of glass rained down from above. The mannequins from the department store slammed into the walls as if lifeless bodies, falling apart on impact.

Fuuma eyes went to a street sign...It was torn from the cement without so much as a second thought, bits of its base being torn from the steel cylindrical pole as it hovered next to Fuuma. The sign shot off the pole, shooting off in a random direction. He took the top of the pole as the hilt of his weapon, wielding it in the way his father taught him. "You're teacher has come...Let those who serve humanity come forward for your first humiliation."

* * *

**-****flash-**

"KAMUI. The one who hunts those who use God's power..." She whispered. She spoke up, "My wish...is to protect this earth, anyway I can!"

"I see...Then you understand you the Earth's pleas...You will not interfere in the coming revolution...Excellent."

"You're wrong..." She took this moment to struggle to stand on her wobbly legs. "...if I die for this earth...if I die as a Dragon of Heaven, it will not be in vain."

Falling, falling...

PAIN.

**-flash-**

"You're the one!" Yuzuriha shouted out, "THE ONE WHO DID THIS TO ME!" She brought her fingers to her lips, and with a loud whistle, Inuki materialized in her hands.

"You won't win so easily this time," she said, a determined smile spreading across her lips.

* * *

The disappearance of Uo, and then her quick return went by Kotori almost unnoticed. She was still dazed from her earlier events.

The attacks of Subaru and that male. Males...pfft. She ignored them for the most part, though she neared her friends more than before.

And then...up there...that boy...

And Yuzuriha's shout.

Kotori squinted and looked up. Him. That boy wielding that pole like her father did.

"Fuuma..." Kotori squeaked. "No!! NO!!" She grabbed her head, and then released it. She wrapped her arms around her body, holding her clothes close to her.

"Don't touch me..." She knew she should have stayed at Yuzuriha's apartment.

"DON'T!!!" she screamed, backing up towards a department store. It's dolls and models, strewn about; the glass on the ground...

It was when she stepped in the shiny minerals that she remembered that she didn't have any shoes. Kotori screamed out in pain, and fell backwards, curling into a ball in the glass; weeping.

* * *

Trails of fabric blown mercilessly about his body, Nataku watched with something akin to awe as the Kamui of Earth wrecked havoc with little more than a glance. The white-haired creature had moved just enough from the spot where Fuuma had stopped earlier to keep the young man in his sight.

_Nee, Kazuki-chan. You wanted to visit daddy's office today, right?  
_  
He shook his head. Why was it that such voices filled his thoughts upon looking at the Kamui? Gold eyes closed, opened. White hair blew into his eyes. It seemed that at least one of the people nearby felt animosity towards Fuuma. And, while it was clearly obvious that the young man was able to care for himself, Nataku felt a need to ensure the Kamui would  
not be injured.

His gaze fell on Yuzuriha.

* * *

If anyone had ever seen a U.F.O. in person, then surely they would notice the bright red one that was about to land in the scattered, rocky ground, just south of the glass. Uo hadn't been able to stand against the eruption of earth, even if she hadn't been directly on it. The fact that she had taken off towards the others the instant she saw Fuuma had caused her to get just a bit too close. She had stopped by the tree, not noticing the figure that was sitting in it... That was, until the force completely uprooted that poor dead tree, taking Uo up in the air with it.

It was a pleasant thing, having the knowledge that one was helpless to do anything. Uo wasn't use to it. How had this happened? It defied logic. All of her spare time studying electronics, machines, computers- whatever she could get her hands on- and science as well... well, all information she had clearly pointed that such things were not possible. A thousand thoughts were jamming to her head, keeping her from turning backside up or right-side up as she plummeted back down, eyes closed...

_'Im... impossible... that can't be done... telekinetic- it isn't possible... or is it? How? ...And... a... ...gr... WAKE UP!' _Her thoughts clashed for a brief minute.

Her eyes shot open. Falling, so very fast... ...

It was last minute, but Uo rolled herself quickly up, forcing herself to land on her feet. She frowned at the sudden pain. That was certainly the way the P.E. teacher always said NEVER to land. It wouldn't have mattered though... because she instantly took to one knee. It was just too much on her mind... until she heard Kotori.

"... Nani?" she glanced up, frowning as she saw Kotori in the glass. "...! Kotori-chan!"

Uo forced herself back on her feet again. Even with science, logic, fiction, and thoughts of supernatural possibilities as well as equations swimming through her mind- not to mention the undying HATE she had suddenly acquired again for Fuuma, just barely suppressed- she managed to force herself over to Kotori. Her eyes went rather wide.

She said nothing, but instantly left her off of the ground, though gently as she could. She didn't care if she was standing in glass, or if she felt like she was going to hurl. Had she been able to fathom any way to slow down her thoughts, to sort things out... perhaps she would've thought to take up that challenge of Fuuma's... but then again... it wasn't directed at her. He must've emitted that blast..

She looked down on Kotori, holding her still. "Kotori-chan, it's alright... I'm here for you. He won't get you... I promise. I won't let him..."

Looking up again, she noticed Yuzuriha. What did she think she was doing? ... then again, remembering what Kamui had basically said and insinuated... that she had no idea what she was getting in to... she decided to keep her mouth closed. With a faint sigh, she called out towards Yuzuriha rather suddenly, "Kick his ass, Yuzuriha-san! Save some for me!"

Again, Uo looked down on Kotori. If she could get her to the point where she was just a little calmer, just a little bit... she'd get her a bit further away.

"You want us to go? To get away from him?" She asked, looking down at her friend. She'd do whatever it took... to keep her friends safe.

"Daijobu, Kotori-chan. Uo-chan will help you." Yuzuriha smiled at Uo- chan. "Please take care of her for me, all right?" she said low enough so Kotori wouldn't hear her.

* * *

Kakyou was still trying to shake Subaru out of his stupor when the man suddenly vanished and the dream with it. He found himself back in his own dreamscape, that of the rocks and the sea. Unchanged as always save for a rather menacing wall of crystal…

In seeing Subaru's pain Kakyou had forgotten the reason he had entered the man's dream in the first place…. Golden eyes filled with fear because on a second look he noted deep cracks within the crystals themselves. The sound of shattering alerted the dream-seer to shield his face just in time as the cage shattered, shards flying every which way. Pieces ripped at his jacket, tearing it and a few managed to create shallow cuts on his arms and legs.

"Really Kakyou that was very uncalled for." Mayouko's sneering voice could be heard as the sound of crystals breaking on stone and landing in water died down.

Immediately lower the arms that were covering his face, Kakyou winced with pain. He continued looking down at the ground, refusing to meet Mayouko's gaze.

Mayouko snickered and started walking closer, one step at a time. "Did you really think something like that could stop me?"

Kakyou suddenly saw feet enter his line of vision and then a hand. His chin was jerked upwards and he found himself staring into a pair of maroon eyes. Mayouko just shook her head, a simper on her face.

The pain tinged again in his heart and Kakyou tried not to flinch, he didn't succeed and Mayouko's eyes narrowed. "What is wrong with you?" she snarled.

Kakyou this time met her gaze square on, his eyes seemingly void of emotion and once more refused to answer. Mayouko's eyes narrowed even more. "You will tell me."

"I don't know." his voice was soft yet firm, being said with much more strength then he actually had.

Mayouko smirked. "So he speaks after all. Though I think you do know." She forced his head to the side, examining him with her still narrowed gaze.

Anger suddenly swelled up within him and though he was weak he managed to wrench his head out of her grasp. Mayouko gave a dark chuckle. "You have suddenly decided to acquire a sense of spirit. I like that."

Kakyou balled his fists at those words and he said quietly, showing little fear even though he was trembling inside, "Get out."

Mayouko outright laughed at that. "How can I get out of a dream? Only you have to power to do that and I don't think you're strong enough."

A gust of wind whipped around them then, making their jackets snap and their hair flutter around their faces….. In the blink of an eye, the dreamscape suddenly vanished along with Kakyou.

Mayouko looked around confused. A familiar scene greeted her a few seconds later. That of a dream she had had many times before. She cursed. Kakyou had just placed her in her own dreamscape, own that should would have to wake up from. But there was something different about this dream.. and she found that she couldn't stop herself from being drawn into it…..

* * *

He felt himself falling. Closing his eyes, he ravished the moment. It wasn't an intense falling, just a slow, drifting falling. It was nice, though... For a moment, he believed he really was dead. Until he opened his eyes.

It was the beach. Subaru had recognized this place. Hokuto loved to come here, a long time ago. In fact, she'd often go off, running into the water, before she'd turn around and see a flustered Subaru covering himself, and Seishirou not far behind.

"SUBARU-KUNNNNN!" she'd yell out, running back from the water, to grab her brother. "Uwaaa! H-Hokuto-chan!" he'd blush, and resist his sister's grip, but there was no use.

He laid there for a minute, bringing his hand to his face, directing the sun away from his eyes.

* * *

As exhausted as he was, his senses were not completely dead. He knew he was being followed. Glancing over his shoulder, it took a moment before he was able to spot the little enchanted bird that was hovering low below the roofs, so as not to be seen. Not in the mood to deal with the interference, Seishirou summoned a quick spell and shot a short beam of crimson light at the creature, satisfied when the little thing shattered on impact.

Finally he reached his apartment and entered through the sliding door by the patio. He did not even stop to clean himself off before heading to master bedroom and laying Subaru gently down. Dressing the younger man's wounds quickly but efficiently, he applied the needed salve and bandaged what had been destroyed in their latest little skirmish.

Then, without even thinking about how absurd it was to be aiding his enemy in recovery, Seishirou retreated to the den and all but collapsed onto the long, soft sofa, pulling a sight quilt over his aching body and adjusting the firm cushions under his back. He was out like a light before his head even hit the pillow...

* * *

The powerful blast from the Twin Star took Yuuto by surprise, and he winced as he had to brace himself in order to keep from being blown forward. His back to Fuuma, he positioned himself between Okita and the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth. "I think it's about time to get out of here," he said in a cautious voice to the J-rocker.

But before he had the chance to move, a lamp post nearby was ripped from the cement and flung directly at the two of them. Fuuma did not have his eyes on them at the moment, and Yuuto seriously doubted he was being all too careful about where various objects were flying.

"Hey!" he shouted, shoving Okita out of the way. "What where your shooting the debris!"

The glass from windows across the street cracked and shattered, pieces spraying everywhere. Before he could so much as think of what to do next, Yuuto felt the sharp edges of stray glass shards scraping across his arms and legs and torso, embedding themselves deeply in his body. Still he managed to stand in front of Okita, knowing that if he ignited his aura in a defensive shield, the young J-rocker might be injured in the process. So he was reduced to hoping the young man would recover from his coughing bout and fend for himself before these shards cut him apart...

* * *

"Anno...Kaori-san, I..."

Okita listened to Kaori scream in rage as the world went to hell...the phone being blown from his hand, smashing against a wall. His eyes widened as suddenly he was being blocked from the source of the sudden storm. He weakly looked up to Yuuto, wheezing softly was the wind ran through his hair. "...what...'s going on?" Was this the end of the world...Was this the power of the Dragon of Earth?

The glass rained down like tears as the world cried in pain.

* * *

Sorata moved in front of Arashi, blocking her from the barrage of flying objects. "Tch...Seems we got here a little too late, eh?" Sorata smirked as the wind whipped violently through his hair. "Wait here, ok?" Sorata moved forward toward Fuuma, smiling darkly as he called out to the godly figure. "HEY! You going to stop throwing a tantrum and actually fight or am I going to have to start one?" He clenched his fists hard, sparks beginning to emit from their tan source.

Sorata stood ready before Fuuma, smiling wider. "I'm not going to give you a choice though...You're going to fight me whether you're ready or not!" He felt a new reason for protecting the world...It was his only reason.

* * *

Fuuma stood hovering as his aura leveled the street below him. He smiled darkly at the Seals who approached him. He didn't answer their petty concerns just yet, looking toward Yuuto guarding Okita. "I apologize for my reckless endangerment of my comrades but I really must get rid of these insects."

He kept his senses ready for the seals attacks...It was truly foolish of them to go against the wheel of fate, a wheel that was turning in his favor.

"I have dealt with you two before...The girl who thought she could stand alone against Kamui and the dolt who challenged my claim to my mother's sword...I suppose you believe your cause will be decided here today. Well then, Come and prove it to your executioner." Fuuma smiled and swung his pole to determine it's weight...perfect. "Without Kamui, your dreams were doomed from the beginning."


	41. Chapter 39: The Future is Always Alone

**Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Future Is Always Alone**

Kamui didn't feel comfortable going out into the open as of yet, but some fresh air might ease up some if the tension that was going about. And...it seemed to make Kotori happy.

Things started out well once they arrived at the ice cream parlor, but then quickly changed within the few minuets they arrived. A star shaped kekkai had quickly swooped over them, trapping them inside. Off in the distance Kamui could spot someone fighting on the roofs of a building.

"Subaru!!" cried out Kamui as he watched him from afar. There was little time to react as the kekkai came up and quickly went down. "No...that means...SUBARU!!!!!!!"

He wanted to run toward him but was caught dead his tracks as the windows shattered all around them. Kamui ran towards Kotori, shielding her from the shards of glass. He could feel his own blood trickling down his face and neck as the shards tore through his head.

He looked down at Kotori and held her close, trying to calm her. "This...this cant go on anymore...not like this..." he whispered.

He could feel the power of the Dragons of Earth and at the center was Fuuma. "I cant take it anymore...It has to end now."

* * *

Somehow, Kusanagi felt like he belonged with these people, but what they were doing was wrong. He did his best to keep himself shielded as Fuuma shattered the windows and mirrors around him. "H-hey! You going to hurt a lot of innocents if you keep this up!" he warned.

But it didn't seem like his words would reach him. This man...Kamui, was set of destroying anyone and everything in his path. The young girl and boy that appeared suddenly didn't help things much. Kamui was hungry for blood and Kusanagi was caught right in the middle of it all.

"It doesn't have to be this way..." he said while preparing himself should he have to fight.

* * *

Yuzuriha turned to Kamui; he really didn't look happy.

But he looked so familiar.  
**  
-flash-  
**  
_"This is Kamui."_

_"Kamui? Wow, he's so short and cute! I never thought Kamui would look  
like this!"  
_  
**-flash-**

"K...Kamui-kun...?"

* * *

Sasori paused as she suddenly felt the light of the sun on her. She had made it to the dreamscape, Subaru's dreamscape, or at least made it to the outskirts of it. Where was she anyhow? What was this place?

Glancing around, she noticed the sand... and the water. She had only seen such things in dreams and such, and from Shouri... but never had she been in a dream of one or at one. It was different from her view of Tokyo... Very different.

_'... He looks like he's alright...'_ Sasori thought, pausing as she shifted her robes lightly, sitting down beneath one of the odd looking trees slowly, a bit away from the two.

Her eyes stayed on them the entire time. She found it was usually best not to violate the sanctity of a dream like this one- especially if the person was badly injured in reality... and besides, if she was noticed, her presence might disrupt the peace of the dream. It was better to watch in silence and monitor the dream than to interrupt it and cause it to shatter. And so she watched, tilting her head. They looked so happy. She stared silently at Subaru before her eyes fell on Hokuto. She had often wondered what things would be like if she were actually there, right by Shouri, instead of living in his mind. They didn't even know who was older. She and Shouri were brother and sister; and yet, they acted nothing like the two children before her in the distance. They acted so much different...

Sasori looked at the two again, still staying away and out of sight. She would not be noticed if she could avoid it. Besides... she wasn't like them, she reminded herself- and neither was Shouri, either...

"Hmn.."

* * *

The young man slowed to a stop, wincing as he felt the explosion of that bird. His concentration shattered and he halted in his tracks. He had lost them in the blink of an eye! Why hadn't he paid more attention?

"...I don't even know this side of town..." Shouri murmured aloud as he glanced around. "As weak as they are, I couldn't sense them if I wanted to... .. and Sasori-chan..."

He glanced up at the sky. That room was vacant except for the 'shell' of a mental 'body' that was always kept in his head. She had reached out and was in someone's dreamscape again... perhaps Subaru's? He looked all around and frowned. If that was the case, he'd try and trace her... and hopefully find what he was looking for! He frowned as he tried to locate her, straining his mind... but he always knew where to find her. Slowly, he began to make his way, indirectly, to Seishirou's apartment...

'... Got to find Sumeragi-san... I've just got to be sure he's okay...' he thought to himself, ignoring the pulsing of his head.

* * *

Uo looked at Kamui and Kotori. She gave him a light nod.

"Kamui-san, go take care of Fuuma, will you? I'll take care of Kotori-chan..." Uo promised, nodding as she stayed right by them, read to catch Kotori or stop her if she tried anything.

Her voice gained a little bit of sarcasm, "Besides, if you don't, people might actually pay attention to the road."

With that, she glanced back at Fuuma and frowned before looking back at the others. It was sort of hard to hate her best friend's brother... but then again, would Kotori's brother really have done something so crazy? All thoughts aside... she couldn't wait to right every inch into a thorough report back on her laptop in her laboratory...

* * *

Yuzuriha pulls forward, closer to Fuuma, Inuki-Sword still in hand. She glances over to Kamui, hoping he'll cover her in case she needs backup, but Kamui already looks pretty pissed off, so she doubts she'll have anything to worry about.

"Why...why do you THIS? It's hurting a lot of people! It's hurting Kamui-kun, too!"

Fuuma eyes shot her direction. He smiled darkly as the wind grew stronger around Yuzuriha...She was entering his aura excellent...it wouldn't be long before that boy entered too. "Because this is our destiny, This is the destiny of Kamui, to grant the wishes of all before the world is disinherited...This is the world's revolution...This is my work, Kamui's work." Suddenly stepped forward, somehow walking on air. "You however are a road block in the scheme of things...No matter, that will end now."

"What's your wish?" He looked into her eyes as he approached.

"My...wish?" Yuzuriha seemed to think about the question for a minute, but didn't respond.

Okita looked up and saw the girl from the Hospital. "No...It can't be!" He struggled to get up and move toward her but he was to weak. "RUN! DAMN IT! You can't fight him!"

Sorata suddenly lunged at Fuuma. "You bastard, You're not hurting anymore women." He yelled as he attempted to seize Fuuma's hand and electrocute him.

"O-okita-kun?" Yuzuriha ran over to her friend, noticing his condition. "Okita-kun, you're hurt!"

Fuuma smiled wider and drew back, spinning as he swung his pipe directly at Sorata's face, connecting with much force. He smirked. "So you're the man who defeated Seishirou-kun...Pity You choose the wrong side."

Sorata fell back, he smirked despite the pain that was surging through him. "I'm not going to let you winner you arrogant freak!"

Yuzuriha turned, just to watch the pipe slowly fly towards Sorata.

"SORATA!!!" she cried out.

Okita tried to stop her. "I care too much to let you toss you're life away..."

Yuzuriha ran to Sorata's side. "Sorata-san...Sorata-san, daijobu? Daijobu?" she brushed away a few flicks of hair in his face before turning to Fuuma, her eyebrows furrowed in anger, her usually smiling face scowling.

Yuzuriha turned back to Okita. "I can fight. I'll fight as long as my friends, as long as my friends need me to help protect them!"

Okita coughed as he looked up to Yuzuriha. "You can't fight..." He wheezed as the medicine tried to take hold of his condition.

Sorata got up, spiting out blood mockingly. He charged another attack.

Yuzuriha didn't exactly ignore Okita's words, but she didn't respond to them either. "Sorata!" Yuzuriha hopped to her feet. "Sorata, are you sure you're in any condition to fight?" She didn't realize the hypocrisy of her words.

Fuuma laughed and looked to Okita. "All you care about is protecting your friends...Don't you realize even if you die, you'll have been granted that wish...After all This is your wish isn't it?"

Yuzuriha blinked in surprise; did she and Okita have the same wish?

"I'm gonna protect the women I love...I don't care what condition I'm in." He was in different clothes (the Engrish " Spread Beaver, Showing the Vaginal Area" Shirt). He grinned.

Fuuma looked back to Yuzuriha. "No that was your wish...If you truly wish to know your friend's wish though...He wants to die."

Yuzuriha smiled admiringly at Sorata before turning back to Fuuma.

"To...to die?! But-- why?!"

Okita coughed and didn't look at Yuzuriha.

Fuuma looked back to Okita and nodded before grinning at Yuzuriha. "You won't find out..."

Yuzuriha suddenly felt strange; Fuuma's words were strange; No, that was your wish. How did he...how did he know his wish? And why...was he...reading her mind?

Fuuma smiled and flew at Yuzuriha, striking her with the steel pole as he past. "Yes I see your every desire...And it is my job to grant everyone their wish."

Yuzuriha's face hurled at upon impact. She felt like she was about to throw up, her face stung so badly, she was sure that she wouldn't be able to stand it. She felt Inuki's aura comforting her through his sword encasing, and pulled herself together.

"Only I am capable of granting myself my wish," Yuzuriha shot back, still holding her Inuki sword in unsteady hands.

Fuuma took another swing at Yuzu, he kept his guard up for Sorata ...knowing fully well these two were no match for the power of Kamui. He suddenly took his concentration from the wind around him and began focusing all that power on Yuzuriha.

Yuzuriha tried to lunge out of the attack, but just when she thought she was all clear, she felt the pipe hit against her ankle, and heard a sharp crack. When she landed, she was surrounded by fierce winds. She struggled to her feet, trying to dodge the larger pieces of debris while still keeping herself from being sucked entirely into the tornado's winds. This proved even more difficult for Yuzuriha as her wounded ankle kept her from being as nimble as she usually was.

Fuuma laughed horribly. "You're wish has been granted...You will die protecting your friends." He condensed the winds a little more.

Yuzuriha cried out as the winds centered down on her. "No--no, it shouldn't be like this!" Yuzuriha cowered a bit, trying to make herself as small as she could possibly make herself, and stay as close to the ground as she could.

"Inuki..."

Fuuma cringed as he was struck by the electricity but managed to sidestep Sorata and elbow him in the back to make him hunch over and knee him in the Gut. He laughed as Sorata doubled over.

Fuuma eyed the girl and continued to bring the power down on Yuzuriha, cracking Sorata across the back with the pole as he tried to stand up straight again. "Fools! You dare underestimate the power of Kamui!"

"Kowaii...Inuki..." Yuzuriha pulled herself into the fetal position, burying her head into her thighs.

The wind was strong enough to cut Yuzuriha as it closed in another time. Fuuma's laugh echoed through the scene.

Inuki's sword form disintegrated from Yuzuriha's hands, and Yuzuriha pulled her head up. "I..nuki?" A slash of wind slashed her face as she looked up. Inuki's spirit form surrounded the edge of the tornado. He roared as he spun furiously in the opposite direction of the tornado, slowing its winds, but only slightly.

Fuuma let go his control on the tornado suddenly...letting the dog's own power hurt Yuzuriha.

Inuki was pushing himself against the winds with such intensity that when the winds were released, he was unable to stop himself. Yuzuriha tried to shield herself, but she had nothing to protect herself with but her arms. "Inuki..."

As soon as Inuki was able to stop himself, he went back to dog-form and ran to Yuzuriha's side, licking her wounds. Yuzuriha knew that Inuki didn't mean it, but that didn't stop the pain from going away.

Wincing, Yuzuriha pulled herself to her feet, her ankle giving way.

* * *

Kotori had been once again shifted between the female hands of Uo, and the strong hands of Kamui. She didn't try to force herself away from Kamui's grip this time. If she did, she might end up drawing more attention to herself..

Then...Fuuma might find her...

The glass in her feet, and hands, and back...they all hurt. And the blood poured out, but it was hard to see with the blood colored material of the dress.

But when she saw Yuzuriha being confronted by her brother, she wanted to get up and help her.

"Yuzuriha-chan!!!" she screamed. "Kamui, let me go... Yuzuriha..!!"

* * *

His anger growing more and more rabid instead of easing, he was perhaps only an inch away from ripping Saiki's head from his shoulders...when he felt it. The images flashed before his eyes. A great battle was being held at this very moment. The Seals were at a terrible disadvantage...namely because of Fuuma. They were outnumbered and outmatched, and Kamui was still being far too indecisive.

Without even so much as answering Saiki's exclamation, Yuurei summoned the shadows about him...and vanished into the darkness. He was still the Watcher, after all, and so it was his duty to be there. Only now...he would do much more than watch.

Through the power of his Shadow-Walking technique, he raced through the city in a matter of mere moments, assessing the situation as he went. Fuuma was causing mass destruction. Sorata was attempting to keep him away from Yuzuriha and her dog spirit Inuki, but his efforts were to almost no avail.

Yuzuriha was in the most immediate danger, with the Twin Star's fury locked on her and revolving furiously about her small body. She was just a girl. The youngest of the Dragons. How could anyone be so cruel? But there was no time to think. In the next second, the girl might be obliterated completely.

He arrived not a moment too soon. Just as another blast of powerful energy-laden wind blasted toward her, Yuurei dashed out of the shadows like a blur of constant motion and wrapped his arms around her thin waist, pulling her light body out of the way. With a mild defensive energy barrier of his own, he guarded her against the acrid wind, his back to Fuuma.

When the gales finally subsided, he failed to so much as acknowledge the young girl as he turned to face the Twin Star with a vicious snarl. A wide, wicked grin passed across his thin lips as he drew back into a ready defensive stance.

"I think this has gone on quite long enough," he spat out dryly. "But I would be more than obliged to rip you to pieces."

"T-thank you," Yuzuriha stumbled over her own words; she was indeed, very grateful, but who was this stranger? And why was he able to stay within a kekkai.

"I…know this is no time for introductions, but I'm Nekoi Yuzuriha."

His rage bubbled in the pit of his throat in the form of bitter, rancorous bile, and he could not reply to Kamui, who had just come up beside him, or the girl at his back. He knew who she was, of course, but even if he had wanted to respond, the fury alive in his pulsating heart would not have permitted him to reply with any form of kindness. The best he could do was give a curt nod, never taking his eyes off of Fuuma...

* * *

"I don't care about this world..." whispered Kamui. He held Kotori closer to his chest, letting the trickles of blood ooze down his head and onto the pavement beneath them. "I just want you to be happy Kotori," he told her.

" I want to protect the world you live in Kotori. So you can live without anymore worries, fear...or pain..."

He ran his fingers through her hair gently, gazing down into her yes solemnly. "This is my promise to you Kotori..."

It was hard for him, but he released Kotori from his grasp and handed he to the arms of Uo. "Take care of her," he said. "I'm counting on you..."

Wiping the blood off his face with his sleeve, Kamui leapt forward towards the battle field.

Sorata and Yuzuriha hand already beaten him to the grounds, trying to hold their own against Fuuma's incredible power. There was little time to react and Kamui could only watch in horror as a gale of wind headed straight for Yuzuriha. "NO!" he cried out racing towards her.

But he was beaten to her when the Yuurei appeared out of know where protecting her. Landing down next to him he smirked. "For a watcher you seem to enjoy getting involved...but thanks for protecting her..."

His attention was now focused entirely on Fuuma. Kamui's power began to flail wildly about, colliding with Fuuma's Ki negating the on coming rush of gale winds. "You gone to far Fuuma..." he said coldly. "It has to has to end now. Even if it means I have to kill you..."

Holding out his hand, Kamui began to charge his ki, creating a Kekkai of his own that overlapped the battle field. "Now we can do this with out restrictions..."

* * *

Arashi had watched as the battle had started. She had started to go in to help when Yuzuriha had been threatened, however she was beaten to it twice over. Kamui had now joined the battle... things were going to get rough. She rushed over to Sorata. She was not going to sit this battle out. This battle may end the world, or let it go on...

She held her sword albeit lazily, though she was ready to jump in if Kamui needed so.

* * *

Fuuma looked over to see Kamui, smiling widely. "Kamui...You finally made it. I see you're finally excepting your fate...You must also understand our purpose then?" He tossed the pipe aside, he wouldn't need it for this fight

" Yes...I do realize our purpose now Fuuma..." he spoke sadly. "I wish it never had to come to this, but it looks like it unavoidable any longer." Kamui's ki began to surge trough him as he spoke. "I cant forgive you Fuuma..."

Sorata stared at Kamui with concern. The boy wasn't in good shape. "Kamui..."

He could no longer stand. Slowly, his knees gave way and Kamui fell to the ground...sobbing silently. He didn't want to fight anymore. He just wanted this to end.

"Why do I need to be forgiven...It was fate's words and I was the actor who initiated them." He also charged his Ki up. "It is a shame we can never be together after this...but I suppose your place shall be in another life."

Yuzuriha looked from all five young men, and lastly, to Kamui "Kamui-kun..." She spoke quietly.

Okita watched the battle. It led up to this? He felt the tension in everyone's soul as these met up.

Sorata smiled up at Arashi. "He's gonna do it...KICK HIS ASS KAMUI!" He cringed as he felt the pain surge through his body.

Death...it was an outcome that never left his mind. One of them had to die. "I never wanted this to happened Fuuma. I was hoping you would regain your senses and become your old self again, but now I see that is nothing more than a dream. Forgive me for what I'm about to do..."

"A dream I can never grant I'm afraid. All I can say is that when it's over You'll be with Kotori-chan and happiness is all you'll feel." Fuuma grew somber, finishing his concentration...He waited for a sign in Kamui, a sign to start the final battle. "It all led up to this, Kamui...All for the world."

"Then lets finish this..." Kamui ki reached its peak and began to explode around him, shaking the ground violently and tearing apart the pavement. Letting about a cry in anger, Kamui held out his hand and shot out a blast of energy towards Fuuma.

Fuuma's power was incredible. The counter blast that he sent out nearly made Kamui lose his balance. Skidding to a stop, he smirked up at his former friend. "I agree..."

Fuuma flew forward, sending a spear hand strike toward Kamui. He grinned darkly at Kamui. "But it ends now!"

"KAMUI!!" Yuzuriha shouted out.

Sorata eyes narrowed as he watched the fight. Would he have to help Kamui defeat that arrogant bastard...He felt the power and shuddered...They were truly the most powerful in their groups...worthy of the title Kamui.

Kamui's eyes widened in horror at Fuuma's speed and desperately leapt to the side of his attack. Fuuma's hand missed his marked, but tore through his shirt and cut him deeply across the chest. Landing back on his feet, Kamui held out his hand, sending a wave or rocks towards Fuuma.

Fuuma was struck in the face by one of the rocks. He growled as he felt it cut across his face. He countered the attack by sending a ki blast at Kamui's gut, attempting to knock the wind out of him.

Fuuma's speed was more than he could handle. Creating a psychic barrier around him, Kamui guarded against Fuuma's onslaught. Stumbling back, he clenched the wound across his chest.

Fuuma flew forward again, sending his fist toward Kamui's face. "A eye for a eye!"

The punch connected with Kamui face, knocking him to the floor. Kamui quickly rolled on his back and fired a wave of energy towards him before scrambling to his feet.

Fuuma put a shield of his own up for a moment, before firing a similar blast at Kamui. This fight was truly what he had waited for.

Kamui leapt high into the air, avoiding the blast and landing along side a near by light post. Using the leverage, he flung himself towards Fuuma swinging a ki charged fist.

Fuuma was struck in the shoulder by the strike, causing him to turn slightly with the impact. The pain was so fluid...so real. He attempted to Seize Kamui by the face as he landed. The blood ran down the shoulder wound like a warm spring.

There didn't seem any way or avoid Fuuma's grasp, but Kamui attempted to push away from his reach.

Fuuma lunged his palm toward Kamui's face, applying pressure once within grasp. He was damn near crushing Kamui's skull.

Kamui cries of pain were muffled by Fuuma's hand. Grasping his Fuuma's arm tightly with his hands, he sent out a small wave of ki, hoping it would release the death grip Fuuma had upon him.

Fuuma laughed at the ki blast, letting go of Kamui, sending his own larger blast at Kamui's chest as he fell from his grip.

Kamui head was numb from the pain. He could barely think, let alone avoid Fuuma's attack and was struck dead on. Crying out once again, Kamui was sent skidding along the pavement, landing hard face first. He was unable to move at first, but soon began to rise to his feet.

Fuuma smiled, clutching his own wound. "It seems I have the upper hand Kamui...When are you going finally realize it's hopeless." He charged another Ki blast, waiting.

Kamui covered his mouth, hacking up blood into his cupped hand. "Its...not over yet..." he gasped. "I wont lose to you so easily!" Kamui ki charged along with Fuuma's. Raising his hand in the air, Kamui sent a geyser of rocks plowing towards Fuuma.

Yuzuriha gaped at the battle, unsure if she should interfere or not. This was Kamui's battle, but...

Fuuma eyes widened as he was blown back by the rocks. He gasped and then smiled once more, the wounds on his chest, shoulder, arms and legs were pouring out the red life giving liquid. He struggled to stand...it was hard to stand without leaning on something.

This was his chance. He wouldn't have another opening like this. Though he barely had any energy left to stand, Kamui somehow managed to break into a dash towards Fuuma and swung his fist towards his face.

"They are nearing the climax...I don't think either is in very good shape." Sorata looked to Arashi, who was silently watching the battle.

Fuuma also moved to Kamui, quickly in his disheveled state. He was limping badly as he nearly fell back from Kamui's punch. He didn't have any power left so he side stepped Kamui and attempted to Dig his fingers into Kamui's rips.

Fuuma's nails tore into Kamui robs like knives. Letting out a small cry, he swing a backhand fist towards Fuuma's face once again.

Fuuma flew to the side with the force of the strike, reaching down to grab some dirt and fling it at Kamui's face.

Grasping his face, Kamui stumbled back blindly. The cold hard dirt burnt his eyes and opening wounds on his face.

Fuuma grabbed Kamui's shoulder and sent a punch at Kamui's gut. He almost fell over from the force. He couldn't find the energy to smile anymore but he wasn't going to let this boy win.

The air was knocked away from Kamui's lungs as Fuuma's fist collided into him. Falling up against Fuuma, he gasped for air before driving his knee into Fuuma's ribs.

Fuuma took the strike, gasping for Air as he head butted Kamui back. He blindly picked up at rock and came at Kamui.

Kamui winced and stumbled back as Fuuma's head collided into his. Readying for the oncoming attack, Kamui crouched and darted upward, head first towards Fuuma's chin.

Fuuma's head flew backwards at the force strike to the chin. He dropped the rock and pushed Kamui back ,stumbling backwards himself. He found that last instant to smile at Kamui. "I love you...Ka...Mui..." He stumbled further backwards, swaying light-headedly.

"F-Fuuma...?" Kamui whimpered. Those words he spoke tore through his heart. Warm tears began to drip down his face, mixing with his blood. "Fuuma...I'm so sorry..." he whispered.

His eyes were blurry from the pain, so Kamui could barely make out the man who stood before him. His eyes became heavier as he felt the his remaining strength leave his body and the shadows surround him. "Fuuma..." he whispered.

Yuzuriha runs to Kamui, her broken ankle cracking with every painful step. "Kamui kunnnnn!!" she cried out, throwing herself at her friend. "Kamui-kun, Kamui-kun, it's going to be all right!" Yuzuriha embraced Kamui. "I'm so sorry..."

"KAAAAMUI!" Sorata yelled into the night, lifting him into his arms. "We've got to get him somewhere..." He looked to the Dragons of Earth. "We are done for the evening...Go help your savior while we take care of ours." He looked down to Kamui in his arms and straightened up. Despite the pain in his body right now...He wanted to be strong like that boy who actually showed some courage tonight. He was near tears...He didn't want Kamui to die.

As Kamui began to loose consciousness, the kekkai he had placed slowly began to dissolve. "Fuuma..." was all he could speak, till finally, no more words would come his mouth. Kamui slowly shut his eyes, unable to open them again.

Sorata looked to Yuzuriha. "Take care of Arashi...I'm gonna take him to the safest place I know...The hospital will just lead to another incident."

Kusanagi had been there watching the fight the whole time. Acknowledging the young mans words, he slowly approached the battered Fuuma. "C'mon kid," he said before scooping him up in his arms. "You know this fight isn't over yet," he told the young man.

"Where are you going, Sorata?" she asked, glancing from Sorata to Arashi. In mid glance, she saw a face she recognized; Ku...Kusanagi-san?

Sorata smirked at Kusanagi. "You can count on that...It's a shame it has to be this way though...but I suppose this is fate...Well take care of that heartless bastard."

"Hey there kiddo," Kusanagi greeted the young girl. "Wish we could have met again under better circumstances but...This is my fate," he said with a weak smile.

"Y...your fate--?" Yuzuriha was slowly coming to the harsh realization. "K-Kusanagi san, you're a...dragon--?" Yuzuriha's voice droned off.

Sorata smiled at the other man and nodded, leaping toward the top of a building and dashing off into the night.

"Real sorry about that. I wanted to tell you, but why ruin a great friendship over a silly thing like the end of the world?" he joked.

Okita watched Yuzuriha in the distance. He smiled slightly, feeling slightly disappointed. She was already happy with someone but was caught in the middle of the war. He felt the medicine finally take effect as he rose to his feet slowly. He looked back to Yuuto and smiled weakly. "Lets go...I guess..."

Anyways...you look pretty beat up. I think its best you follow your friends example and get your self some where safe and treat those wounds."

Turning away with the injured Fuuma in his arms, he glanced back at Yuzuriha. "Sorry, but the next time we see each other...it wont be on friendly terms. Its...destined to be this way." Looking at the other Dragon of Earth, he barked out. "C'mon! Lets get outta here. Kamui here needs to be treated right away!"

Okita nodded slowly and followed timidly behind, still weak from his breathing fit.

* * *

Kotori watched the battle that was taking place before her with weary eyes. She wanted to cry out, and maybe run into the battle. Even though Fuuma had torn her apart, he was still her brother, and she wanted neither of the two she loved to fight.

Kotori felt nothing throughout the battle. She was dazed, that same stupid look plastered on her face. She thought things, but she didn't feel them. She hardly showed any signs of life, except for that time she bent over to pick at the glass in her feet.

But, when things finally calmed down, she noticed that Uo hadn't always been by her side. Uo was constantly doing disappearing acts.

Kotori didn't have time to dwell on that though. "KAUMI-CHAN!!" she screamed, watching the figure fall. Suddenly, the glass didn't matter. She pushed herself to her feet, and ran to the boy's side, leaving red footprints behind her. "KAMUI!!"

Her brother fell. She stopped, and stared at him for a brief moment. "Onii..." Her eyes glazed over, and she turned back to Kamui. "Kamui...open your eyes..."

* * *

Satsuki coolly surveyed the situation from her spot on the sidewalk, some distance away from the raging battle. The computer girl smirked as she watched Fuuma take on Kamui, damaging a considerable amount of private property in the process. She neatly sidestepped to dodge the flying fragments of glass and debris that came blasting her way, completely unruffled. Really, Satsuki mused, the Twin Star certainly did have a bad temper. If he wasn't careful, he would probably end up injuring one of his own comrades, not to mention completely demolishing the Dragons of Heaven. And it wouldn't do for the Seals to be destroyed today so quickly. Now where was the fun in that?

Speaking of fun, Satsuki was getting rather bored right now. While the others were off battling, she was missing all the entertainment, just standing around doing next to nothing. The computer genius eyed the half-conscious Seal at her feet with something akin to annoyance. Fuuma had earlier asked her to guard the Seal, and thus she had no choice but to stay put. Satsuki might have despised all humans, but she still had respect for authority. And the Twin Star was most definitely an authority.

But even if she disregarded Fuuma's order, she couldn't have left if she wanted to anyways. The other Angels had long ago scattered in different directions, and since she was the only one left, she was forced to guard the hostage. Not that she seriously believed Aoki could escape, though. The bespectacled man was definitely looking worse for the wear; his injuries from their earlier battle had still not yet healed, and he was currently in a state of half- consciousness. Besides, he was bound with cables so tightly that an escape was physically impossible; Satsuki had seen to that.

In any case, things had certainly heated up. Fuuma and Kamui were quite evenly matched; Satsuki had to admit that Kamui was much more powerful than he looked. The girl winced as Fuuma was finally struck down, battered and bleeding.

As she watched her leader fall to the ground, Satsuki was, quite suddenly and for the first time that day, struck with a note of alarm. Was this the end for Fuuma? No, it wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible. If Fuuma died, then the Dragons of Earth were automatically defeated. The day of the Final Battle would never occur, and humanity would be saved. Everything would go back to the way it was before, before Kanoe found her and told her about the Dragons of Earth. Before, when she was locked in that horrible lab, and those experimenters forced her to perform the same tests over and over and over…

Satsuki took an unconscious step forward towards Fuuma. But before she could move any further, Kamui fell to the ground as well. The Seals quickly lifted him up and started to take him away, most likely to some place where he could get medical attention. Similarly, Kusanagi, the new Dragon of Earth, picked Fuuma up from the ground and carried him off, Okita trailing after him. The computer girl let out a breath that she hadn't known she had been holding in. It seemed that the battle was over for now.

"Interesting battle, wasn't it, Yuuto-san?" Satsuki remarked offhandedly to her comrade as she watched Kusanagi carry Fuuma away.  
The girl sighed heavily; she was worried for her leader's safety. He was far too important for the Dragons of Earth to lose now. And not only that, she was also worried simply because he was a someone she knew and cared about…. Satsuki pushed the stray thoughts from her mind. Really, now, since when did she start becoming so sentimental? All humans were the same; weak, too emotional, inferior to computers, imperfect. Her concern for them was becoming ridiculous.

Still, though, Fuuma was the leader of the Dragons of Earth; she had every reason to be concerned. In fact, she should probably go to make sure her leader was alright. But she was still responsible for the captive Seal. Satsuki eyed her battered hostage with distaste. What was she supposed to do with him now? She didn't have any place where she could take him; she had lodged with Kanoe, in the headquarters of the Dragons of Earth, but she couldn't go there now as the place was demolished.

As she mulled over possible solutions, an idea suddenly occurred to her. Yuuto was an employed government worker; he was bound to have a place to stay somewhere in the city. "Yuuto-san," Satsuki said, still halfway absorbed in thought. "Do you have an apartment or a flat nearby? We need a place to put this Seal," she said, nudging Aoki in the ribs with her foot. "I would go with Shiyuu-san and Okita-san right now, but Fuuma-san told me to watch the Seal." She grimaced. "And Fuuma-san is the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth. I must obey his order."

* * *

Yuzuriha couldn't help but feel miserable; her new friend AND the man she loved, both of them were...

...on the opposing side.

She put on an encouraging smile, despite the pain that had overtaken her face and her leg, and slightly-dragging her wounded leg, leaned next to Kotori, putting a warm hand on Kotori's shoulder.

"Kamui-kun will be all right. Sorata-chan is going to take him some place where he'll be safe. If there are a lot of us, a lot of attention will be drawn to Kamui, and there might be another battle."

Yuzuriha looked at Arashi and Uo. Boy, this would take a lot of explaining...

"Shall we go?"

* * *

Having firmly attached himself to Fuuma's well-being, Nataku felt an urge to aid the dragon. Yet... It seemed to be some private grudge between the two young men. He remained close by, watching in case Fuuma should need something - anything.

When Fuuma fell, Nataku took a step forwards. A sad face flickered across his mind, hands reaching out to touch it... He blinked, hurrying towards Fuuma as the kekkai about them all began to dissipate. Fabric flew about his body, and he joined the two retreating Angels, one carrying the Kamui of Earth.

Treading lightly on genetic feet, it was easy to forget Nataku's presence. Besides, his mind seemed occupied with odd flashes of another lifetime.

* * *

Satsuki's kick was like a temporary wake-up call. Seiichirou felt a rush of sensation as he returned to the land of the conscious. He blinked and opened his eyes, exceedingly dizzy. His body was battered and in pain. Waves of nausea threatened to overwhelm him. He struggled to breathe properly.

Was it day or night? Where was he? What was going on?

The cables binding him answered in the silence. His mind cleared abruptly as he realized that he was still a prisoner.

Glancing around at his surroundings, he noted the Dragon of Earth gazing coldly at him. He glared back. He tried to break his electrical shackles but his body suddenly failed when he involuntarily began to cough. Blood, crimson in shade, suddenly coated his mouth and he found himself fighting instead against the darkness.

"Dragon of Earth, you can't win... We WILL save this world and the future..." he managed to say. He pushed himself to stand, his legs rocking unevenly as he rose slowly.

He stared evenly at the unsympathetic girl before him. She was his enemy and yet, he felt strangely sorry for her. There was an emptiness in her eyes that aroused his sympathy. He found the strength to smile at her. "We will save it because it's worth saving."

And then his legs gave way and he fell and the darkness claimed him again.

* * *

The battle passed terribly quickly. As he was still a bit tired and injured from the events of the past twenty-four hours, Yuuto did not object to sitting this battle out. Well, sitting did not exactly describe his position accurately. He continued to guard Okita against the shards of glass until the medicine seemed to kick in and the young man was able to fend for himself again.

Eventually the violence subsided, leaving both Twin Stars in a mess of blood and filth. Okita went off to follow Kusanagi as he carried Fuuma away from the carnage, and Yuuto was about to do the same when Satsuki called his name.

Quickly he jogged over to her side and examined the now unconscious Seal. Blinking as she made her absurd request, he raised an eyebrow and managed to chuckle lightly. Fuuma was certainly made to be the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth, already barking out orders for people to guard hostages while commanding others to watch his back or attack the enemy.

"I suppose, if it's Kamui's wish," he finally replied, stooping down to wrench the helpless Seiichirou Aoki from the pavement and the cables that bound him there. Slinging the surprisingly light body over his shoulder, he added before moving to leave, "And you're welcome to stay as well, seeing as you seem to be without a roof over your head at the moment." Flashing her a quick wink, he leaped to the roof of the nearest building, waiting for Satsuki to follow.

* * *

Through out the entire battle, all that Uo could do was stare and watch. It was... well, it was terrifying. It only fueled the helpless feeling that she had only recently acquired after watching what had happened. Even after Kotori had made her way to Kamui, Uo couldn't move... it was as if she were paralyzed and could do nothing.

She was shaking, but her mind continued to tell her that she was not afraid. While she might not have been, her heart was- and that was the reason for the violent rocking. Her mind began to soak in several things she had done just recently, mistakes in her own view... and it almost made her break in half.

It was all impossible, everything that had happened. It was just impossible. How could such power... come from mere humans? What was this? Barrage of science day? She hated it! Kotori and her other friends were in pain, in trouble... and needed her support and she hadn't been there for them at all. She had let them down in every way possible... and for that she couldn't forgive herself. She had over exaggerated every situation thus far, not using her brain for anything but letting her mind sink into the false impression that sheer strength could overcome anything... that was, until she saw the strange powers that the people possessed. Her confidence had withered like a flower that had been watered in the morning and fried by the sun. Even if she had wanted to think straight, she couldn't force herself to do it. Her mind was weighing too heavily on her.

After a minute or two of staring, Uo's eyes seemed to waver for a minute like the waves crashing on the shore. She took a step backwards, glass crunching lightly. She had stayed in the glass despite all that had happened...

_'... Snap out of it...' _she thought to herself, regaining her composure.

Her shaking ceased almost automatically and her eyes seemed to be only half-open with a somewhat more serious look on her face. She looked at Yuzuriha as she came up to join the remainder of the group. Her dark brown hair whipped and lashed behind her as she walked. Her eyes focused on Yuzuriha.

".. Hai, you do have a lot of explaining to do." Her tone had changed slightly as well... slightly more serious, with a little less playfulness to it.

She kept herself from looking at Kotori or Kamui... or from making direct eye-contact with anyone.

"... This is insane..." Uo commented, glancing towards the sky silently. "Illogical, unlikely, and impossible from mere observation of the human mind... human capabilities... .." She held her head, sighing heavily. "... There's no explanation for such-"

She stopped half-way, pausing as she suddenly looked upwards. The movement atop the buildings had not gone unnoticed.

"... .. Yuzuriha-chan... who's that?" Uo asked, still fighting to keep some emotion in her voice.. but failing...

Her eyes narrowed slightly. She could always go find out... but then again... she didn't want anything else weird happening, and she didn't want to leave Kotori-chan. She still owed her an apology... but still...

Uo frowned as she took a few steps forward, tilting her head slightly. She could make out two figures... mhm... and one of them didn't look so good. She took a few more steps forward, not realizing she had already began to walk towards that building. It was as if she was in a daze... too many questions for one so timid who wanted answers, and yet... She couldn't get close enough to see precisely who the figures were, what they looked like, or what kind of condition they were on... besides, that guy was hurt... And the chances of her being attacked were slim... at least she thought so..

* * *

The presence that had been perched upon the tree had vanished when the telekinetic blast had taken out the tree long before the main battle had begun. It had remained gone, actually hidden.

'He' stood in silence, shadowed half-over. He was watching both groups... the Dragons of Earth and the Dragons of Heaven. He still wore what he had, and was still see-through, like a ghost, yet beautiful and somewhat eerie...

In silence he stood, and in silence he remained... his dark bangs whipped slightly at his forehead as he remained shadowed over... not saying a word... and not revealing his presence as directly as before. His eyes were closed... as if he were in a deep sleep...


	42. Chapter 40: Out Cold…

**Chapter Forty: Out Cold…**

Even though he was furious and dying to tear something--anything-- limb from limb, he allowed Kamui to take the fight as he sank back into the depths of the shadows. After all, this was a battle between the Twin Stars. Yuurei's time would come after one of them was dead. Only then would he complete his destined task.

However, when the battle ended, and the Seals and Angels began to go their separate ways, Yuurei's mind was still in torment. What was he to do now? Go back to his apartment and sleep? He would never sleep again. Because in his dreams, he would find...he would find...

He shook his head as he continued to survey the scene. How could he stop this from falling out so bluntly? The Twin Stars would destroy each other at this rate, and then there would be nothing left. Then, back beside another building, he saw Yuuto and Satsuki still guarding their hostage vigilantly. And the only one trying do something about it was a mere human girl with no powers, no abilities, nothing that tied her to the End of the World. What were the other Seals thinking, leaving him to the whims of their enemy?

Quickly Yuurei glanced around to assess the situation and conditions of the Dragons of Earth. If only there was someone close enough...

There. His crimson gaze fell to the genetic doll who was hurrying obediently after Fuuma and Kusanagi. A lovely creature, but far too like a loyal little puppy when it came to matters concerning Kamui's Gemini. However, if Fuuma and the rest of the Angels were as protective of one another as Nataku was of Fuuma, Yuurei's seemingly suicidal scheme just might work...

The shadows enveloped him, and suddenly he was behind the emotionless doll, looming over the smaller, far less muscular creature like a panther sneaking up on its prey. And before Nataku even had the chance to turn around, Yuurei wrapped an arm about his waist, clamping his other hand over the genetic Angel's mouth as he pulled the creature back into the shadows.

And silently, in a voice that only spoke to the mind, he whispered huskily against the consciousnesses of ever Dragon of Earth present, his tone filled with derisive cynicism. _ Is it just me, or do you seem to be missing a member? _ He let out a soft, mental chuckle. _ If you wish no harm to come to him, I suggest you release your hostage immediately..._

* * *

Arashi had watched the battle silently. She knew it wasn't her place to interfere, so she didn't. Both sets of Dragons were left in shambles at the moment. She clutched the hilt of her sword in anger, though it didn't show on her face. She turned to look at the few Dragons of Earth still about them. There, immediately she spotted Aoki. He looked wretched...

Arashi stepped forward, past Yuzuriha not answering her. "Excuse me." Arashi said, her voice emotionless as usual, "I will implore you to give us Aoki-san." She said with narrowed eyes as she continued towards Satsuki. She stopped in front of the girl, staring at her, "Now."

* * *

Satsuki watched emotionlessly as the Seal collapsed to the ground, overcome by unconsciousness. Yet what he said caused something to stir within her mind. "This world and the future… are worth saving?" She slowly repeated the Seal's words to herself. Satsuki's eyes darkened, and she let out a short, derisive chuckle. The planet had already been destroyed; the Earth was slowly dying from pollution and the excesses of humans. The Seal was wrong; there was no future left to save. Human beings had already seen to that. There was nothing worth saving in this world.

Yet Aoki's words made her wonder… Satsuki turned to watch Yuuto as he leaped to the top of a nearby building, but not before throwing a wink in her direction. The girl unconsciously blushed, her cheeks turning slightly pink. She continued to look at him for a few seconds before shaking herself out of her stupor. The girl was about to leap off the ground after him when, suddenly, she heard a voice speak, seemingly in her mind.

_ Is it just me, or do you seem to be missing a member? If you wish no harm to come to him, I suggest you release your hostage immediately...  
_  
Satsuki's eyes widened at the familiar voice echoing in her mind. It was the voice of the same mysterious stranger who had tried rescue her from Fuuma yesterday. The girl sharply looked around for the source of the voice, but saw no one near her. Had the man captured one of the Dragons of Earth? Then was he on the side of the Seals?

Before Satsuki could do anything else, a dark-haired girl wielding a sword approached her, the Dragon of Heaven called Arashi. The computer genius casually eyed the other girl as Arashi fairly commanded her to release Aoki. Her lips pulled upwards in a slight smirk that quickly faded. "And why should I listen to you?" she asked carelessly. Her face betrayed no sign of emotion as she coolly stared back into the other girl's eyes.

But her mind was working quickly to analyze the situation. It was likely that she would have no problems fighting the Seal before her; Yuuto could get away while she distracted Arashi. Now, the question was whether or not the mysterious man would really harm her fellow Dragon of Earth. For Satsuki had her doubts; logically, it didn't make sense that the man would hurt her comrade. On the contrary, all the evidence told her that the stranger was only bluffing. Even if he was on the side of the Dragons of Heaven, he didn't seem to want anyone to be hurt; otherwise, he wouldn't have attempted to save her from Fuuma's attacks. Yes, the girl concluded, it was unlikely that the stranger would actually attempt to injure whichever Angel he held hostage. And if he did… well, she was sure that the captive Dragon of Earth was more than capable of defending himself until the other Angels arrived to help him.

Satisfied with her logic, the computer girl turned back to the problem at hand. "Tell me," Satsuki spoke quietly, her cold eyes boring into Arashi's. "I was told by one of your fellow Dragons of Heaven that this world and the future are worth saving. Why is this?" The girl paused momentarily. Quite honestly, she was a bit curious to hear the Seal's answer. "Humans have already destroyed the environment with pollution, and the planet is dying. What is there in this world that is worth saving? Wouldn't it be better to cleanse the earth and start over?"

As she spoke, she put both hands in the pockets of her jacket, her right hand brushing her cell phone in her pocket. She hoped that her question would be enough of a distraction, but if not… she was ready. Now, she thought grimly, it was up to Yuuto to come to the same conclusion she did. She hoped that her comrade would figure out what she was doing and use this time to escape with the hostage.

* * *

"I'll explain it once we get back to wherever we're sta--" Yuzuriha was in the middle of explaining when Arashi leapt to her feet and ran like all hell.

Yuzuriha blinked to adjust her vision, and that's when she saw it.

Seiichirou Aoki, a fellow Dragon of the Heavens.

While she felt inclined to help, when she stepped up, she stumbled down, her bad leg unable to support itself any longer.

Yuzuriha winced. She'd have to get that looked at.

She turned to Inuki. "If that girl tries to hurt Arashi-san, you must attack."

Inuki's eyes shined knowingly.

Yuzuriha gave Inuki a hug, lovingly stroking his coat. That's all what she wanted right now. It just didn't make sense. Why was everyone she liked on the opposing side?

* * *

The sudden lack of motion towards the Kamui of Earth and his two companions puzzled Nataku, and the equally sudden backwards pull startled him for only a moment. The voice echoing through his mind, as well as through the minds of the other dragons of earth, drowned out the laughter and faces that seemed to fill Nataku's mind whenever he was near Fuuma. Golden eyes blinked. The odd flashes of memory meant something to him, although he was unable to fully grasp what. The flowing fabric around him darted about his slim body, a manifestation of his puzzlement and anger at losing the wash of vague memories.

As though possessing ribbons of his own, Yuurei manifested the shadows into something of a counter attack to subdue Nataku's confused struggle. The genetic doll did not seem to be exactly fighting, but he certainly was not enjoying the restraint...

The memories had changed, had become more recent. Water flowing through a large cylinder. Thin metal clamps. Glass, and faces behind it. Faces who seemed to speak constantly of "the project." The fabric swirled, growing into a frenzy. These were unwanted memories, faces, words. Lids half-closed over Nataku's cat-like eyes, and the fabric edges stiffened. Not this confinement. He remembered it far too well to allow it again.

Yuurei sensed the stiffening of the blade-like ribbons and focused more concentration on keeping his own hostage under his control. Nataku was no mere child. Locking his arm more tightly around the doll's waist, locking his arms to his sides, Yuurei summoned his energy to ignite his ebon aura, preparing himself for any attack that might come...

Nataku stared straight ahead, his vision half-obscured by white bangs. His mind remained in that other time, the lab before its untimely destruction. The fabric about his body twisted itself away from him, swirling in an attempt to restrain his captor enough to allow the dagger-like tips to inflict damage.

Flinching as the ribbons began to wrap around him, Yuurei quickly intertwined them with a quick shadow summons. It was a good thing Nataku was not struggling ardently, or Yuurei might have been tempted to do more than merely suppress him. Gripping the genetic doll harshly around the waist and jabbing the creature's ribs with a subtle bolt of electricity, Yuurei clasped his other hand more tightly around Nataku's mouth and chin, pulling his head back to hiss into his ear. "I suggest you keep still. I'm not in a very good mood."

The sudden jolt to his ribs caused the ribbons to slacken, the ends becoming loose once more. Nataku opened his mouth in an unconscious reaction to gasp in air, although Yuurei's hand prevented such an action. The creature's eyes never changed from their apathetic appearance, and the warning in his ear seemed to effect him hardly at all. One end of the ribbon wrapped itself about his body, as if to cushion his torso and allow him to breath.

The sound of Nataku's gasping for air was like a salve to Yuurei's bloodthirsty soul. Instead of loosening his grip so the clone could breathe, he tightened it immensely, calling forth a bolt of black lightning to rip almost half of the creature's ethereal ribbon to shreds. A dark chuckle nearly escaped his lips, but he smothered it in favor of moving his hand down to grasp Nataku's throat, squeezing it rigorously until he had the poor living doll choking in his grasp...

Nataku's eyes opened wide as he attempted to breathe, but found it exceedingly difficult to do so. What remained of the ribbons blew about his body in a frenzy, drawn on by his body's need for air. Images flashed through his mind once more. The water-filled cylinder, the faces, the laughter, names he couldn't recognize, a girl whose life he had mercifully taken, Fuuma. Somehow, in this moment, the image of the Dragon of the Earth stuck in his mind. He attempted vainly once more to breathe, his gasps for air yielding nothing.

Feeling the creature begin to tremble under his brutal clutches as the ribbons flew frantically about here and there, a bit of the anger swelling in Yuurei's breast finally melted away into slight remorse. At last he loosened his grasp on Nataku's middle, removing his hand from the lithe throat and lowering it to grasp the creature around the shoulders, keeping him locked against Yuurei's muscular chest and abdomen. So delicate...so fragile... And beautiful. Nataku certainly was a beauty. Almost...as breath-taking...as Kakyou...

Nataku found himself able to gasp for breath, the pressure on his throat and chest gone. His head fell and rose as he filled his lungs with sorely-needed air. The identity of his captor remained a mystery to him, and Yuurei's actions puzzled the creature's mind. Acting in such a manner... was illogical. Bangs fell across his eyes as he slowed his breathing to a normal pace far faster than any human could. The shift in mood of his captor was clear to him, but its source remained unknown.

Clenching his teeth as the memories of what he had just done not a few hours before came flooding back into his mind, Yuurei narrowed his eyes as he mentally pictured and assessed the Dragons of Earth. Why were they not responding? Did they care nothing for this beautiful doll? For the first time, Yuurei glanced at Nataku's face. It was emotionless...but there was something else...a deep-set grief, perhaps? No, not grief. Confusion? Mixed with apathy? Whatever it was, it almost made the creature appear...sad...

"Taking me was pointless," Nataku pointed out bluntly, his voice flat and emotionless, "The dragons have other things to concern them." That idea seemed to extract no genuine reaction from him. He stared in the direction he assumed Fuuma had been taken, that being the only direction that mattered. "They won't come, despite your threats." Something akin to a shrug graced Nataku's shoulders. "It hardly matters to me." Although being able to breathe was a luxury he was glad to be enjoying once again, despite his words.

Yuurei's expression almost saddened at the doll's words, though he refused to loosen his grip any more. He was well away that the Dragons of Earth were nowhere near as supportive and protective of one another as the Dragons of Heaven, but they would at least come for him for the pure sake of having another warrior to tip the scales in their advantage, right? He frowned. Here, enveloped in the shadows, no one could see or hear them, so Yuurei did not bother to muffle Nataku's words, nor did he have to take the precaution to keep his own hushed. "Taking you wasn't pointless," he murmured in the creature's ear. "Even if they don't come, they'll be at a disadvantage without you. I know your past. I know what you are. You are a strong, capable fighter, but you are also not human." He said these words in a soothing tone, though the words themselves sounded like they should have been spoken in a more derisive manner. But the way he said them, it almost made them sound even more intimidating...

"That is true." Complexities were beyond Nataku. Of course, he did not elaborate, did not say which of Yuurei's words he regarded as truth. "Yet, they still will feel no need to come for me." Perhaps the repetition was meant as a method of persuasion, although the creature seemed not to care what situation he found himself in. He inclined his head ever so slightly, catching a glimpse of his captor's face and recognizing it from before. "Not even Kamui." These words, quiet, seemed filled with something that could have been sadness.

Yuurei knew of Nataku's past...before he had become Nataku. He knew about the little girl he had once been...he had watched that little girl die. Suddenly it occurred to him. That little girl's father...he looked like Fuuma. Was that what Nataku was remembering? Slowly he let the words form on his tongue. "He's not who you think...Kazuki."

Golden eyes widened. The name that had been hovering just beyond his mind's reach. The name that issued from the mouths of the faces he could vaguely remember. A name he recognized as his own, from a lifetime ago, although he could not explain the connection. "He is... someone I saddened, a long time ago." Kazuki... that was the name he had been called, once. Before "the project." Before the end of the world. "That name - why would you call me that?" But trusting one's captor was quite another matter from recapturing a fragment of a lost life.

There was no reason for him to answer. And yet...the sadness he saw in those genetically engineered golden eyes was so familiar... "Because it's your name," he answered simply, and waited almost sorrowfully in hopes that Fuuma or Yuuto might respond...

* * *

Arashi didn't even so much as flinch. Emotionally herself and Satsuki were very much alike. Perhaps had circumstances been different they could have been friends... then again maybe not.

"Aoki-san was very correct in his assumption." She said evenly, "True people have devastated the planet... but what's to stop them from doing it again after this 'cleansing' has taken place?" She asked pointedly.

It was a good question, humans destroyed things, that's how life progressed. "And besides, destroying all of humanity because of those few who do wrong is pure idiocy. Destroying mankind is not the answer- plain and simple. One day humanity may destroy itself... but it is not you're job to exterminate humans simply because you **think** they should all die." Arashi said coldly. She had never been big on talking, and explaining something like this wasn't how she enjoyed spending her time.

* * *

Their essences were so intertwined, even their dreams mingled in a world far beyond the realms of reality. But Seishirou was aware of none of this as he jogged out onto the beach setting, suddenly finding himself in sporty trunks as he followed Hokuto and Subaru into the chilly water. His hair was longer and a bit shaggy, falling in waves about his ears as he reached up to adjust his black- rimmed spectacles on the bridge of his nose. Letting out an amused chuckle at Subaru's embarrassed attempt to hide his slender body with his arms, Seishirou approached him from behind and leaned down to whisper teasingly in his ear, "Having trouble?" 

"N-n-no!" Crimson streaks crossed Subaru's nose and cheeks. Subaru's arms stiffened as he tightened his arms around his body, trying to avoid Seishirou's touch. It wasn't that he didn't like it (in fact, he did, very much so), but it was his natural modesty that caused him to pull away.

Grinning a bit mischievously, Seishirou took the last step to close in on his prey, moving his hands out to clasp Subaru's girlish waist, tickling it in a taunting gesture. "You seem pretty troubled to me," he said with a laugh, then leaned in closer so that his lips nearly grazed Subaru's ear. "You shouldn't be so embarrassed," he whispered. "There's no reason for it. You look fine. In fact..." With those words, he grabbed the young man's arms and pulled them playfully away from his lithe body. "You look quite nice, if I do say so myself."

Subaru stifled a giggle as Seishirou tickled his waist; he was very, very ticklish. It wasn't fair that Seishirou was trying to exploit him like this!

Subaru resisted as Seishirou pulled his arms away from his body. "N-n-no, I'm not." He blushed even more furiously.

Deviously Seishirou bent down to cup a bit of water in his hand, then backed up and splashed it against Subaru's body. "Come on!" he called cheerfully. "We're at the beach! You're supposed to get wet." Knowing Subaru's likely reaction would to be to run from the water as quickly as possible, Seishirou did not give him the chance and promptly approached the young man again, wrapped an arm around his waist, and pulled him down into the knee-deep sea.

Subaru felt his heart pounding as Seishirou wrapped his arm around him. Doki-Doki-Doki-Doki-Doki. It was pumping so fiercely, Subaru was almost certain that Seishirou could feel it. Subaru struggled to pull away, embarrassed that Seishirou might discover this.

As Subaru struggled to pull away in the wading ocean, Seishirou shook his head and laughed as he shoved the young man onto his back, his face and chest barely visible above the tide. And that was when he paused. Subaru was panting furiously...as though...

As they stared into each others' eyes, the laughter vanished from Seishirou's gaze, and all that remained was an expression of something between confusion and knowing sagacity...

"Seishirou-san...is something wrong?" Subaru noticed that Seishirou didn't look as happy now. Was he offended that he was trying to pull away? Subaru searched for an answer, but came up empty-handed.

Still not smiling, his eyes narrowed as he lowered himself slowly, pausing only once when his lips were less than an inch from Subaru's face. Then...drowsily...he closed his eyes, and dipped his head lower...and their lips met with utmost softness and care.

Subaru's eyes widened as Seishirou's lips touched his own. What was this? D-did Seishirou-san...like him too? Subaru found his face doused in warmth, his face turning an even deeper red, if that were even possible.

* * *

The threat rang softly but distinctly through his mind as he kept a firm hold on the unconscious Seal. Turning his head abruptly in all directions, Yuuto failed to find from whence the voice had originated. So instinctively his eyes fell to the scene below, trying to distinguish which of his fellow Dragons of Earth had been abducted.

There was the big military man Shiyuu Kusanagi, who was carrying the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth. Okita was following behind them, though he was not technically a Dragon. Seishirou had left with the Sumeragi head, and Satsuki was directly below Yuuto, fending off a confrontation from an alarmed Seal. One Angel had still not been discovered, though Fuuma had most likely already confronted him. And so that left six that had been here in the area recently. The last...it took a moment for the realization to click. The living doll Seishirou had found and retrieved--the one who had introduced himself as Nataku. He was the only one missing from the scene who could not be accounted for.

Glancing below at Satsuki, Yuuto could not help but part his lips in a smile. She would take care of the Ise priestess. Now all that was left was for Yuuto to escape to his apartment and carry out Fuuma's orders...unless...

He paused. What would Fuuma think of all this? The abducted Angel...would the Twin Star give in to the unknown assailant's demands? No, surely not. But losing one of their team members so early in the game would put them at a terrible disadvantage. And though he was grateful to Satsuki for defending his back so he could get away with their hostage, he could not leave yet. Not until he knew for certain the Kamui-sama's specific orders...

* * *

Uo finally stopped now that she could get a good look. She steered clear of Arashi and Satsuki, not liking how... at odds those two seemed. She stayed off to the side, ignoring the constant throbbing of the new bruise that had finally decided to take full form on her shoulder.

_'... It looks like Fuuma-san got beat up pretty bad... nnn. Kamui-san probably isn't any better off right now... well, let's see here,' _she looked towards Yuuto, _'Yep... definitely a hostage... definitely.'_

Her eyes scanned over the area. Well, some guy was holding Fuuma, one of the girls that was more than likely an ally, even if she did look a little... scary, and that man that the really funny looking guy was holding... well, judging simply from his condition, he was more than likely a friend to Yuzuriha and Kamui.

She glanced silently back towards Yuuto after sparing Satsuki and Arashi a glance. The look on her face was a strange one- after all, to her, Yuuto looked sort of... weird. The right corner of her mouth twitched a little before she looked down again. Well, she doubted she could get that man from him... and her disadvantages were very great. It was more than likely that they all had strange powers or abilities, just like she had just seen... though judging on how they acted, perhaps not as strong as Fuuma's? She wasn't sure. She could only try and put pieces of a very scattered puzzle together- and she didn't even have all of the pieces. Besides, how the heck was she suppose to get to them? They were on top of a building for crying out loud!

"At least I'm so puny I'm not noticed." she retorted aloud to herself, sarcastically.

She paused a second, darting out of the little spot she was and back into the shadow of another corner. Maybe she'd follow them. She tossed a glance back to the way that the others had been.

_'... Yuzuriha-san, sorry to leave ya with Kamui-san and Kotori-chan... ... but take care of both of them for me. Gomen Kotori-chan.' _She thought, glancing back up. She needed to watch everything around her.. Especially above. She didn't like it when someone she was stalking was above her.

* * *

Shouri blinked as he looked upwards from the sidewalk. He had been looking for a while now, but he hadn't been able to track Seishirou or Subaru. He knew what area they must've been in... but he had no idea WHERE to look! He was sitting on the sidewalk, eating a jelly doughnut. It was rare that he ran into people he knew, but Nikkou had doughnuts and he was hungry so why not accept one? She had been in a hurry though... so she had given him two doughnuts and left him there on his own.

He sighed slightly as he sucked the strawberry jelly off of his fingers, ignoring the stickiness and the strawberry scent that clung to him. After managing to lick off the strawberry and sugar, he stood up again.

_'... Subaru-san, where are you? Hmmn... all of this over Hokuto-san, ne? I can't blame him much.'_ He began to walk along the sidewalk. _'She was a really good person... it must've been hard for him when he lost her. After all, she was really sweet- even if she was a little bit to...'  
_  
A small smile found its way to his face as he kept walking, dark bangs bouncing with every step. He remembered Subaru and Hokuto... they were very easy for him to remember, even if he didn't precisely hang out with them. After all, Shouri had always been shy towards most people and not very trusting. The twins had been an exception. Not like anyone ever remembered him anyways... he was so easy to forget...

_'... I hope Seishirou-san hasn't done anything stupid... and where's Sasori-chan?'_ He quickened his pace, frowning as he glanced around. Something caught his eye. It as an apartment complex. _'... Maybe there... ?'_

* * *

Sasori watched in silence from her spot sitting on the hot sand. It was strange to her, to see others like this. Oh well, Subaru still seemed to be having a good dream. So long as nothing horrible happened in it, things would be fine. She tilted her head. Why was their red on that boy's face? How peculiar...

_'... I wonder what it means?' _she thought to herself, keeping her thoughts from projecting outwardly.

* * *

Why everyone was concerned over the captured seal was beyond Kusanagi's reasoning. He may have been one of the seals, a sworn enemy, but none of that mattered a the moment. The young man he was holding in his arms was badly injured and needed medical attention fast.

He couldn't find an answer as to why he was so concerned for the boys life. He didn't owe anything to him or any of these people. Kusanagi was just associated with these people because he was one of the Dragons of Earth. But he couldn't just sit idly by and watch someone die. Even if Fuuma's death would end the war...

"You there!" he called out to blonde man. "Is there as place we can take the kid? I don't think he can hold out much longer without some medical attention."

* * *

Sorata moved quickly across the city with Kamui over his shoulder. Damn this kid was a lot heavier than he looked. He would've like to let the guy walk on his own if he could...That wasn't the case though. Sorata looked at Kamui as he continued to run, it wasn't good. He had to get Kamui somewhere safe and fast, before his condition got any worse. Still he couldn't escape his earlier thought...DAMN this kid was heavy...Kid? Sorata was about this kid's age yet they both acted much, much older...This war was aging him but his hot girlfriend was still hot with her 30 year old mind set...Damn it Sora, this is serious, Eye on the prize.

Suddenly he skidded to a stop on the edge of the building, eyeing his destination with a smirk. The safest place in the world was freaking school...Man schools were the root of all evil and he was about to just walk right into the eye of one. Man this end of the world stuff sucked. Sorata took a deep breath and jumped from the building, falling toward the top of the wall. Man the place had changed, Sorata eyed the scenery as he tried to find a way in without much attention.

Around on the ground below, people walked the grounds, going on with their lives without the knowledge how close the end really was. Sorata carefully walked the wall, eyeing the body on his back. He was weak...Where was a way he could get to the center of campus without alerting campus security. Sorata spotted a opening and used it to land in the shadow of a tree and take off before anyone could register his existence. After a long jog he finally arrived in front of a old clock tower in the center of the campus.

"HEY! I need some help out here." Sorata called as kicked the door with his leg, feeling not at all well since his run to get to this spot. "Damn it you better be in...You better not have the dumb luck to leave when I finally need your help."

There was no answer at first, before a thin man with golden hair answered with a bewildered look. "Umm Sora? Is that you?" He caught a glance at the shirt Sorata was wearing and blinked...Yeah it was him, Noroku thought. Suddenly he caught a glance at what Sorata was holding...a body with a shallow breath. "Is he ok?"

Sorata gave a weak smile, collapsing to one knee. "No...He needs help and this is my last resort." The pain was finally being felt again since he was at his destination now. It would all be fine now...Sorata laid the body down and used his last bit of strength to avoid falling over on it.

Noroku's eyes widened as he moved Kamui's side, looking up at Sorata with concerned eyes. "You're not in good shape either are you?"

Sorata didn't answer, thinking about Arashi was he collapsed away from Kamui. _'Arashi-chan...I got him to safety.'_

* * *

Cautiously Seishirou lifted himself away from the younger man. What was he supposed to be doing? The thought flickered through his mind that this was all some sort of farce...some sort of game he was playing to win a trivial bet. All of this was nothing but a stupid bet? He was the Sakurazukamori, but his mind was muddled. He stared into Subaru's wide eyes with concern deepening his furrowed brow. The young Sumeragi was practically trembling with deep red embarrassment. Faintly Seishirou parted his lips to let out a light- hearted chuckle. "What's wrong?" he asked innocently, as though he genuinely had no idea as to what could have been troubling him. "Have I offended you?"

Laughing? Why was Seishirou laughing; it was a question well- justified! Subaru suddenly felt even more embarrassed, if that were even possible. Maybe it was a stupid question. He turned his gaze down to the clear, warm water that engulfed his body. His gloved hands were damp with a mixture of sweat and salt water. Probably more sweat, than anything. He frowned.

Still chuckling faintly, Seishirou pushed himself to his feet and held out a hand to his younger companion. "No sense in getting mortified by the idea," he said huskily. "You know you like me. But...for the sake of not letting Hokuto feel left out...do you think you'd be up to a game of beach volleyball?" He said it just loud enough for the elder twin sister to overhear. He knew she would be ecstatic at the idea and force Subaru to participate. His grin turned slightly guileful at this comment.

* * *

His anger abated. No one was coming. Could it actually be that no one cared? Fuuma's life energy was wavering terribly, and when the images of his unconscious body flashed through Yuurei's mind, he had to stifle and bitter grimace. Again he glanced down at Nataku's lifeless eyes. Something almost akin to sadness covered his enchanting features, and it caused Yuurei's chest to tighten in anguish.

_-Curse these confounded emotions,- _he breathed silently to himself through clenched teeth. He envied Nataku's naturally apathetic demeanor, as well as Seishirou's ability to force all emotion behind a wall of insensibility. Why was Yuurei left with so much compassion in his soul? True, he was able to force an apathetic front in the face of any danger that threatened himself or others, but it was not real. When he saw that almost sorrowful gaze in the golden eyes of that living doll, Yuurei's bloodthirsty rage dissipated. He could not kill the creature, even if the being was a Dragon of Earth.

Yet he could not release Nataku to return to his beloved leader either. Not only would that give back the advantage to the Angels, but it would portray Yuurei as weak and indecisive. He could not allow that.

So, keeping a firm grip on Nataku's slender body, he let his voice again reach out to each Angel in the vicinity. _ Very well, you've made your choice. And now...there are only six of you. _Then he pulled the living doll into the darkness, letting the shadows swallow them both as they disappeared from everyone's senses in an instant of confusion.

A few minutes passed before he let the shadows release them back into the realm of the physical world. They were on the other side of Tokyo, in the darker, more dangerous part of the city, back in Yuurei's scanty little apartment. He rolled his eyes at the mess, already feeling that aching to be back in his home in the Kyoto shrine eating away at his innards. He had barely been here three months and already he could not stand it.

But as disgusted as he was by the place, he at last released his hold on Nataku, simultaneously casting a mental enchantment over the shadows of the room to form an almost impermeable force field of darkness around the walls.

"Don't bother trying to get out," he mumbled dryly as he headed for the kitchen to retrieve a can of green tea. Now what was he supposed to do?

* * *

Noroku stood over Kamui's bed, he had just finished bandaging him and his companion Sora. It had been so long since he had seen Sora and he was already in trouble. He sighed and realized the time was coming...but who was that boy?

Ryu walked up to Noroku. "So they'll pull through, hm?" he asked.

Noroku smiled and nodded. "They're both going to fine with a little rest...one of them I wouldn't expect much less from and the other...well he's healing a lot faster than normal." He wiped the sweat from his brow and sat back in his chair, resting beside Kamui's bed. "If I didn't know any better I would say these two are involved with the end of the world."

"The end of the world? So soon. I always figured that it would come long after my own demise. Guess one can't always predict the future." Ryu went and got himself a glass of water to drink. "Life is so... fragile, although in these cases, it seems to be not as easily destroyed."

Noroku looked over and smiled. "Indeed...but it is at the same time easily destroyed. We're lucky these two seem to be on our side otherwise we would've had trouble defending ourselves."

"That's highly dependant on what they can do. So far we only know that one of them can heal really fast. You seem to know the other one there. Mind telling me what you would like to tell about him?"

Noroku looked to Sorata and laughed. "Not much can be said or Sorata there...All I can really tell you about him is he is as big of a ladies man as I am."

Ryu chuckled a bit, a little uneasily. "Well... alright. Now I know where you had gotten that side of you."

"Hmm? Oh no, that side came to me on my own." Noroku just smiled. "We kind of just meet up every so often."


	43. Chapter 41: Taking Charge

**Chapter Forty-One: Taking Charge**

"Beach volleyball?"

Hokuto practically bounced at the suggestion. She had been watching the scene unfold in amusement, glad that Seishirou and Subaru finally were getting somewhere. Subaru was even embarrassed. This couldn't get any better.

Well, except for beach volleyball.

She ran into the water, splashing as much as she could, and took both males by the hand, dragging them back towards the beach. "Me and Subaru versus Seishirou!"

Insouciantly he allowed himself to laugh as the younger girl grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the shore. But he always kept his demeanor in check, even though it was rather difficult while in the presence of Hokuto's carefree attitude.

"Two against one?" he asserted in a voice that hinted at mock complaint. "That's not very fair..."

But he chuckled and let the girl pull him back to the sand, following compliantly. Reaching the net just a little ways away, he then loosened himself from her grasp and jogged over to the far pole to retrieve the volleyball.

"If those are the odds, then you have to at least let me serve first," he called back as he returned, smirking at them with playful guile from the opposite side of the net.

Subaru grew flustered as he onee-sama grabbed his hand and pulled him back to land. "H--hokuto-chan..."

Hokuto had her own plans, though. A volleyball tournament? Subaru was never good at volleyball, and he definitely couldn't play as well as he was sure Seishirou-san or Hokuto could. But there was no use resisting his onee-sama's ploy; it was already decided.

Hokuto laughed at Subaru's flustered face. "You're so cute when you do that, Subaru! I'm sure Sei-chan thinks so too." She winked at her brother before taking her place on the opposite side of the net from Seishirou.

"OK, Sei-chan, you serve." She grinned as Subaru came up beside her, looking lost. Those two's interactions were just beginning to get interesting. It had taken so long. Too long. She felt she needed to speed things up a bit. Perhaps beach volleyball wasn't exactly the way, but she'd get there.

Grinning deviously as he got into position, Seishirou tossed the ball high into the air and smashed his fist against it, the ball flying with tremendous velocity over the net...and heading straight for Subaru.

Subaru cowered a bit from the ball, and as it landed near his clenched fist, hit it up; despite hitting the target, he sent it flying over his head-- backwards.

* * *

Ryu nodded. "I see then. So what is it about the end of the world that these two are involved in?"

"I have no idea actually but I'm sure one of them will tell us when they wake up." Noroku stood up and paced for a moment.

Ryu sighed a bit. "The end of the world and I've got no idea what's going on. Sounds like me." he said.

"The end of the world is beyond us I'm afraid...We are just the players behind the scenes not one of the actors themselves."

"Well that sounds fun and all, but I would like a hand in deciding if I die or not."

Noroku stopped and smiled sadly. "I would too but we aren't capable of interfering.."

"Why do you say that anyways?" Ryu asked.

"I can't explain it really ...Imagine that, something I don't understand." He sighed.

Ryu smirked a bit. "And here I thought you knew about everything in the world."

Noroku smiled and laughed. "Oh I do...this is something beyond the world though."

"Really now?" Ryu leaned against the wall a bit.

"Yeah...why do you think I can't explain it?" Noroku smirked and crossed his arms. "Funny though...the End of the World is beyond the world itself."

Ryu nodded. "It's a laugh riot." He said.

Noroku nodded slowly and went to the door. "So did you read that stuff I told you to read?"

"Yeah, I did teach." Ryu replied.

"Very good." Noroku smirked and opened the door. "Study more while I go make my rounds ok?"

"Alright." Ryu said, getting out his books.

Noroku smiled and looked back. "Take care of our guests too...Ta ta!" He stepped out.

* * *

In the following instant, the genetic doll's essence was gone from the vicinity. It just...vanished. Impossible. But then again, nothing seemed quite impossible for those involved with the End of the World. The Seals began dispersing, Sorata taking their Kamui somewhere unknown, for medical attention, Yuuto was sure. All departed except for the Ise priestess, who still stood facing off against Satsuki.

The Angels needed somewhere to go. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government building had been all but completely destroyed. But already Yuuto knew of another place they could retreat to--a sanctuary he and Kanoe had planned in the case of an attack on their primary base of operations. What had happened had not really been an attack, per say, but it had still basically annihilated the headquarters of the Dragons of Earth.

So returning to his apartment would not work. There had to be a new plan now. And since Fuuma was unconscious and terribly injured, he needed to be treated immediately. Unfortunately, thanks to the Sakurazukamori, the hospital was temporarily out of commission. They would have to go somewhere else, and Yuuto would have to lead them there.

Leaping gracefully down to the ground, the insensible Seal still swung over his shoulder, he approached the newest member of the team, the military man Shiyuu Kusanagi. "Come with me," he ordered curtly, not wasting time with trivial formalities as was his usual custom. "We can get him fixed up shortly. I'll take you there now."

He bounded from the ground, not waiting for the man to follow. His destination was the underground Yamamoto Railway. Near a specific tunnel in its lengthy course, he and Kanoe and Satsuki had prepared a secondary headquarters. Granted, it was not as advanced, and it did not have the complicated BEAST unit that had been located underneath the Metropolitan Government building, but it was a large enough chamber to hold all the necessary equipment, including well as medical supplies and an expansive scientific laboratory. The computer system was also quite advanced, though nothing compared to what Satsuki had built and befriended. Still, it would be enough; it would certainly be better than nothing.

Landing again effortlessly along the sidewalk of the nearest stairway underground, Yuuto waited for Kusanagi to catch up with Fuuma, and whoever else decided to follow along as well. He was growing a bit weary himself; carrying a grown man around the city was not an easy task, and Seiichirou Aoki's burden was beginning to weigh, quite literally, heavily upon his shoulders. He could not wait to get down to the hidden lair and take a nice, hot shower.

* * *

Letting out a hearty laugh as Subaru botched the return, Seishirou grinned teasingly and nodded in the direction in which the ball had flown off. "You have to go get it now," he said in a very masterly tone. "Since you're the one who sent it out of bounds." And as a playful remark he added, "Hurry up! We don't have all day!"

"H-Hai!" Subaru ran for the ball, and made a pitiful attempt to serve; the ball flew -straight- into the middle of the net, and bounced off, nearly hitting Subaru in the head.

As Subaru ran hastily after the ball, Seishirou could not help but let his eyes roam inadvertently to rest on the younger man's slender backside. Subaru certainly had a beautiful body, and his curves were fluent and almost feminine.

But just as Subaru failed at his attempt to serve, Seishirou broke out into laughter again and shook his head. "You don't know the game very well, do you?" he asked sympathetically. "That was my point. Therefore, I get to serve again. But I guess I should thank you, as you just earned me another point." Briskly ducking under the net to retrieve the ball, he returned to his side and faced Subaru with a cunning grin.

Subaru sweat dropped. He really DIDN'T know the sport well, but then again, the only place he could have learned was in PE, and he spent more time working as an onmyoujist than at school, at least he had an excuse.

"Gomen!" Subaru apologized, turning to Seishirou- sorry for messing up - and then to Hokuto -sorry for giving Seishirou a freebie point.

Seishirou shook his head but did not reply. This time he let the ball rest in one hand and punted it more gently over the net in a smooth underhand serve, directing it cleanly between the twins.

Subaru made a mad dodge for the ball, only to land-chin first in the sand-- too late. Ouch! Why did something as "fun" as volleyball have to be so painful? Subaru got up, dusted himself off, and rubbed his chin.

This was not going too well, as Seishirou had somewhat suspected. Subaru was not very good at sports, unlike his energetic sister. They seemed to be complete opposites, and yet they were still so much the same...

Finally Seishirou decided to let it go. "Maybe we should do something else," he suggested as he ducked under the net to come stand beside Subaru. Passing his glance between the twins, he continued, "Any ideas?"

Hokuto had been watching the scene unfold, again, with great amusement. She never knew Subaru was that bad of a volleyball player and even though he was her brother, she always loved seeing him screw up. It was kind of her right.

"Uhm..." She took a pose, pretending to think very hard. She snapped her fingers, grinning like there was no tomorrow. "I want ice cream!" She pouted at their sweat drops, settling her hands on her hips. "Neeeee... Onegai?"

Subaru sweat dropped and smiled. He could go for a sweet, cold chocolate-y dessert himself.

He looked up at Seishirou-san, "It's up to you."

Quickly suppressing the sweat drop that had somehow managed to drip down the back of his head, he recovered suavely and nodded. "Of course," he answered, smiling down at Subaru, a charming twinkle evident in his eyes. "But I'm paying."

After making their way to the ice cream parlor along the line of shops along the back of the shore, Seishirou let Hokuto and Subaru stand in front of him to order, setting down the money on the counter. He knew Hokuto and Subaru both adored ice cream. So on a second whim, he pulled out an extra few dollars. Heaven knew he would probably need it..

* * *

The room was, to put it bluntly, a mess. Of course, the greater shock was the sudden absence of not only street and dragons, but the shadows that had been surrounding them as well. Nataku glanced around, his golden eyes taking in every detail of the room he currently occupied. There was one easily accessible window; it appeared to be night beyond the glass.

Hadn't it been daylight only moments before? So the shadows that surrounded his captor had not, entirely, vanished. What remained of his fabric hung limply over one arm. He gave it a moment's thought, not fully pleased at the prospect of it being damaged. At a mental command, the fabric lifted and hovered a foot above his arm. Satisfied, he let it drop back into place. He would have to find some way to replace the lost portion later.

The sounds of rummaging in the kitchen reached his ears, and he listened for several moments. The last he had seen of the Kamui of Earth, the young man had been in poor shape, fading from consciousness. It was necessary to escape the apartment and return to Fuuma's side, somehow. The fabric draped over his arm lifted, flowing in time to his thoughts.

The problem was getting out of the apartment. He could still feel the pressure on his throat where his captor had nearly strangled him only minutes before, and disliked the prospect of such an event happening again. His attention returned to the window. Perhaps leaping out would be the best mode of escape.

Nataku approached the window on silent feet, one hand reaching up to undo the clasp and slide it open. The window remained as silent as himself. The world beyond the window was obscured by a shadow-like covering that seemed to take offense at Nataku's approach. He pulled one hand back, the fabric swirling about his body once more, ready to strike through and make his escape.

His hand shot forward, encountering resistance as it touched the shadowy screen and attempted to force its way through. The fabric struck out here and there, snapping against the shadows. His hand slowly began to move outwards, as he focused all his power as a dragon of earth on this one action. The shadows seemed to break apart slightly, allowing the rest of his arm to pass through. His breathing grew quicker and he pushed aside enough of the shadows to create a human-sized hole.

Nearly collapsing, he leapt from the apartment through the hole in the shadowy barrier, his body falling towards the ground. It was quite a long drop. The fabric about his body reached out, grasping for something to wrap around as if concerned for its master's safety. White hair flew into Nataku's eyes, obscuring his already half-closed eyes. The sides of the apartment building were smooth, save for the occasional window. The fabric continued to flail nevertheless.

The wrenching of his barrier from the seams of the apartment jabbed at his senses like a knife to the back. Nataku had broken free? Impossible. Even if he had managed, certainly he would have no strength at all left to escape with his consciousness intact...

Impulsively he abandoned his tea in the kitchen and raced for the living room. The hole in his barrier caught his attention immediately, as did Nataku's wavering life force. Releasing his hold on the shield, he leaped from the window without a second thought. His apartment room was over ten stories high, and the genetic doll had only been falling for a few seconds.

The shadows gathered about him and pulled him down faster than any normal mortal could fall. Then his body rematerialized, his arms outstretching and wrapping carefully but securely about Nataku's exhausted body. Turning the doll upright, he landed lightly on his feet and set the Angel down on the pavement.

Chuckling with a bit of relief, he watched and waited patiently as Nataku recovered somewhat. "I thought I told you not to do that..."

* * *

Down the sidewalks, following his steps quite lightly was Uo. She knew that she shouldn't, but she couldn't just leave that poor wounded man with those people, could she? Was she being too compassionate towards others again? Or was it simply that she just wanted to help? ... Perhaps she should've stayed and watched over Kotori and had Yuzuriha explain everything... but she hadn't. She had decided to see just who those people were.

Uo paused as she watched the man go down into the stairways, watching silently from her position in the shadows. She frowned slightly. Her body was throbbing. Those bruises from landing so roughly upon the ground were getting to be a bit hard to bare. Still, she had to force herself to remain accurate and precise, especially now that she was ahead of that other man following the blonde... she had to be VERY careful.

_'... For all of this trouble, I am going to need to pick up a few things from my 'personal' machine source- some wires, some new metals... New inventions, indeed! I believe a few inventions could help make this a lot easier on me...' _she thought as she peered from behind a pillar, hiding in its shadow.

... That blonde man sure was... strange. He was extremely peculiar to her, not that she really cared. It was just that she didn't quite understand things yet. Who knew WHAT he could do.. besides jump buildings like superman.

Uo calmed her breathing and simply listened in silence. _'I had best be careful. I wonder how the others are doing...'  
_

* * *

Shouri paused as he began to scale the steps of different buildings. Was he any closer? .. He didn't know.

".. Where are you, Subaru-san?" he murmured aloud, still walking as quickly as she could. "Are you getting weaker? ... I can't feel either of you.. This is just..."

The young man sighed and kept walking as fast as he could.

* * *

Nataku hadn't expected that so much energy would be needed to break Yuurei's barrier. Finding himself safely on the ground, evidently thanks to his captor, and regaining his strength, he glanced upwards. So, the fall HAD been as long as he had thought. His breathing slowly stabilized, his heart rate returning to normal as the energy lost gradually returned to him. Cold eyes stared at his rescuer, although the mind was confused beyond comprehension.

"You are against Kamui, yet you did not allow my death from that window. And I am one of those allied to him." Nataku's puzzlement crept into his voice. "These are strange actions I do not understand." Thanking his savior would have been too human. After all, what was the life of a genetic creation worth to anyone?

Breathing a bit easier, Yuurei stood up and pulled Nataku to his feet. "A 'thank you' would have sufficed," he said with a dry chuckle as the Angel spoke his confusion aloud. But then his countenance became serious once again, and slowly he shook his head. "First of all, the 'Kamui' you speak of is only a title. His name is Fuuma."

The rest of what the genetic doll had addressed was not so easily answered. "My destiny is not to kill you," he said solemnly, placing a gentle hand on the emotionless droid's shoulder. "This is a time of terrible pain and turmoil for all of us...even you, Kazuki." And as of now, though he did not admit it out loud, he could not even fathom the reasons for which he had spared Nataku himself.

But now his anger had melted into sheer apathy. This was too troublesome for him. He did not want a part of it. Wearily he waved his hand off in the direction from whence he had taken Nataku. "Go on, then," he muttered miserably, half turning to go back to the entrance of the apartment complex. "Go back to them--back to him." He no longer possessed the will to care.

Nataku continued to stare at Yuurei for several moments, his mind in utter turmoil. These actions made no sense. And yet... That name, Kazuki, always made him want to trust the person who spoke its syllables.

"You have that same look," was all that Nataku said, quietly. The words followed a logical train of thought to him, although perhaps they seemed random to his captor and savior. Fabric billowing about his body, the white-haired creature took several steps away from Yuurei, turning to look back once to make certain he was genuinely free to leave.

Dust flew outwards as his feet left the ground in his leap to the nearest street lamp, where he stopped for only a moment before continuing.

* * *

"I'll take chocolate, please!" Subaru smiled up at the young lady manning the register; a shame she had to be working on such a beautiful day.

He turned back to Seishirou to ask him what HE wanted, only to see him fumble in his pockets for a few wadded bills.

"N-no! You don't have to pay for us, Seishirou-san!" Subaru blushed, shaking his hands in a "don't worry about it" fashion.

* * *

Yuzuriha turned to Kotori and Arashi. "We should probably get to somewhere safer." She stumbled to her feet, wincing as pain shot up her left leg. "Arashi-san, do you think you can help me?" There was no way she could walk all the way to the apartment in her condition. 

Yuzuriha frowned. No ice cream, and their party was ruined.

Couldn't she ever live a normal life?

Arashi shot a glared towards Satsuki then turned to Yuzuriha. Her sword  
returned to within her body as she helped the younger girl to her feet, allowing Yuzuriha to put her arm about her shoulders.

"You should be more careful, Yuzuriha-chan." She murmured.

"Yuzuriha-chan, will you be alright?" Kotori asked. Her eyes didn't hold their usual dazed look. She actually looked sincere for her friend. Kamui was pushed to back of her minds for the moment.

She stood, and tried to take a step forward. The glass shards that were stuck in her feet caused her cry out in pain, and her eyes to well up. She wanted her big brother. Not the one who had hurt her, but her real brother.

Kotori sniffed. Even if she was a weak girl, look at everything Kamui's friends had done for her. She wanted to be strong for them when they needed her.

"I can help you, miss." she said to Arashi.

Arashi looked at Kotori. She glanced at the girl's bleeding foot. "I've got her, Kotori-chan." She said quietly, starting to walk, helping Yuzuriha along.

"I'll be fine."

Yuzuriha felt her stomach lurch. All of that wind pounding on her sure was doing a number on her stomach.

Or was it?

Kusanagi-san...

Okita-kun...

Both of them...Dragons of Earth?

Why was it that the man she loved...

...and her new friend...

Both had to oppose her?

She almost couldn't stand it.

She stumbled into her apartment, the aroma of freshly-cooled cake filling the air...

* * *

The blonde stranger seemed to be knowing where he was going and Kusanagi quickly followed without question. 

It wasn't long till they arrived to the entrance of an old subway. Looking up at the blonde man, Kusanagi asked "Is this the place? You sure its safe to take the kid down there?"

Nodding reassuringly, Yuuto started down the stairwell, glancing over his shoulder every now and then to make certain Kusanagi was following. "He'll be fine, and we can get those nasty injuries patched up as well. But stay close...wouldn't want you to get hit by a train, now, would we?" With a playful wink that was totally out of context for the current situation he treaded across the concrete floor of the underground floor.

Then, as though thinking nothing peculiar of it, Yuuto leaped effortlessly down onto the tracks, heading toward the darkness of the tunnel ahead. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he walked down between the two thin rails on which the subway trams frequently and rapidly raced. It would take about ten minutes or so to reach his destination, but no fear of possible impending trains was evident in his placid features, and at one point he even closed his eyes with a tranquil simper as he continued into the darkness beyond...

It was almost pitch black. Only his senses were directing him now. In the distance he could hear the faint humming of an approaching subway train, but the light was not yet visible. They had traveled far into the dark tunnel by now, and the echoing sounds of their footsteps resonated through the hollow caverns.

Just as the dimly gleaming headlight came into view, Yuuto stopped and stepped to the side, pressing against the wall until he found the right niche to slide his fingers against. As the train drew nearer, a hidden door slid open to reveal a vaguely effulgent secret chamber beyond. Beckoning to Kusanagi and the bundle he carried in his brawny arms, Yuuto entered the new temporary headquarters of the Dragons of Earth.

And as Kusanagi drew closer to the entrance, so did the subway train. And all the while, Yuuto was unaware of the human presence still tracking himself and his comrades...

* * *

Hokuto whacked her brother playfully over the head and giggled. "Now now, Subby-chan, we don't want to offend Sei-chan. If he wants to pay, let him pay!" 

She grinned and turned back around to face the cashier. "Strawberry for me!" Glancing over her shoulder, she added, in an undertone. "I have a feeling he'll have whatever my brother's having."

Subaru sweat dropped hugely. "H-hai!"

Nodding with a pleasant smile, Seishirou said coolly, "I insist on paying." Then, turning to the young lady behind the counter, he added with a tip of his head toward Subaru, "I'll have what he's having."

Hokuto was grinning like there was no tomorrow by the blush on her brother's face. In fact, it wasn't just his face. His neck also seemed red, as did his arms, legs and any other part of his skin visible.

As the young lady behind the counter handed them their ice creams, Hokuto grabbed a chocolate one and took off, shouting behind her. "I changed my mind, I guess you'll have to share those two." If Subaru was stupid enough to mess this up, she'd have his head in the morning.

"H-hokuto-chan!" Subaru called out; he knew there was no use. He knew his sister way too well, and the devilish act she was trying to pull! But he wouldn't allow it.

"You can have it, Seishirou-san," Subaru said. "I'm really not that hungry for ice cream." He gave a longing glance in the direction of the tasty treat, wiping the sweat from his brow.

* * *

Uo glanced warily around as she peeked silently from her spot behind the pillar on the platform within the subway. She had watched the two man vanish, jumping down off of the platform. She really wasn't quite sure where they were going... but it bothered her. The subway was active. Had it been deserted, she might have been able to understand; however, she did not. What kind of idiot walked into the subway tunnels!! Well, it didn't matter.

Pulling herself from behind the platform, she pulled her black vest down a little more so that it wouldn't be too hard to move in. It was usually warm when she had on a midriff of any color with that vest of hers... but the vest was low cut, and she also had on tight black denim shorts that came a up a bit more than 'just a little above the knee'. She sighed as she glanced down. At least she had thought to where black tennis shoes instead of her leather boots. Black leather boots and a red midriff never did flow well with her, really.

She walked silently towards the edge of the platform and glanced both ways. She was almost afraid that a train might come flying out of no where and strike her down, even though the chances of that happening were really very slim, should she have thought of it.

Uo looked down and sighed, taking a step and letting herself fall right on top of the railing. She didn't care about getting dirty, but she looked good in her outfit and didn't intend to get anything but her shoes dirty. She glanced back the way that those men had gone.

_'... I'd best keep my footsteps in check with theirs or they'll notice me. It's not like they'd hurt a kid, anyways... but then again..' _she frowned at her thoughts. Had she not seen what had happened before? _'I'd best play this one safe. Yuzuriha-chan... I hope you're taking good care of everyone... just don't let Kotori find out I'm gone...'  
_  
Moving like a shadow, Uo headed off after Yuuto and Kusanagi as fast as she could, though not getting too close. She had to stop to let her eyes adjust to the darkness around her. Had she been an idiot, she might've screamed, but the sound of their footsteps were easy enough to follow. Although she couldn't see, she could hear.

Like a snake, Uo snaked along behind them. Her footsteps weren't totally in sync with theirs, but she tried to keep the beat just right. She wouldn't get too close. Her mind wouldn't let her. She kept having that horrible feeling that Fuuma might just pop up like a clown in a horror movie and rip her into little pieces. It was even weirder... being afraid of her best friend's big brother, ne? But she wasn't afraid, now was she? No! Especially not if she got a chance to get back to her lab... maybe she could find a way to build a pocket-sized disrupter that could disrupt psycho-telekinetic waves? ... Maybe... but doubtful.

Uo frowned slightly. Why were the pebbles in the subway suddenly beginning to vibrate? She looked up. There was only one logical explanation.

_'... Oh... my...! A TRAIN'S COMING NOW!?' _she thought, frowning. _'... I.. think I saw him open the wall or something... the question is, how can I get in without being caught!? Grr.. I can't! I'm gonna die! Oh, calm down, Uo... just slow down a little bit! Think! Think... I can't do anything if I'm dead... besides maybe haunt my siblings, but... grr!'  
_  
She furrowed her brows in frustration, surprised she had actually backed into the wall. _'.. Maybe I could avoid it... maybe... but HOW! At the speed it's moving.. impact would certainly break a few bones, if not kill. M-maybe I could sneak in just before... that won't work...'  
_  
Her head was beginning to hurt a little, too. She was unusually hyper... Not thinking like she usually did. What was she suppose to do!? Stand there and await her doom like a turkey staring at the sky when it rains? OF COURSE NOT!

She suddenly took a few steps closer, hiding herself in the darker shadows behind Kusanagi. All she needed to do was get in! That was all...

"Damn." she murmured, barely audible to anyone at all.

... Maybe the blonde man wouldn't notice her just sort of crouching behind his comrade in a shadow? ..Hopefully not or she'd be toast... very burnt toast.

_'... And if I don't time this just right, I hate to think of the consequences. I can barely see the angles. I can't even think straight...' _she thought worriedly.

Another life and death situation? She hadn't been able to think straight since Kotori was missing... and finding Kotori at the church and everything that had happened hadn't helped either. Now this. She almost wished she was able to phase through walls... then she wouldn't have had a problem at all. Of course, she would be fine as long as those men didn't notice her or hear her. After a moment, she calmed her breathing. She would be strong. She WAS strong.

* * *

As Hokuto ran off with Subaru's ice cream, Seishirou could not stifle the laughter that worked its way up his throat. The younger man was blushing as red as a beet, while casting long, tedious glances at the cone in Seishirou's hand. Of course Seishirou knew what the girl was trying to do; she had been at her little pranks since the older man had come to live with the twins.

Generously he held out his cone to Subaru. "Well, if you won't let me give it to you, the least I can do is share." Then he added in a guileful tone just loud enough for Hokuto to hear, "Besides, your sister seems to be in dire need of an extra scoop. Not that she needs the double dose of sugar, though..."

* * *

Okita had been dragging behind his comrades, thinking his life would be shortened if he tried to turn back...These guys meant business yet they seemed okay with his presence. Slowly he was becoming accustomed to this group...more comfortable than most people. 

He smiled nervously, whistling softly as he suddenly heard something

...directing his ears toward the sound and concentrating on it...Someone breathing behind them no doubt...Someone tailing the group.

"Yuuto-san...You mind if I go check out some interesting graffiti I saw back there...I'll catch up to you guys in a second. Promise!"

He smiled back at Yuuto and waved, heading toward the direction of the sound alone. He brandished his most friendly smile while reaching into his pocket for a hand full of change and walking back to the direction of the sound. "Why do I have a feeling I'm going to regret this..."

* * *

Uo froze stiff. What was that sound? She stopped and calmed her breathing again. She remained completely silent. She was NOT hearing things, was she? No. Someone was coming back in her direction. Without a word, she let herself sink backwards into the wall's shadow fully. She crouched down without a second thought and remained that way. She was not going to get caught... not her!

_'The things I do.' _she thought to herself as she remained against the wall.

She tightened a fist. If she WAS found out, she would at least be ready to retaliate if someone tried to grab her. Her heart was jumping in her throat. Why had she followed in the first place? ... Well, it wasn't the time to think of that. She glanced both ways. The train probably wasn't that far off now... and she still had to make it in without being seen. How had she gotten herself into this mess?

* * *

Subaru wouldn't MIND sharing a cup of ice cream with Seishirou-- it was simply that his bashful nature kept him from doing so.

"N-no, it's all right, you can have it." Subaru couldn't help but feel his heartbeat quicken as his face grew warmer. It wasn't the sun, either.

Sometimes he hated being so easily embarrassed. Why did Hokuto always have to do this to him??

Maybe it was simply to amuse Hokuto. Maybe it was to get the poor younger man to blush even more. Or maybe it was for a completely different reason that he could not even pinpoint precisely. But whatever caused him to act, Seishirou felt no remorse.

Coming up behind Subaru, he wrapped a muscular arm around the younger man's thin shoulders and pulled him close, chuckling in mock mischievousness as he held up his cone so close to Subaru's face that a bit of the chocolate treat brushed his nose and left it with a dark coating.

With a teasing smile, Seishirou said affably, "Now, now, it's no fun if you don't get your just desserts." And in an intimidating fashion, he squeezed Subaru's shoulder and pushed the ice cream cone against his lips. "Go on, now."

And then...it happened. He felt it...just outside. Outside? Were they not already outside? He lifted his head, his arms falling to his sides as the ice cream cone fell unnoticed to the sandy ground. There was someone...a strong presence...very close. Just outside the door. Coming inside. But that made no sense...unless...

In that instant, the mirage faded, and Seishirou found himself back in his suave black suit, his hair short and spiked, his right eye missing. He stood in the middle of the illusory beach, and when he looked back to Subaru, the young man was still as he had appeared seven years ago. The poor fool. Subaru had still not realize the truth. And Hokuto...was nothing more than the ghost of a memory.

How had he managed to merge with this strange dreamscape? But that was no matter. Someone was intruding his apartment back in the realms of reality. He had to return now to ensure that nothing happened to his slumbering body or that of his rival.

But as he glanced back down at the surprised young man, something deep within himself made him terribly reluctant to take his leave...

* * *

"ARGHHH!" Kaori HUMMED her phone on the ground, and it smashed into several different pieces. This was IT. She was not going to deal with this anymore. If he was going to hang up on her like this, he'd PAY!

She picked her jacket up off the table, glared at the people who were watching her with wide eyes after she threw the phone on the ground, and said, "I'm going to be right back...with OKITA."

She stomped outside. That kid sometimes...grr...

* * *

The place was pitch black and Kusanagi was trying his best to follow Yuuto by the sounds of hi footsteps. Keeping Yuuto's warning in consideration, he stood close by, following him into a hidden pathway.

"I didn't think that the Dragons of Earth had anything like this here in Tokyo," said Kusanagi upon entering.

* * *

Ryu got up from his studies to check on Kamui and Sorata.

"Hmm... better freshen their bandages and all." he said.

Ryu went and checked the supply cabinet. Not finding any extra supplies there, he sighed and wrote a quick note.

_'Out to get more supplies. Ryu'  
_  
Putting the note where it could be read, he headed out of the room and towards the exit.

* * *

Okita felt a ominous feeling in the back of his mind...Kaori was yelling somewhere. He shuddered. He looked around him. "Hey who's ever out there...you might want to come out..."

Uo frowned. How did he know she was there? It was beyond her. She frowned and simply remained in silence, telling herself that it was best NOT to do what she was told. After all... why should she come out? It wasn't like any of them had seen her with the others, but it really just creped her out.

Okita sighed and continued to look around. "Look I'm alone." She frowned slightly, not noticing that she was leaning backwards. She frowned slightly as she fell right over onto her rear, wincing.

_'... That's not going to go unnoticed.. ow... ow..'_ she thought, forcing herself not to say anything too loudly.

Okita turned to look directly at where the noise was coming from, getting his change ready. "Ok why don't you show yourself."

Her eyes flashed slightly as she glanced back behind her. She paused and pulled herself onto her knees and began to crawl off to the side as quietly as she could, staying low to the ground. She knew it was a big mistake... but really, if he had any kind of power, he wouldn't POSSIBLY be stupid enough to fire it off in a tunnel... would he?

Okita heard the noise and dropped a coin...releasing a high pitch squeal as it hit the ground. He winced, and readied another. "Come out...or I'll do it again."

Uo frowned as she covered her ears. What WAS that sound? She winced lightly. Maybe if she just stayed a little longer... he'd go away?

Okita dropped another coin, wincing at the sound. "You're hurting us both...now come out..."

"YAMETE!" Uo finally jumped up, looking like she was ready to really hurt someone. "There! Are you happy?!"

Her eyes were lit like a wildfire. She wasn't happy at all with this situation. She was just about ready to make a run for it, too. She had that look on her face, the one that could scare a statue into screaming.

Okita smiled brightly. "You look so cute when you're angry..." He laughed nervously.

She glared harshly. "Don't try and sweet talk you're way out of this. This ain't a gangster movie." she snapped. "I suggest you not say a word..."

Okita eyed her with amusement. "You are the one whose in no position to bargain...Come on lets talk this out"

"Talk. TALK? You just bombarded my ears with who-KNOWS-what and you wanna talk? You should be happy I'm in a good mood today!" She snapped cruelly, glaring darkly.

"You're the one who refused to come out."

"Yeah an-" Uo frowned as she stopped, eyes flashing. ".. Wait a second... .. aren't you in that band?"

She lifted a brow. Apparently it took all kinds to try and harm her friends and destroy pieces of the city, ne?

Okita laughed and scratched his head. "Yeah...I'm surprised you haven't mugged me for autograph or something...I'm relieved to see someone finally doesn't know me..."

"Alright, so what's your evil scheme?" Uo glared harshly. "What, did you  
take over all of your fans and possess them or something? Or are you in this for money...? ..Whatever This is.." she muttered, glaring still.

Okita blinked and smiled stupidly. "Ano...If you mean why I'm traveling with that group of people...I met two of them and they've been answering questions for me ever since...I'm not exactly what going on either sadly."

"... Then why are you even hanging out with these people? All they're doing is hurting others for no stupid reason!" She frowned, clenching her fists tightly. She had to keep control of her temper.

Okita shrugged and looked back toward them. "I'm not exactly sure who to trust...I mean every side sees the opposite as evil right?"

"... There is no evil." she suddenly crossed her arms. "... Only a single truth that allows the existence of all things. Good. Evil. Those are merely words invented by the minds of Man to differentiate his own thoughts... A creation, in other words."

She let her right arm drop loosely at her side. Okita nodded. "True...but I'm nothing more than a man...and all my friends happen to follow this side...I can see all this for a reason..."

"Then we're enemies." she said, eyes narrowing. "At least us two. I'll judge as I see as time goes by... but I won't forgive Fuuma-san, no matter what is said. He hurt Kotori-chan, and my friends are my family."

Okita shrugged and leaned back. "You are very unfriendly aren't you? I mean I come with the intention of just chatting...seeing you out...but whatever"

"Che." Uo's eyes narrowed. "Don't think I'm letting you go back. You'll tell."

Okita eyes her and tosses down all his change, gunning for his ears as the highest squeal echoes through the tunnel.

"N-NANI!?" Uo frowned, backing up a bit and frowning as she tried to plug her ears. It was just TOO loud for her! If it didn't shut UP she was probably going to have a big problem.

"Are you CRAZY? That noise could cause a collapse! Don't they teach you.. show offs anything!?" Uo screeched, frowning as she fell to one knee, still holding her head tightly.

Okita walked over her."...You are rude..." He turned and walked away.

She glared, still holding her head. It hurt. It hurt badly. Why did she keep messing up? ... Why? No matter. She should probably go back... because if she didn't, who knew what would happen if she tried to go on. She knew what she needed to know.

Okita suddenly turned around, talking as his voice cut her like a dagger. "You aren't going anywhere actually."

"... N-nani?" she looked up abruptly with a rather unhappy look on her face. She glared silently at him and frowned, eyes narrowing despite the pain that was still rushing through her head.

Okita moved toward her...that smile was gone. "I would've let you go...but I don't think I will anymore...I mean you aren't very nice."

"Touch me and I swear..." she trailed off. Her vision was blurring. Those bruises were no longer ignorable now. They were throbbing as much as her head was. It really hurt...

Okita eyed her coldly. "You'll what? Insult me more? I don't appreciate your tone..." His voice again shot at her like a dagger.

Uo winced a bit more, gradually standing as and using the wall for support. She smirked lightly. "... If I wasn't in such bad condition.. I'd take you out myself..."

Okita leaned near her. "No...I doubt that...know why?"

"Because you're a brat and... I... think I need a nap." She frowned slightly, feeling like something inside of her had just broken in two.

... She suddenly fell forward, eyes closed. She certainly wasn't dead... But was certainly sleepy..

Okita sighed and attempted to pick her up..." Geez you're lucky I'm a nice guy..."

Uo couldn't quite hear. It wasn't her fault, was it? She'd been worried about Kotori for a few days since she hadn't shown up at school, been scared to death when she found Kotori in that condition, then had to deal with all of those fights, got flung into the air and landed in glass... Which had somehow managed not to cause her shoulders to bleed yet, and oh so much more.. plus the bruises hadn't been helped by that infernal screeching noise.. and no sleep at all for all that time. She had gone beyond her calling...

Okita blinked...and looked back to the others. They would kill the girl...he knew that much...So he went toward the exit.

"... No..." She murmured, still asleep. Her eyes were closed. It seemed she was having some strange dream... and not a good one at all.

She had turned ghost pale. She wasn't doing well at all..

Okita eyed her condition and sighed. It was too far to get her home...he turned once more and headed toward his friends...they would be able to help her...he hoped.

She didn't move. She didn't think. In her dreams... she merely drifted in a memory of someone she hadn't seen for some time... a little girl, an innocent little girl... before everything had changed..

* * *

Kaori stomped. God DAMN IT. Where was this kid?! Why couldn't he ever, EVER, EVER be on time?! And why did he not even give a care?! SHE was going to get chewed out because of it!! How could he just-- just-- just--

Kaori was so mad she couldn't even think of the word.

Grinding her teeth as she stomped, looking straight forward.

* * *

Turning to Kusanagi with a charming smile, Yuuto nodded and stepped aside to let the bigger man enter. "No one knows about this place," he answered, a hint of devious guile in his tone. "Its construction was painstakingly difficult to keep secret, but you now see the result."

But before he could continue, Okita, who had been following as well, returned from "checking out the cool graffiti". A young, pale girl was in his arms, a bit battered and not clothed at all decently. Yuuto recognized her at once. She had been present during the battle between the Dragons. It had been this girl who had defended Kamui's beloved against Fuuma. She did not seem to have any powers, but her will was strong.

"I see we have another guest," he mused, lifting his eyes from the girl's face to Okita's. "Bring her inside." But, as though reading the young idol's worried expression, he paused to add amiably, "And don't worry. No harm will come to her."

* * *

Yuurei's sudden disappearance returned Saiki's attention to its proper place. His feet hit the ground loudly as he hurried to the side of the unconscious dream gazer still held in Hien's arms.

"Hinoto-hime. Is she alright?"

"She's unconscious," Hien answered calmly, worried about both her sister at Hinoto, but uncertain of who should take precedence. "Could you check on Souhi? Please?" Saiki seemed not to hear her, and she gave up in disgust.

"Hinoto-hime, wake up. Please wake up. He didn't seem to have done anything that would warrant her losing consciousness." Hien shrugged, the same thought running through her mind.

* * *

He would have gone back up to his apartment, whether by stairs or by one powerful leap, it mattered little. But the last thing he wanted to do now was sleep. Because in sleep, he would find the last person he wanted to see right now.

Miserably Yuurei turned and trudged down the sidewalk of the late afternoon, the sun already setting far enough away so its searing light did not scorch his ashen flesh. He needed a drink. Now, he was not usually one to consume alcohol willingly, due to its mind- numbing effects, but right now that was exactly what he felt he needed. To forget everything. To plunge into darkness and feel no pain or anguish.

But on his way to the bar, staring at the ground before him, he was so consumed in his own thoughts that he did not even notice the young man turning the corner in a hasty jog. But by then it was too late. Colliding in confusion, Yuurei blinked and tried to shake himself out of the sudden state of delirium. His big, strong hands clasped the boy's shoulders, preventing him from falling backward to the ground.

"Are you all right?" he asked apathetically, until he saw the boy's face. Was that...Kusanagi's...cousin? He narrowed his eyes and looked closer. "...Ryu...?"

Of course, the boy would not know Yuurei anyway, but in his muddled thinking, he failed to remember that he was still invisible to most of the players of the End of the World...

Ryu looked up at Yuurei.

"Who are you and what do you want? I'm in a bit of a hurry here. Need to get supplies back to the school and all." he said.

Ryu pulled himself off and away from Yuurei's grasp, obviously not liking it one bit.

"And while we're at it... how do you know me?" Ryu asked.

Still feeling more than a bit mentally lethargic, Yuurei lifted one hand to the bridge of his nose to massage the building migraine that had begun to swell there. The boy's question registered in his mind, but for a moment he was unable to answer.

Finally, mustering his coarse, raspy voice, he muttered, "I know your cousin...Shiyuu Kusanagi. I've...seen you around." Of course he was in no mood to explain that he knew every detail of Kusanagi's life, and therefore he practically knew almost everything about Ryu as well.

Then the significance of the young man's words echoed again in his aching mind. Medical supplies... Was Ryu not under the current training of the Clamp Detective Noroku? And Sorata knew Noroku personally...but the young monk had just been involved in the dire battle between the Dragons. Which meant...

Suddenly aware of his surroundings, Yuurei snapped his attention back to Ryu. "Take me with you. I must speak with Kamui."

Ryu nearly pounced on Yuurei.

"You know Kusanagi? Where is he?" Ryu said.

He shook his head a bit.

"Sorry about that... As for this Kamui... he might be the other person that came with Sorata, but I wouldn't know." Ryu said.

He looked at Yuurei.

"Tell me where Kusanagi is, and I'll bring you to who might be Kamui." Ryu said.

* * *

"So much for keeping this place a secret," said Kusanagi upon seeing the young girl. "Had she been following us?"

Not waiting for a response he walked inside and called out to Yuuto. "C'mon. Show me where you keep the first aid kit..."

* * *

Yuurei glanced down at the boy with mild curiosity and even milder contempt. Not that it mattered anymore...he did not really care what happened to him or what part he was to play in this End of the World nonsense. But for a reason he could not pinpoint, he answered anyway.

"I'm not sure where Kusanagi went, but I saw him a few hours ago near the hospital. Now...are Kamui and his companion very seriously injured?"

Ryu shook his head. "No. Their wounds have been patched up and all. I was going to give them clean bandages, but needed the supplies first." he said.

Ryu looked up at Yuurei. "Which hospital did you see Kusanagi at?" Ryu asked, his face passive and almost emotionless now.

In an equally apathetic voice, Yuurei shrugged and said, "Toudai, downtown Tokyo. What does it matter? I need to see Kamui." He was already impatient, and standing around restlessly was not helping in the least.

* * *

Shouri looked up slowly from his place, sitting on the stairway in an apartment complex. He had lived in Tokyo for as long as he could remember and he still couldn't quite understand how it could be so big! Apartments... ugh. He was sometimes happy that he lived at a shrine, even if it did make him a pet to morals and such.

_'Alright. It has to be on this last level. I feel Sasori-chan's presence... so... she must still be in someone's dream. I hope she hasn't been toying around in there.' _he thought to himself, standing slowly.

For a brief moment, he thought that he felt a gust of wind, but turned only to see the street with a few cars passing here and there. Great. Now he was imagining things! Could it be helped? ... Probably not. He turned and started going up the stairs again. He was sure this was the one... so why was he shaking so badly? Was he frightened? ... Perhaps frightened for what might've happened while he had blundered around the town in search of them. He felt horrible...

He stopped as he came to the right floor and began to walk. That door. That was it. So how was he to get in. Just knock? ... Right. That would work. He stopped for a minute and took in a breath. It wasn't like anyone was going to hurt him... right? He wasn't involved in any of this. With a heavy sigh, he ran to the door and stopped, placing a hand on it. Okay.. well... hopefully it wasn't locked. Taking a deep breath, he attempted to open it... very quietly.

* * *

"Oh, my..." Kotori whispered. For once, she was ignoring the pain in her feet as she stepped into Yuzuriha's apartment. 

"Kamui-chan and I forgot about the cake." She sighed. That didn't matter much right now.

She looked behind her. "Has anyone seen Uo?" She asked, before walking over to Arashi and Yuzuriha. "Yuzuriha-chan...where do you keep your medical supplies?" Kotori asked softly, smiling weakly down at her friend.


	44. Chapter 42: Remembering the Past

**Chapter Forty-Two: Remembering The Past Forgotten  
**

**  
**It was awhile before Noroku returned to the clock tower. He entered with a bright smile on his face despite his inner feelings. The end of the world was coming and he had just witnessed some of the results of it's chaos. He walked into the room to find one of his guest leaning up in his bed, grinning at him. He smiled back. "You really shouldn't strain yourself."

Sorata laughed weakly, letting his head fall slightly. "I just needed some rest…I'm fine now. How's Kamui?"

"I suppose he's fine...he's stable at least. Sorata, what's happening?" Noroku's face straightened. "And what can I do about it?"

Sorata grinned and looked up weakly. "We need to protect Kamui...if anyone is looking for him, we can't let them see him unless I'm sure he's not a Dragon of Earth." He looked seriously at Noroku. "We have to take him someplace that only we know where he is...Until he's better."

Noroku was silent, looking at Kamui. _ This is Kamui? The one who will decide our fate...How can such a burden feel to someone as young as he? How can such a burden fall on just one boy?  
_  
Sorata smirked. "We have to hurry..."

* * *

As Shouri opened the door, he peeked in quietly. It looked... normal. He wasn't quite sure what he had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't THAT. He paused for a minute, calming down a little bit more. He breathed lightly, calming down a bit as he cracked the door just slightly and turned back, walking to the railing and looking out.

"... Hmm... no point.. in my getting caught... I at least need a chance to get away... and Seishirou-san is fast." he said, wincing slightly at the name.

It was a bit disturbing that it was Seishirou. Shouri himself had been very fond of the twins... though any memory of Seishirou was very clouded. It was a bit weird. He glanced downwards at the ground. What to do... he hadn't eaten yet, even if he had managed to take a shower at around three in the morning. He had fallen right back to sleep until interrupted.

His eyes trailed upwards to the sky as he sighed. Even if he was at full strength again, it was stressful even thinking to use an ability without tiring his body out. He knew how things could be... but... well, itoo much couldn't hurt, right?

Closing a fist, he sighed as he began to build the small bird again. He frowned as the feeling went out of his hand, nearly dispersing the bird as his thoughts shook. He managed to hold it steady. With a light nod, he glanced at it, sighing as he flexed his left hand.

"Good. Okay... let's go." he nodded and opened the door lightly so as to not make any noise, closing it behind himself and the bird. Besides... he had to retrieve Sasori, too. So long as Subaru was okay, he didn't really mind much else.

_'... Where to look..?' _he sighed.

* * *

Sasori's eyes flickered open suddenly as she stood up from the hot sand within the dreamscape. Someone... was connected. Seishirou- that man. She had felt something odd about it. Her iced-blue eyes flashed blank for a moment. Someone with an aura was nearby outside of Subaru's current position, too. Shouri? She glanced here and there, frowning as she waved her hand, her usual kimono appearing again. Even if she was hidden from the others, it was best for her not to be seen.. so she walked a distance away. How had Shouri...? ... What was Shouri planning?

She frowned. _'... It seems I'm going to have to leave soon.' _she thought to herself.

* * *

Ryu nodded. "Alright. I'll take you to him after I've gotten the supplies." he said. Ryu continued on the way he was going to get what was needed.

Shrugging impartially, Yuurei watched him for a moment, then went ahead into the bar to grab a drink, bringing it back outside and leaning against the wall to wait for Ryu's return. He had no desire whatsoever to tag along.

After a while, Ryu returned to where Yuurei was with the supplies. "Alright, let's go." he said, not looking at Yuurei.

The thought of following behind a little boy was rather unappealing, and Yuurei refused to think of himself as lagging along at Ryu's tail. So, finishing off his drink, he discarded of the bottle and sank back into the shadows, following the young man from a distance, through the darkness, unseen...

Ryu headed back to the school, wondering what Yuurei's problem was. Ryu didn't really care, but it was hard to make sure that he was being followed. "Alright, are you going to follow me there, or not?"

Tentatively, Yuurei let his mental voice brush the boy's mind. _ I'm here. Keep going. _

Ryu stopped. "Alright, so what exactly are you?" he asked.

At this Yuurei could hardly hold back his contemptuous scoff. _ Nothing but a shadow. Now are you taking me to Kamui, or will I have to find him myself? _

Ryu rolled his eyes. "Whatever shadow boy..." he said before continuing. He led Yuurei to the school.

Ignoring Ryu's impudence, Yuurei followed and emerged from the darkness only when he had reached the door of the school. Rolling back his shoulders and rotating his neck, so as to readjust to his physical form, he failed to so much as glance in the boy's direction before opening the door and stepping inside.

Ryu walked in and headed for the medical room of the school. "He should still be resting right now." he said.

Giving a subconscious nod, Yuurei focused his senses on the presences in the building, enabling him to track them without having to follow Ryu. So weak... No wonder he had not been able to sense them from so far away. Upon entering the medical room, the first person he laid eyes on was, surprisingly, not Kamui. He furrowed his brow in mild consternation. It was..., "Sorata..."

Sorata grinned weakly at Yuurei and Ryu, standing in front of Noroku. He leaned over as the pain surged through his body. "I don't know who you are or how the hell you know my name...but you sure as hell aren't a Dragon of Heaven...Nothing personal."

Noroku stood up beside Sorata, eyeing Ryu and sighing as he moved over to Kamui's bed. "I don't know why Ryu let you in here but I'm afraid I can't let you have Kamui..." He suddenly jerked his sleeve, a remote flying out from it. "Sorata, move over here...Now."

Sorata shook his head. "I'll catch up...The fate of the world is resting on that boy." He smiled brightly. "Don't worry...I'm sure as hell not dying, I've got someone to return to."

Noroku smiled and chuckled. "I'll have to meet her then...Until then. Ta Ta." He pressed the red button on the remote and a platform lowered Kamui and Noroku out of sight...a panel sealing their hatch once more.

Ryu sighed a bit himself.

"Well... this is just great. Even more things going on that I have no understanding." he said.

Ryu gave a shrug and picked his stuff up. After making sure it was all together, he went to leave.

"If you'll excuse me, I have a person of my own to find." Ryu said to Yuurei.

He headed out of the room and down the halls.

_"Kusanagi... didn't get yourself killed yet have you. Well wait for me cousin. I'll be sure to put you out of your misery soon." _Ryu said to himself, almost as if Kusanagi was there.

He walked out of the school and started for Toudai, mentally preparing himself for the encounter he was hoping to have.

* * *

Okita nodded to Yuuto's goodwill. He sighed, looking down at the girl in his arms. He had been the one to hurt her...He had done this to her. He was responsible. The horror soon struck him. Was he really a monster? Was this his true self? Or was it just a instance of losing his temper. That had to be it...Okita sighed and looked down at the girl...Yet another beautiful girl he could only watch and never be with.

In the city of fallen angels, in the underground hell of the subway...Here seemed to be the Dragon of Earth's headquarters...How fitting he was still in the dark about it all.

Promptly Yuuto directed Kusanagi and Okita inside, each carrying an insensible counterpart who had wounds to be treated. Once all were inside, Yuuto pressed a spot against the dark wall, and the passage instantly closed behind them, merging with the wall so that no outsider would ever be able to detect the presence of the hidden chamber. Moments after the entrance was sealed, automatic lights set the place ablaze.

Directly before the group lay a fairly expansive room with a somewhat low ceiling and a transparent tube-like elevator in the corner that only went down. This chamber was mostly barren, except for a few shelves and cupboards that gave the place the appearance of a very large kitchen.

"This way," Yuuto said quietly, gesturing for the others to follow as he moved placidly across the room to the elevator. With everyone inside, they descended into main part of the hidden chamber. It was a long way down, and looked in essence very similar to the underground headquarters beneath the Metropolitan Government building.

They reached the base at last, and when Yuuto stepped out, his footsteps instantly echoed throughout the almost cavern-like chamber. There were several surfaces set up in various parts of the room that looked something akin to operating tables, and a line of cupboards was also strung along the walls. Scientific machinery was hooked up in the center of the room, some similar to the tank Nataku had been grown in, and others resembling the wire-laden devices used to test Satsuki's abilities. A gargantuan monitor was set directly before them, designed to watch over the entire city of Tokyo. Not even Yuuto or Kanoe knew how to operate all of the intricate knobs and dials set on the panel below the screen; that was all Satsuki's field of expertise.

...As was what lay beyond the large metal door that was set to the left of the group. Appearing to conceal nothing more than a broom closet, it was actually the entrance into the room where the monstrous living computer was housed. BEAST. Not as massive or convenient as the one Satsuki had constructed in the basement of the Metropolitan Government building, but adequate for hooking up to the genius girl's body and allowing her to perform all of the essential tasks required. And certainly it was a thousand times more powerful and wide-range than a cell phone.

So, giving the newcomers a moment to get used to their new surroundings, Yuuto then walked across the cold, tiled floor, through the gloomy atmosphere--for this cavernous chamber was not lighted nearly as well as the room above--beckoning them to follow with a simple wave of his hand over his shoulder. "Lay them down on the tables. I'll get out the bandages and medicine."

He did not wait for them to respond; it was understandable that they might still be in shock. So impartially he strode over to the medical cabinets at the far wall and rummaged around for the needed material, returning shortly with exactly what he had promised. "Let's get our Kamui-sama bandaged up first," he said decisively. "He's far more severely injured, and I believe it's our obligation to make certain he lives...at least until the Dragons of Heaven have been put out of their misery..."

Okita was indeed in shock, placing the girl on the table so he could gaze in awe of his surroundings. "Yuuto-san...What is this place?" He eyed the underground structure and then eyed the girl again...Even though she hated them so much, even though Okita would be with her if he didn't trust Yuuto so much, He was indifferent to all of this. This was all still very much a dream...a fantasy...a movie playing in total 3d but very far from the truth. A dream that was Yuuto's, Satsuki's, and that boy's...Not a dream he was necessarily a part of.

_Why are you so afraid? Seeing something you don't like inside you? _A voice echoed in Okita's head, distinctively not his. It carried with it a frightening chill, which ran down Okita's spine.

"Who said that?" He looked around and caught Fuuma's body grinning at him darkly...the image of pure insanity manifested on that boy's face. He turned to look directly at Fuuma to confirm that this look was indeed happening And.. nothing...The boy was still as lifeless as he was for the moments after the fight...Had he imagined that frightening look Fuuma gave him? Was this a sign of insanity?

Okita sighed and looked down at the girl once more. The voice was right for the most part...He did see something new inside him and he wasn't exactly sure -what- to make of it.

* * *

Uo could not hear, nor could she see anything. She was in her own little dream world, unaware of everything going on around her. Her slumber was uninterrupted... until a reoccurring nightmare began to play in her mind. It was that same nightmare... the one about Fuuma, what had just happened between him and Kamui... and about Kotori. The entire night's events were replaying in a dream... and through her 'eyes', she was a spectator. So weak... so defenseless...

So many thoughts jammed together.

She was beginning to shudder... though it ceased quickly. She occasionally winced- a result of having such horrible dreams...

_'Wake up! Wake up!' _A voice cried in her mind.

_'I can't.' _replied the other.

* * *

Yuzuriha stumbled towards the bathroom and returned with her first aid box. She handed it to Kotori, trying to suppress the pain... Taking a long sigh, she plopped on her couch, wincing upon impact. Inuki whined a bit, obviously very concerned about the well-being of his mistress.

"No!" Yuzuriha suddenly realized that Uo was missing and hopped up; "We've got to go find her, she might be in trouble!!"

* * *

Subaru smiled and took the dessert. He wouldn't normally do this sort of thing, but Seishirou-san had insisted, and he wasn't going to deny Seishirou-san the pleasure of such a sweet treat on a hot day Subaru took a lick before handing it back to Seishirou. Subaru was not usually a messy eater, but unbeknownst to him, a smidge of ice cream had made its way to just above his upper lip.

Looking down at the smiling youth, he had to catch himself to keep from wincing. Subaru did not yet realize that this was all a dream...an illusion. None of it was real.

Well...perhaps the scenery was not real. And Hokuto...perhaps she was here in spirit, but she was not alive. But these what Subaru was doing...the emotions he was expressing...those were real.

So innocent...so happy. So much time had passed since Seishirou had seen that look of admiration and hiding love in the man's young face. He would likely never see it again. So...before he left the world of the imagination and memories, he approached Subaru slowly and lifted his hands to cup the boy's face.

"You see me now...as the one you want to see," he whispered slowly, leaning down to Subaru's eye level to stare into those beautiful emerald orbs. "You see me...as the one who you knew before I hurt you and tore you apart. And for that...let me give you one last gift to remember me by...like this...before everything...came to an end."

Gradually, languidly, he leaned forward and closed the gap between them. Their lips touched, and this time Seishirou did not relent, nor was he cruel as he had been in the real world almost a day before. He used only gentle touches...not thinking about why, or how, or what might happen once he returned to reality. All he was aware of was Subaru's presence...

Hokuto watched her brother and the older mind, a smile playing across her lips. She was happy for him. But what Seishirou had said had gotten to her. Hurt him? Hurt Subaru? When? Why? How? She watched the pair and collapsed to the ground, her legs frozen. They were further from her now. She hadn't walked away. Soon, she couldn't see them.

"Hurt... Subaru? Don't hurt Subaru. Please don't hurt Subaru..."

Subaru opened his mouth to speak-- if the words were to come out he would have asked what he meant-- but as Seishirou-san pressed his lips against his own, his eyes widened; what was this? Did Seishirou-san return his feelings?

It had to be so...

Subaru allowed himself to be devoured by Seishirou's lips, to feel himself for the first time united with the man he loved. He allowed his eyes, now lethargic from the heat, to slowly flutter closed as Seishirou pressed forcefully against him. The sun's rays basking against his back was nothing compared to the warmth of Seishirou's lips, or his body pressing against his own. But even so, he hesitated for a second, opening his eyes once more to assure that this was reality, and not some strange delusion; after all, this is what he always wanted, wasn't it?

This was his dream. A perfect dream.

Subaru pulled away, pushing Seishirou-san away. Immediately thereafter he regretted it. Why had he done it? This is what he wanted, right? He wanted to be with Seishirou-san, no matter what...

Then why did he...?

Seishirou was not at all surprised when Subaru pulled away. He had always been shy like that. But it was clear that the younger man was still not seeing the dream for what it truly was. He still did not remember what Seishirou had done to him the night before, or how he had murdered his beloved twin sister seven years ago.

But for now...just for now...he felt the urge to keep playing along. Forcing a pleasant, playful expression over his face--the smile he used to use whenever Subaru blushed or got embarrassed--he said as though perplexed, "Subaru-kun, is something wrong?"

Subaru felt his head spinning; he couldn't distinguish the source of it-- whether it was the kiss, the sun, or something else. He pulled his eyes' gaze to the ground and gulped down the sickening feeling that was overtaking him.

"No," Subaru responded quietly.

Seishirou sighed. Nothing he could not expect from Subaru. But more dire was his wish to remain in this dream. What more could he say? "You need to open your eyes, Subaru-kun." It was all he could think of.

Subaru's eyes widened as he looked up at Seishirou. "Seishirou-san, what do you mean?" For a minute, Subaru's vision wavered; The Seishirou he had seen seconds before quickly became a Seishirou that Subaru had never known in this dream-- the one who had lost his eye protecting him, the one that always looked so cold and uncaring.

Subaru blinked. "Sei-Seishirou-san!"

* * *

Noroku and Kamui's bed lowered into a underground basement. Noroku couldn't help but sigh as he put the remote away. The room was pitch black except the spot light that turned on when the shaft closed again. He looked around him and clapped his hands, turning the spot light off and the main lights on. The room appeared to be a garage, car parts tossed around and Noroku's car parked on a secret underground highway...the nerve center of travel for Noroku. He could be almost anywhere in the school with time to spare...time that he needed at this point, time to figure out where was the one place whoever wouldn't come looking for this boy while he bought Sorata sometime to worry about his own life for once. 

The Dukylon Defense Force?...No They were on assignment. His colleagues were also busy at the present moment...Noroku shrugged and smiled at Kamui. "I suppose I'll just take you to my office and hope Sorata comes to get you later. To tell you the truth, I pity you're fate...so much responsibility and you're younger than me." He smiled and lifted the boy from the bed, keeping him wrap in the covers and placing him in the passenger seat. "Not a glamorous fate at all...But You'll manage."

The car itself was marvel...looking to be a luxury car from a distant past. The chrome and panels was almost alive as the light danced off it's well polished curves. The interior was as well taken care of as the outside, smooth leather seats welcoming those lucky enough to sit and wood finished Dash board which served as a base for Noroku's greatest treasure, his "war and peace" sized black book of phone numbers. The canvas top was currently down, resting behind the seats. The car was more of a art piece than a mere vehicle...and there was more for under the hood was a customized engine which allowed Noroku that extra speed to cut a hour off travel. The car was worth a fortune...nothing though that Noroku couldn't pay for.

Noroku turned the key and listened to the engine roar to life. He quickly buckled Kamui's limp body into the seat and then put on his own. The headlights flashed to life with a quick switch, followed closely by a selection of classical music from his stereo. He took one last second to finish adjusting his mirrors before taking hold of the stick and putting the car into first gear as it jetted into the inky black passage.

* * *

As Noroku disappeared suddenly beneath the floor with Kamui, Yuurei had to hold back a sigh of disappointment. He was not desperate to speak with the young boy, but he was certainly becoming aggravated at the fact that everyone whom he was trying to help was afraid of him.

When Sorata got to his feet despite his injuries, obviously intending to fight Yuurei off with every last breath, Yuurei could only shake his head sorrowfully. Such determination was commendable, but in this case, a bit stupid.

"No, you're right," he replied huskily to the young man's assertion, "I'm not a Dragon of Heaven. But neither am I a Dragon of Earth." Explaining himself was not his forte, nor did he enjoy it, so tentatively he said as little as possible--just enough to ward off the impending attack that was far more likely to be the death of Sorata than himself. "I'm a friend of the Seals," he stated calmly, gazing directly into Sorata's pain-filled yet fierce eyes. "I'm not here to hurt any of you."

* * *

If Uo had been awake, then perhaps she could have responded to the new surroundings. Unfortunately, all that she could see was darkness within her dreamscape. She still had not managed to recover from simply fainting from her experience with those awful, high-pitched sounds- though, she would have rather faced a thousand of them then dream.

**-dream-**

Uo glanced all around herself. Where in the world was she? Why was everything... gone? She was where she had been when she had first seen Fuuma, when she had been sent hurtling into the air just before the fight between Kamui and Fuuma. She was in the middle of the road... but she noticed something very different. Instead of only that area having been destroyed, everything was gone. It was just... gone. It was no longer there. The buildings were in ruins, bodies were on the ground... skeletons, even.

She glanced around, taking a few steps forward. The sound of her footsteps echoed off of the buildings. There was nothing else.

"... What is this place?" she whispered, eyes flashing slightly. "Is this...Tokyo?"

"Noooooope! 'is ish'nt Tok-ee-to..." A voice replied. Standing at her side was a little girl- a child version of herself. She looked rather rough with those spiky bangs of hers, but adorable with those wide, blue eyes. She was wearing pants. Why? Uo had never been too terribly fond of dresses as a child, and really wasn't too fond of them now.

"Nani? ... You.." Uo blinked several times. "You're me..."

"I'm afraid that theory is a bit more complicated than that." Another voice said, stepping out of the shadows of a building.

This version was much more... scientific. She looked more similar to Uo, but with much shorter hair and a bit more of an expression that expressed 'I-know-everything'. This version wore a rather kawaii white lab coat over her outfit, and stared intently ahead. She was confident... confident and wise, apparently.

"Ee.. where are all of you coming from?" Uo muttered aloud, sighing.

"The depths of your inner most self, of course." The scientific one said.  
"We are you. You are us. We are 'parts' of you, separated, that have been projected individually into this dream world that you see here."

"... That makes sense." Uo replied, glancing to the little girl and picking her up. "I guess."

"Don't guess." said the scientist.

The child giggled. "You should know by now..."

"So, this is what you truly fear." The scientist said, glancing around at the dream. "Or, what WE truly fear." Her tone was beginning to disturb Uo.

"... Being alone..." the little one said, clinging to Uo's arm as if she provided some sense of sanctuary. "... Being all alone..."

"Not having anyone to protect you." The scientist said as she glanced back around. "Not having anyone to protect. Apparently you've strived to be stronger since you were a child... building that protective barrier around yourself. You must've always been afraid, ne?"

Uo turned away from the two, only to turn back and see they weren't there anymore. She frowned. Where had they gone?! She glanced all around her. Nothing.. just ruins, glass, dust, and dirt scattered about. She snickered lightly. Who said she was afraid of being alone? Becoming stronger so that she could protect her friends and family, including Kotori and all of her new friends like Yuzuriha, and even Kamui- was not a simple task, nor had it been since she was little. It had many prices, many prices too high for others, but she made those sacrifices, hadn't she? She glanced back. Yes, so many sacrifices. She had built a wall around herself to keep herself from getting hurt. While so many of her friends were walking hand-in-hand with some cute boy in the summer or giggling over crushes, she was standing in the corner, just watching them to make sure that nothing bad happened. The smile and the laughter had contented her throughout the years, and she had found so much else to do with science, inventions, dancing, drawing, and whatnot that she sometimes had to force herself to smile and be happy just for the sake of others- but she had done that very well, not making them worry over her.

Her blue eyes traced over the city again before she closed them and simply let her thoughts drift. Words could not affect her and her fist took care of trouble when it came around. She had, and would continue to protect those whom she cared about... and she would get stronger, if she had to, to do so. So many questions unanswered, though... and many she wanted to ask.

Was she capable of protecting everyone on her own? What would happen to them if she failed? Who did she think she was, anyways? ... She wasn't even sure anymore. Had she ever been certain? Was she really afraid of being alone? ... And most importantly, what next?

... She didn't get a chance to ask herself more questions. The dream was fading.

**-end dream-**

Uo flinched slightly, turning her head to the side. She felt like she'd just been hit in the face. Was she still alive? She couldn't tell. She hadn't opened her eyes. Could she even?

Her left eye opened just slightly. People! She certainly hadn't been expecting there to be PEOPLE there... well, then again... what had happened? Where was 'there'? She flinched again, trying to remember. There had been that boy from that band, really loud sounds, and... well, it had all just been too much for her with her stress and what not. Her head had stopped hurting considerably, but her ears were still ringing from those very high-pitched sounds.

She wanted to curl up like a little kitten and just hide, that or die. If she could've run, she would have... but how could she, in her current condition, without falling onto her face? She couldn't. For a brief second, she felt completely helpless. She didn't want to try to move. She'd rather just lie there. Besides, the glass in her shoulder kept jerking around and she wasn't happy with it. Perhaps the glass hadn't been her fault, but getting caught had. She should've just high-tailed it after she had seen he entrance. Why had she tried to go in any further?

"Nnn." Uo bit her tongue. She wasn't going to do anything.

Her eyes opened fully. She wasn't facing Fuuma... and if she had seen him, she didn't recognize him. Her vision was a bit blurry. She blinked a few times, forcing herself not to shake anymore. Afraid? No. Confused? Yes. Disturbed? Of course. If she couldn't see, she couldn't tell what was going on... and she needed to know everything. Her vision cleared again and her shaking relaxed. Now there was just the matter of looking around. Her eyes darted back and forth slowly. She knew there were people there... Problem was, she couldn't figure out who.

What matter was keeping her big mouth shut long enough to calm down. She couldn't push the pain from the bruises, nor the glass, out of her mind fully, but she could ignore it as best she could. She paused as her eyes fell directly on Okita. It was that boy...

Although instinct should have caused her to grow very angry, she couldn't. Why? She wasn't sure... rather, she couldn't quite think clearly at all. The second she had made direct eye-contact, she had dropped most other thoughts. Why? There wasn't any reason, right? She frowned suddenly and glanced the other way, avoiding looking at Fuuma. She closed her eyes again. Maybe, if she closed her eyes and wished hard enough, everybody would just disappear... of course, that had never worked in the third grade, either...

* * *

Yuzuriha had to pull herself together; there was no way she could go out in this condition-- she knew her limit. But there was no way she was going to allow Uo to be hurt. There was no way she was going to lose another friend tonight.

She pulled herself onto Inuki's back. "Inuki, hurry!"

She turned to Kotori-- "Kotori-chan...stay here."

And she was off.

Kotori was left holding the first aid kit. "Yuzuriha-chan!!" She had started to run after the girl, but her own pain made her obey. She sat on the couch with a sigh.

What would she do now? Kotori looked at the unfinished cake, and the messy kitchen. Then she looked at Arashi.

"Are you going with Yuzuriha-chan too, Miss?"

* * *

Ryu wandered around Toudai, searching for any clues for Kusanagi's whereabouts. So far he had no luck in finding anything about him. Ryu punched a nearby wall, growling some.

"Kusanagi... where are you... you know it's time for you to die... you should have died long ago..." he muttered.

Ryu looked up at the sky, squinting his eyes some as he did.

"Don't worry Terra... I'll get him for you... like I promised." He said.

Turning his attention back to more earthly matters, Ryu thought for a bit.

"He did mention something about going into the military service... maybe..." Ryu said.

Ryu headed for the transit system again, figuring on heading to one of the bases and possibly seeing if they couldn't contact Kusanagi. He smirked a bit.

_"You really shouldn't live in such easy to find places cousin. Just makes getting my revenge on you all that easier." _Ryu said to himself.

Ryu walked for a bit, eventually turning into a dark alleyway with a dead end. Once near the end of the alleyway, he held his hand out, creating an earthen barrier between him and the only way in or out. Satisfied with it, Ryu began to pull out some female clothing from his bag. After laying the clothing out some, he took his shirt off, followed by the tape that was around the upper part of his torso. After removing it, he let the firm breasts that were on his chest out and massaged them some, letting the feeling return to them. Shaking his head and keeping from doing any more, he took the black lacy bra and put it on, letting it support the breasts some as he got to work on the lower half of his body. He removed his pants and underwear, adjusting himself before slipping the panties on, followed by a slinky black dress that reached to about his knees. Ryu took some make up and applied it to his face, putting it back in his bag along with the clothes he was wearing earlier.

Reaching up behind his head, he undid a small clip that let out a bit of extra hair, extending it some. Smiling, Ryu took out a small thing of what looked like a breath freshener bottle. After spraying a bit of it in his mouth and coughing a tad, he put it back and reached into one of the other pockets on his bag, pulling out a wallet. Smiling as he checked it's contents, he quickly put on a pair of thigh high boots that he pulled out of the bag.

"Alright, Hikari girl, lets get a move on." His, now her, voice said, more feminine than before.

Dispelling the earthen barrier, Hikari walked out of the alleyway, showing no signs of having ever been a man.

* * *

Honestly, Yuzuriha had no idea where she was going. She looked down at Inuki, smiling just a bit. "Inuki, do you know where Uo is?" Inuki's ears twitched, ever so slightly, but it seemed that even the spirit dog could no longer sense the presence of the girl.

"Yuzuriha-baka. Yuzuriha-baka." Yuzuriha pressed her head against Inuki's warm fur as he leapt from building to building. She wanted so much to sleep now...

* * *

Laying down the young man on the table, Kusanagi began to bandage up Fuuma's wounds.

There was a lot of blood, and in a matter of minutes, his hands were already stained red. "I hate to see what would have happened if we waited any longer..." said Kusanagi.

Upon finishing, Kusanagi began to clean his hands with a wad of bandages, sighing a bit in relief.

"It looks like his wounds were already healing, but for now, its best to just keep him there and undisturbed. He'll get up under his own power eventually. He is Kamui after all..."

Looking over at Yuuto's direction then Okita's he asked. "Now...what do we do about the kid?"

Okita eyed the girl as she stared up at him. He smiled brightly and looked up as he was spoken to. "I suggest we bring her home...There isn't much else we can do." He looked back down to the girl. "After all we are both outsiders to all this...I mean...Yuuto-san hasn't explained any of this to me yet so I'm not sure if this is my place." Okita eyed the other blonde. "I mean you have done so much for me and yet I'm still so in the dark..."

Okita just remembered. "Kaori-san...My phone is broken...Oh man she's gonna kill me!" He looked around with wide eyes.

Kusanagi couldn't help but smile and laugh at Okita's idea of what to do with their guest. It was the best thing he heard all day and couldn't be happier with it. HE really didn't want any harm to come to the young girl.

"Seems reasonable enough," he beamed. "And seeing how you seem so close to the little one there, maybe you should be the one who escorts her home. That is..."

He eyed Yuuto for a minute, hoping he didn't over step boundaries there. Even though he was a Dragon of Earth, he wasn't the one who called the shots around here. And seeing how Kamui was temporarily out of commission, Yuuto seemed liked the one that was in charge.

"It really is a good idea," he coaxed. "Besides, even is she goes out and tries to tell anyone about this place, I don't think they'll believe her much. Not to mention the fact that she's only human. I doubt there's anything she can do to stop any of this..."

* * *

The sudden rumbling of the car began to disturb Kamui from his slumber, and slowly began to regain consciousness.

"F...Fuuma...,"was all he could manage to say as his eyes tried to adjust to the lighting around him. His head hurt, and his body ached. From what he could tell he was still alive.

It didn't take long for Kamui to realize where he was. Looking over at the blonde haired driver, Kamui weakly asked "Who are you...? Where's Fuuma...?"

Noroku heard a voice from next to him, causing a smile to cross his lips. "Oh good you're awake finally. Don't worry you're safe now." He roared down the dark underground highway, the engine's roar bouncing from the walls.

"Our friend Sorata brought you here to heal without anyone to disturb you. Oh right, I haven't answered your question. You can call me Noroku. I'm the chairman of the Clamp Academy."

He slowed the car down and came to a fork in the system. "Let's see Right or Left...Left should be it." He laughed nervously as he scratched his head with a solitary hand. "Sorry I always forget my way down here."

"CLAMP Academy...?" Kamui questioned.

He had heard about the school before, but never gave it much thought. As to why Sorata had brought him here was beyond him. Kamui was to tired to think much anyways.

Resting back against the seat, he looked out at the window and tried his best not to drift back into slumber.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked finally.

* * *

A subtle yet sharp pang of regret pierced Seishirou's soul at the horror and recognition that flashed through Subaru's eyes in that moment. So...the young Sumeragi had realized the truth at last...or at least partially. Yet he forced a melancholy smile across his ashen countenance.

"You see now, don't you?" he murmured softly, not daring to take a step forward, yet the thought of backing away was too painful. "It's all a dream. Do you remember the real world, Subaru-kun?"

"A dream...?" Subaru shook his head. "Seishirou-san, are you all right?" Subaru's eyes filled with concern as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why was Seishirou acting so weird?

As he gazed up into those eyes, Seishirou's eyes wavered from the kind eyes Subaru once knew to the ones he knew to be. Subaru blinked in surprise and made a mental note to make an appointment with the optometrist.

So Subaru was still mostly unaware of what was happening. But slowly Seishirou's senses were being replaced by a feeling of drowsy reminiscence. No. He had to keep a hold on himself. He could not drift back into this fairy tale of lovely memories...could he?

Subaru...so innocent...so naive. So much had changed. And for the time being, Seishirou could not quite recall why he had done such horrible things to change the perfect life he could have had. And then, slowly, even the details of those horrible things began to slip away from his mind, replaced instead by sweet thoughts of long days spent with Subaru and Hokuto just like this--the energetic girl making her little brother blush in front of Seishirou at every opportunity she received, and Subaru timidly trying to work his way out of the embarrassing situations Hokuto constantly shoved him into.

In the back of his mind, he knew this was not real. But right now that did not matter. When the dream ended, then he would resume his real, normal life. But for now, he could only see Subaru.

Slowly he stepped forward, and before the young boy had the chance to move, Seishirou gave a smile that was something between cheerfulness and sorrow as he enveloped Subaru with his muscular arms, pulling him close in a loving embrace. "Hai, Subaru-kun," he murmured against the boy's ear. "For the first time in my life, everything is right."

Something wasn't right.

Even as Subaru felt Seishirou's warm arms embrace him, he knew that something was wrong. He could tell from Seishirou's expression that something was wrong.

But Seishirou-san didn't want to talk about it. So he wouldn't.

"S-Seishirou-san, you should probably eat some ice cream before it melts!" Subaru sweat dropped a bit, handing Seishirou the slightly- dripping treat.

Seishirou glanced at the ice cream almost drowsily. Ice cream. Yes. He and Subaru and Hokuto used to eat desserts like that together all the time. But...that was...so long ago...

Not giving himself time to think, he swept up a drop of the chocolate treat with his index finger that was about to fall to the ground and be wasted, bringing to his lips and licking it off. "Mm," he mumbled with a grin, going back for another swipe. But this time he lifted his finger to Subaru's lips. "Come on, try it," he urged enthusiastically, "It tastes best when it's almost melted."

Subaru blinked in surprise; he wasn't sure if it was the sun, or just his face, but he suddenly felt very hot. He looked up to Seishirou with the eyes of a young boy before reluctantly extending his tongue to Seishirou's finger and taking a dainty lick.

Chuckling amiably, Seishirou innocently pushed his fingertip a little farther into Subaru's mouth, pressing it against the young boy's tongue. "You'll never taste it like that," he said teasingly.

Smile fading from his face, Seishirou stared at the younger boy with concern in his expression. "Ano...Subaru-kun, did I hurt you? Gomen nasai..." He gave an innocent smile and a slight shrug.

Subaru smiled. "Daijobu, daijobu," he re-assured Seishirou-san. There was something strange about Seishirou today; it seemed as though he was being extra-nice. Subaru couldn't help but worry a bit; perhaps he was being so nice because there was something bad that Seishirou needed to tell him?

"Seishirou-san, is there something you need to tell me?" Subaru asked innocently.

This was his one chance. He paused. One chance for what? To tell Subaru the truth? What truth? That he had emotions? That the apathetic killer Sakurazukamori cared about someone? He remembered the words of his mother, whom he had slaughtered with his own hands. The one he cared about most...the one who cared most about him...

The charade could not go on any longer. He knew too well. Subaru's mind was not living in the present at this time. But what he had to say did not count on that. "Subaru-kun...there will come a time when I will destroy you...and all dear to you. Your sister will die at my hands. And you...you will suffer the most painful tortures at my whim. And then you will be left alone." This was only a dream, right? Nothing said here would matter later on...at least, he kept wanting to believe that. "As I see it, it has already happened. Do you remember...Subaru-kun? What I did to you?""Seishirou-san, daijobu desu ka?" Subaru raised a hand to Seishirou's forehead. "You're a little hot. If you're not feeling well, we can all go back to the apartment. I'm sure that Hokuto wouldn't mind..." Subaru's eyes filled with concern as he stared up at the man he cared about most in the world.

So innocent, yet so naive. When would he realize the truth? But again Seishirou's mind drifted, back to the time when he could enjoy his time spent with the young man. What was happening to him? Why was he swaying back and forth so precariously? "I do feel a bit strange," he admitted truthfully.

Subaru took Seishirou's hand. "We'll leave, then. I was feeling a bit hot myself." He smiles up at Seishirou. "Hokuto-chan may be disappointed, but I'm sure she'll find some cute guys to hang out with."

Seishirou smiled down at Subaru as the young boy took his hand. Playfully he lifted his own hand and ruffled Subaru's raven locks, remembering perfectly the touch of the silky tresses beneath his fingertips. "You're so kind, Subaru-kun. Even when...even...when..." His voice drifted off as he glanced out to gaze over the calm sea. Was he losing his mind? He was not really here. The bet was over. He had won. So why did he feel such a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach? Was he sick, as Subaru had suggested? But this did not feel like a physical ailment...

Subaru's eyes wavered between confusion and concern. "Seishirou-san, we'd better get you home." Subaru locked his warm hand with Seishirou's. "If you need to lean on me, you can," he offered, wincing at the warmness of the sand under his bare feet.

As strange as he felt, he did not feel physically weakened in the least, and when he sensed Subaru's wince, he smiled lightly, bending down to sweep the boy off of his feet, carrying him across the sand like a child. "It's sweet of you to offer, but it looks to me like you could use more support than me right now."

Subaru blinked in surprise. "Seishirou-san, you shouldn't be doing this, especially in your condition." He wiggled a bit in Seishirou's arms, a pitiful attempt to be set free from his arms.

As pitiful an attempt as it may have been, Seishirou's condition must have been worse than he thought, because before he knew it, Subaru's squirming caused him to lose his balance, and with an alarmed grunt, he collapsed to the sandy ground, Subaru landing on top of him in a heap.

Subaru quickly hopped to his feet, and extended a hand to Seishirou. "I told you, you shouldn't push yourself in that condition," Subaru lectured. For a moment there, he almost felt like his onee-sama.

Looking up at Subaru with a cheerful smile, Seishirou was reminded of Hokuto by the boy's sudden confidence and determination. Such a difference in what he was now...and what Seishirou had forced him to become. Broken...forsaken...

Seishirou took his hand and let Subaru pull him to his feet. "Subaru," he said tentatively, the smile on his face becoming a bit more forced, "I want you to do something for me."

Subaru smiled. "What is that, Seishirou-san?" he asked, his voice trembling with innocence.

Reaching down with his free hand, Seishirou cupped Subaru's chin and tilted it upward. "No matter what happens in the future, Subaru-kun- -no matter what happens between us--I want you to remember that...I will always love you. Can you do that for me?"

"Seishirou-san, what did you say?" Subaru was unable to hear the promise that Seishirou wanted him to keep. "I couldn't hear you, the wind was too loud."

Was it just simply not meant to be? Seishirou stifled a pain-filled sigh. Perhaps it was just not meant to be that Subaru should know the truth. It had taken so much effort to say it the first time...how could he say it again?

And suddenly he could not stand being here any longer. Without warning Seishirou shoved Subaru out of the way with a shake of his head. "Nothing. It was nothing. Never mind. I think I'll get going now..."

Subaru stumbled backwards. "Sei-Seishirou-san...!" His voice was a mixture of shock and sadness; what had Seishirou wanted so badly for him to promise? Even if he didn't know what it was now, he would do anything Seishirou asked of him. Anything. "Seishirou-san...whatever it is, I PROMISE!" he called out.

On a whim, Seishirou paused, shoving his hands into the pockets of his swimming briefs. He was unsure of why he stopped, but in the back of his mind he knew that he wanted--no, he NEEDED--to let Subaru catch up to him.

Subaru tore after Seishirou after he stopped. He had originally thought that Seishirou had wanted to be left alone, but Seishirou's hesitance to continue proved otherwise. With a slight huff, he caught up, leaning slightly in front of Seishirou, his hands on his thin legs. Subaru looked up, smiling. "Seishirou-san, I'll keep any promise you ever make with me...because..." There's a slight hesitance in his voice...

On impulse Seishirou reached out to grasp Subaru by the shoulders, staring into his eyes with utmost seriousness. "You have to know, Subaru. You have to. It's very important. No matter what I do to you in the future, no matter what pain I cause you and your sister, you have you remember." At this point he nearly shook Subaru's slender frame, his demeanor had become so fervent. "You must remember...that I will always love you, Subaru-kun. Don't make me say it again. I don't think I can."

For a minute, Subaru's expression went blank, before it drew a smile. "I love you, too, Seishirou!" He pulled his arms around Seishirou's waist, allowing his face to press against Seishirou's warm chest. "I love you, too..." he echoed.

He could only gaze down sadly as Subaru enveloped his waist with pale, thin arms. Of course Subaru loved him. That was the purpose of the bet, right? But the bet was over. And now everything was a terrible muddle in Seishirou's head.

Slowly, cautiously, he let his own arms come to rest around Subaru's slender waist. When they woke up, everything would change...would go back to the cruel way it was supposed to be. And Seishirou could only pray that Subaru remembered enough of this dream to keep his promise...

* * *

Hikari had decided to head to back to the school and Noroku's office, to leave him a note. He headed up to the office doors and knocked on it.

Not getting any response, Hikari opened the door and looked in. Seeing it empty, she walked into it and to Noroku's desk.

"Just leave him a note about personal business and then go..." She said softly.

Taking some paper and a pen, Hikari started to write out a not to Noroku.

* * *

Laying his own hostage down on another one of the unoccupied metal tables, Yuuto carefully dabbed at his wounds and strapped his limbs to the surface. Not that the Seal looked to be in any condition to escape, but all necessary precautions still needed to be made.

Glancing down at his watch, he almost chuckled. Evening was approaching. It was almost time for tea. But with Kanoe still missing, and Satsuki still back near the hospital, it looked as though tea time might have to be postponed, at least for tonight. Hopefully Satsuki would know where to go, however, as she was one of the few who knew about the construction of this place.

Turning to Kusanagi, he tried to explain as quickly and efficiently as possible. "This place was built as a secondary precaution, in preparation for the Final Days. I like to call it LCH--Last Chance Headquarters. It's held in top secret, however, so keep all of this hush-hush, you understand." He winked cheerfully, then turned to Okita.

"Your part in all of this..." He put a pensive finger to his chin. "I'm not really quite sure. You are a variable, I believe-- one who is not a direct player in the game but has the power to aid or change Fate's course. It all depends on which side you choose, or if you choose to play at all."

* * *

Seiichirou slowly woke up. 

"Ugh... where am I..." he muttered.

* * *

"Don't hurt Subaru..." Hokuto sobbed, drawing her legs under her and wrapping her arms around herself. It was dark where she was, she couldn't see Subaru or Seishirou any more. There was no golden beach, no blue water glittering in bright sunlight. She could feel sand beneath her toes, but it was black. Everything was black. Except herself. A blue hue was illuminating her own body in the black wasteland. Reaching out a shaking hand, Hokuto touched the dark sand. It was cool.

She scooped up a handful and stared at it. It lay like a small black pile in her hand. She blew at it. The grains were fluttering out into the dark space, but she couldn't see them. There was a flash of silver and Hokuto started. A small gray grain fell as silver to the ground. She scooped up another hand of sand and stood up, standing straight. Throwing them out into the darkness, she waited. Nothing happened at first, but slowly, more and more grains turned silver as they fluttered down.

Hokuto stretched out her arm into the cloud of silver. They went through her arm, but more and more kept coming. She hadn't thrown more than a handful. She stepped into the silver cloud and a new world opened to her. This was where she first met Kakyou. She drew a breath of air. Kakyou... Was he here? Could she see him? She could see the door he was leaning against the first time she saw him. Her breath caught in her throat. If he was here... Running towards the sliding door, she could see him too, sitting alone.

"Kakyou..." Her voice echoed in the dreamscape.


	45. Chapter 43: No Need to Worry…

**Chapter Forty-Three: No Need To Worry…**

Subaru's eyes fluttered open. A dream? Was that all it was?

He almost wanted to cry; he missed those days, so long ago. He missed that Subaru he once knew. Now, he was only a mere shell of himself.

It was then that he panicked--he had no idea where he was. He tried to prop himself up, to untangle himself from the covers, but he found himself wincing in pain. Ouch. Just a reminder that he wasn't really in any condition to be moving around so idly.

He relaxed, laying down. He figured that in the last battle, he had passed out, and was retrieved by one of the Dragons of Heaven. There was no need to worry.

Or was there?

* * *

Seishirou woke lazily to the muffled sounds coming from his bedroom. Subaru. That jolted him awake. Quickly he rose form the couch and went quickly to the room, opening the door to find Subaru whimpering and struggling in bed. The dream... Had they had the same dream? Had their minds interlocked in slumber? Seishirou shook himself and approached the bedside, sitting down and pushing Subaru by the shoulders firmly against the mattress. "Now, now, Subaru-kun," he murmured torpidly in his normal sadistic tenor, "you're going to hurt yourself if you keep moving around like that..."

Subaru blinked in surprised and tried to pull away from Seishirou's thrust. Why had--what had happened to him? Why was he here? Was this another dream? No, it couldn't be...his touch was too real.

"Seishirou-san," Subaru spat.

"That's right," Seishirou snickered, leaning down to lick at a cut on the young man's cheek. "You don't recognize where you are?" His grip on Subaru's shoulders tightened. "And so before I kill you, I will grant your one other wish that the Dragon of Earth's Kamui says only I can fulfill. Tell me, Subaru...what do you wish for?" His voice was cold, his tone like icy stone.

Subaru didn't say a word. His wish seemed silly now; all he wanted was to be killed by Seishirou-- to know that he was worthy enough of being killed by the Sakurazukamori assassin. But as he stared into Seishirou's gleaming emotionless eye, he realized he had another wish. Just as silly.

At Subaru's silence, Seishirou chuckled darkly again. "Oh, but that's all right," he whispered. "I already know your wish." With a quickly uttered chant, the room darkened and silvery little wires appeared around Subaru's wrists and ankles, chest and throat, abdomen and thighs, cutting through his bandages and into his fair flesh as he was hoisted up against the head of the bed. Seishirou grinned, his useless right eye glinting in the strange dark light that had suddenly flooded the bedroom. "You have very cute dreams, Subaru-kun. Almost as cute as you."

"Wh...what are you talking about?!" Subaru cried out in pain. "If you're going to kill me...at least do it quickly..." Subaru pleaded, the wires digging further and further into his already wounded- flesh. A sudden splatter of blood filled the air as the wires pulled through his skin. Subaru cried out again.

Subaru pulled upwards, forcefully causing the wires to cut him deeper. If he was going to die, it was going to be quick. He wouldn't allow Seishirou the pleasure of watching him die a slow and painful death.

But Seishirou only shook his head again as Subaru attempted to kill himself so pathetically. "Such a shame, Subaru-kun." Lifting a hand, he cupped Subaru's chin and forced their eyes to meet. "What would Hokuto think if she saw you trying to take your own life like this? I don't imagine she'd be very pleased at all."

"I...don't...care!" Subaru threw himself at the wires, letting them cut him deeper, and deeper. It didn't matter anymore what Hokuto thought. Hokuto was dead. DEAD. A tear Subaru was never conscious of shedding pedaled down his cheek.

Seishirou had not expected that response. Swiftly he cut the wires, catching Subaru as the young man fell into his arms. Gently he cradled him in his lap, though his intentions had not necessarily altered for the better. "So, then, what do you truly want? Do you want to lie here like this, as I hold you in my arms? Do you want me to protect you and love you for the rest of your life? Hm?" His voice was deceptively smooth and tender. "Is that what you want, Subaru-kun?"

Subaru found himself wavering in indecision. While he wanted to be killed by the Sakurazukamori, it was because he wanted to know that he meant something to him. But at the same time, if Seishirou protected him, and cared for him, wouldn't that be proof of his worthiness? Subaru bit his lower lip, trying to ignore the stinging pain throughout his body. "I...don't know."

Running the fingers of one hand through Subaru's damp hair, Seishirou chuckled softly. "Indecision will get you nowhere, Subaru-kun."

Either way, Subaru knew what Seishirou's reaction would be. If he said he wanted to be with him, like he wanted to be, Seishirou would mock him and then hurt him. If he said that he wanted him to kill him, Seishirou would toy with him-- but not complete the task. Subaru chose to be silent.

* * *

Alone once more, the golden eyed dream seer took as many deep breaths as he could manage, even though his chest felt like it was on fire. Why was all this happening now.. It was a rapid succession of blows that he didn't want or need. 

The pain in his chest was tightening making it hard to breath and his golden eyes kept darting this way and that, hoping that Mayouko wouldn't show up again. Pulling his knees to his chest, he began to rock back and forth on his heels. The wind whipped at his blond locks sending them flying every which way but Kakyou was too preoccupied with trying to breath...

Yet for him there was never a time for peace, the only time that had been seemed so far away.. Yuurei... The pain came again at this thought, sharper then before and Kakyou closing his eyes, sobbed. What is happening? Why?...WHY?? His mental voice screamed out in agony.

Suddenly a sound punctured through his haze, it sounded like foot steps... He immediately called out for the first person that came to his troubled mind. "Yuurei?"

"Kakyou.." the voice called out..

The voice started him and it came to him that the voice was too high to be male..

Opening his eyes to golden slivers he saw someone walking toward him, a blue aura surrounded her as she walked, and his whole body jerked forward, the motion of rocking suddenly halted. He would never forget that walk...

Voice horse, very faint, and trembling with disbelief he called out, "Hokuto..."

"Hokuto..." His voice sounded so weak, she noted briefly, a sinking feeling inside. Like when she first met him, when he was sitting against that wall and she'd wanted nothing more than to show him everything.

And now, all she wanted was to hold him and be held. Because Subaru was going to be hurt. And she couldn't do anything. She could do nothing for the brother that she loved, and she felt empty, lost like the young girl she was and would forever be.

She could see him clearly now and she called out again, taking the last distance at a run. "Kakyou..."

He wasn't... Stopping dead in front of him, Hokuto looked upon the dream seer she cared for. She reached out a shaking hand and ran her fingers through his soft tresses. She could feel herself smiling through blurry eyes.

Collapsing to her knees, she put her hands on either side of his face, looking into his eyes. They were disbelieving. Cold and... She sobbed, hugging him to her.

This had to be a dream.. Or perhaps death? Hokuto calling his name... running toward him...

But how could it be.. he was in his own dream, and he was still not released from his pain and torment.

Hunched over, his jacket pooled around him, his blond hair covering his face, he closed his eyes, not wanting to watch what came next. He knew what would happen of course, she would pass right through him, a ghost and nothing more. Since that is the way it had always been...

So when he felt the feather light touch of her fingers through his hair, he began to once again believe he was dead. She had not passed through him, but how... He could even feel her fingers trembling.

He glanced back up at her, eyes now full of even more confusion and disbelief then before.

Her hands, which were a mixture of cold and heat, suddenly cupped his face and Kakyou found himself staring as a pair of sorrowful and compassionate eyes gazed back.

"You...you didn't pass straight through me..." his voice came out in broken words and trembling phrases, as tears started to form in his eyes..

* * *

Sorata was weak yet still advancing. Kamui was gone, as was Ryu by now. There was no reason for him to stay. Yet where else was there to go? 

Suddenly, as if on cue, the images entered his mind like the sharp stab of a knife through his temple. In a dizzying fit of disconcertment, he stumbled backward. Flashes of...Subaru and...Seishirou. Where were they? The answer came immediately: Seishirou's apartment.

Subaru was being manipulated and tortured. Seishirou was on the verge of actually killing the poor young man. And even though they each wished to be killed by the other, it seemed Subaru's wish was going to be the one granted. So what of Seishirou's wish? The Seals could not afford to lose Subaru. Not now. Not yet. And in Yuurei's eyes, not at all.

He lifted his gaze back to Sorata. "Gomen nasai, my friend, but I must be going." With a bow of his head, he backed away again into the shadows and vanished through the approaching darkness of evening.

All this shadow-walking was making him incredibly exhausted, mentally as well as physically. It took a great deal of concentration not to become lost in the endless void between the tangible world and the dimension of darkness he traveled through in this impalpable form. Nevertheless he raced through the shadows of the city, forcing himself to focus on his destination, despite how tired he was growing.

When he reached the apartment, he bypassed the front door where the young boy, Shouri, still lurked and headed straight for the master bedroom. In the corner of the room, he rematerialized, pulling his trench coat about his body as he clenched his teeth in a vicious snarl. Of course he knew the reasons why Subaru loved this corruptive assassin, but he still could never approve. Seishirou had used Subaru. It was as simple as that.

But he said nothing, only glared at the seemingly emotionless Sakurazukamori, who by now had lifted his head and was gazing back at the newcomer. At first his stare was one of surprise, but slowly it shifted to one of anger and contempt.

"You know," the Sakurazukamori muttered cynically, his anger masked by disdain, "you're becoming awfully annoying by doing that. Do I even need to ask why you're here?"

Yuurei's grim countenance did not alter. "No," he spat flatly. "Release him."

Subaru blinks back blood from his eyes as Yuurei makes his appearance. "Kantoku-sama...You shouldn't...be here," he gets out, his voice hoarse.

* * *

Hokuto sobbed and pulled back from him. He was beginning to cry, tears were forming in his eyes, and she bit her lip, knowing it was her doing.

He looked so miserable, so extremely defeated. She could see his Wish clearly in those amber orbs. And she knew she was causing it. Even by being here with him now.

Her hands went back to his face and slowly, as the tears started rolling down his cheeks, she licked them away. "Of course I didn't pass through you."

She could feel her own tears running down her cheeks, her eyesight blurry. Pressing her forehead against his, she closed her eyes and another flow of salty liquid ran in streams. She kissed him then, through all her longing, through her worries of her brother. And it wasn't for comport. She wanted to do it.

She'd always wondered what it would be like.

It was a soft kiss, a small, light, soft kiss, but she loved every second of it. Pulling back slightly, she whispered. "Of course I didn't pass through you.."

* * *

Something about how he moved...about how he sifted in and out of the shadows at will, appearing almost instantaneously anywhere he thought convenient...something about it grated at Seishirou's nerves. He was making perfect progress. Would he have really killed Subaru in a matter of moments? That was not his own wish, but Fuuma had once said that his and Subaru's wishes were very different. Opposites, in fact. Much like Subaru and Seishirou themselves.

Pointedly he let out a snicker. "You know, it really is rude to trespass on another person's property, not to mention illegal. You should learn to mind your own business."

The Watcher did not flinch, his face veiled by the shadows in the corner of the room, but replied coolly, "If you haven't noticed, I have a rather bad habit of making such matters as these my business. If you don't like me here, you'll have to get rid of me. But, as you might recall, I don't die easily."

"But I guess that's my only option," Seishirou concluded cynically. Subaru's torture would have to wait. Standing from the bloodstained mattress, he straightened his formal black jacket and let a guileful simper spread across his face. "Not that I'm one to complain," he added with a lowering of his head in a dangerous gesture. "I've been looking forward to a rematch."

The man in the black trench coat did not linger a moment longer, but vanished into the shadows. However, he was not gone; his essence was still present here. He was moving with incredible speed.

Seishirou followed him closely with his every sense. Suddenly, in a swift, curt movement, he spun on his heels and directed his enchanted Ofudas toward the wall on the other side of the bed. And when the dust had cleared and his sight had steadied, he smirked in satisfied amusement as he found his strand of effulgent energy cutting the air precariously close to the Watcher's throat.

The man had frozen in place, quite tangible again and real. He glared back at Seishirou's cold gaze with equal icy fervor, his thin lips pursed, his body unwavering. He had simply stopped.

And then his eyes flickered. It was only for the briefest moment, but Seishirou recognized in that instant that this man was not about to be so easily defeated.

The energy blazed in his ears, suddenly very obvious that it was indeed in existence. He turned his gaze to the side, already knowing that when he looked back, the Watcher would have disappeared again. But he was not given the chance to look back. The sudden enchantments planted all around the walls suddenly flared in visual perception, and the snaking shadows manifested into the very essence of night, racing toward Seishirou with deadly accuracy.

He was forced to let go of his spell, jumping back to narrowly avoid one of the wicked strands of radiant ebon energy. It was like trying to dodge a sea of flames, but indefinitely he conjured up his own incantation, burying it in many more Ofudas and directing them over the primary points from which the shadows were being emitted.

The attack died down, and Seishirou chuckled as he glanced down and realized that several slashes now lined his already decimated suit. "So that's what you'd been planning," he muttered in a low, deceptive tenor. "Did you expect it to kill me?"

But the Watcher did not answer as he reappeared again beside the bed and Subaru's bloody, battered body.

But Seishirou was far from finished. And his enemy knew it. As the Watcher leaned over and started to gather Subaru into his arms, Seishirou maneuvered fleetly to the side, racing around the bed so fast that normal human eyes would have missed his transition completely. In an instant his arms hooked under the stranger's shoulders, jerking him away from the mattress and locking his back forcefully against Seishirou's abdomen.

"Seem familiar?" he hissed in the man's ear, mentally gathering the essence of his life force all about him. "I'm tired of you interfering with my personal affairs. So now you're going to die."

Seishirou's hold was immensely strong. Trying to bend and twist himself out of the lock would put Yuurei at risk of tearing a tendon or at least yanking an arm out of its proper socket. He knew the same tricks he had used last time would not work now. Seishirou was not stupid, but neither did Yuurei want to kill him.

Suddenly the colors of his vision brightened drastically for a moment, and it was not until moments later that he realized it was because of a new pain being introduced into his body. But by then it was too late, and the crimson beam of light-energy had already emerged from his stomach. His eyes widened. Seishirou was not bluffing; the Sakurazukamori never made bluffs.

When he felt the arms release him, he had not recovered from the unexpected blow enough to remain standing by his own will. Sticky blood seeped from both ends of the wound, soaking the back and front of his shirt, as well as his staining his trench coat. Surely his entrails had been punctured; stomach wounds were fatal more often than not.

The fact that he could still think clearly came as a surprise as he sank wearily to his knees. When he let out a raspy cough as a result of the sudden tickle in his throat, he knew immediately the nature of the bubbling liquid that rose up through his esophagus and spilled down his chin.

"My, that was rather anticlimactic," Seishirou's taunting words registered in the back of his mind, though they sounded much farther away than what he knew to be reality.

A harsh hand came down to grip a handful of his raven tresses, grasping the bandage about his head that covered the wound across his left eye acquired earlier from Fuuma, and ripping it off. Dried blood crackled as the wound was reopened, and he let out a pain- racked groan as Seishirou then slung his head violently against the wall. Through his distorted vision, the world was beginning to fade.

No. Subaru was still in danger. Yuurei was not about to let his entire existence end for nothing. He would get Subaru out. Then he could die. Or dream. Though he feared the latter far more.

A foot in his side. He snarled as Seishirou kicked him again, but by this time he had regained enough of his wits to know what to do. Grabbing the protruding foot, he pushed himself around and jerked potently back, yanking Seishirou off balance. Though he felt his remaining strength would not be enough to defeat him, the punch he dealt the Sakurazukamori sent the man flying into the opposite wall. Yuurei was almost shocked. But, of course, Seishirou had already been severely injured. Other than his eye injury and the slash through his side--both gifts from the Kamui of the Dragon of Earth-- Yuurei was practically unharmed. Though now, as if from a mere bullet wound through his gut, he felt he was closer to death than every before.

He could not stay and finish the fight. Subaru was his first and only priority. The man was already regaining his bearings and getting to his feet. Leaning over the bed, Yuurei put a hand to his mouth to catch the second mouthful of blood as it was choked up through his throat. Still he somehow managed to work Subaru's arm around his shoulders, hoisting the young man up from the mattress.

Not enough power to shadow-walk. Trying would have been almost certainly fatal, as his wavering focus would have almost assuredly caused him to falter in his course. So, dragging both himself and the Thirteenth Head of the Sumeragi clan to the only window in the room, he held up his free elbow and thrust it through the pane. Not even waiting for the debris to clear, Yuurei made the precarious leap, covering Subaru's body as well as he could with his trench coat as the glass fragments cut into his own skin with blatant alacrity.

Before he knew what he was doing, he landed. It was the roof of the closest building to the window. But he could not stop now. Seishirou would be in dogged pursuit. Somehow he had to get Subaru to safety.

Again his vision wavered, and he stumbled as his feet left the pavement again. This time he almost missed his destination, landing dangerously on the ridge of the next building and nearly losing his balance when he did so. Still he persisted, knowing only that he could not afford to stop...

* * *

Meanwhile, Seishirou stood at the window in the midst of the scattered broken glass, massaging the dull ache in his gut from the Watcher's blow. But as the two made their unsteady escape, an amused smile crept over Seishirou's shadowy features.

So, Subaru had escaped him again. Perhaps it was his Fate never to kill the man. Besides, that was not even what he truly wanted... As for the Watcher, the wound Seishirou had dealt him would render him dead shortly. Already the man's severe depletion in power was obvious. Soon the effects of the enchantment would eat away at his insides completely, even if the physical blast had missed all his vital parts.

He did not fall into pursuit. Instead, he went to the bathroom to take a long, hot shower, then to the kitchen to fix himself a cup of coffee. Decaf. He was going to need his sleep.

* * *

Uo simply listened to the words exchanged. Her mind seemed to tilt this way and that way. What was she to think of these people? They didn't seem to be very dangerous, but they were. Or were they? She couldn't decide.

She opened her eyes again. A part? In a 'game'? The way she was seeing things began to make her wonder if she wasn't just going crazy. After all, who would believe her? ... Yuzuriha-chan surely would.. and so would Kotori-chan! She was sure of it. Then again, now thinking about it, perhaps it was best not to tell. Maybe it would keep a bit of unnecessary bloodshed from occurring, at least for just a little bit.

... But was that protecting the enemies of her friends? After reasoning with her own thoughts, she concluded it would be best not to judge until she knew everything that was going on. That much she could probably get from those people who had been with Yuzuriha, if not from Kotori or Yuzuriha themselves. Question was, would she be allowed out?

Her thoughts swam briefly to that boy. Oh, what was his name!? It wasn't like he had told her, but he WAS in that band and she should have probably paid more attention to the radio. Though, it's impossible to hear when there is a swarm of girls parading around the radio, squealing and screaming like banshees. O-something... Ok...

She sighed heavily as she opened her eyes again. She'd think of it in a minute or two. Of course... sitting up might help. She didn't want to go to sleep, and she would if she remained in a lying position. Taking in a breath, she gritted her teeth. She'd have to move quick, and force herself to keep balance. As she attempted to lift herself up, her body felt more than weighed down. If she could just get up a little bit more...

Half-way. She had to keep going. She had to stay up. She felt herself falling back again, and jammed an elbow right to the table to keep herself from sliding back. Uo gritted her teeth. That... hurt...

She frowned slightly and gave herself one last heave... only to find that she was sitting up straight and holding onto the edge of the table. She was breathing quite heavily, but managed to keep herself up. She stared at the ground. Well, hopefully no one would mind. After all.. it wasn't like she could do anything...

* * *

"Kanto-ku...-sama...you shouldn't have come," Subaru said, his voice longing to say more, but unable to force out the words. He was finally going to die, and Kantoku-sama had taken that away from him.

If he had a little more strength, he would have forced himself away from Kantoku-sama's grasp and hurried back to the apartment to Seishirou-- to his death.

But he couldn't.

In the midst of this, he found himself soaked in blood. Not just his own, as he noticed Yuurei's stomach wound.

"You're...hurt," Subaru coughed out.

At last, when they were far enough from Seishirou's apartment that Yuurei judged them safe for the time being, he stopped on the top of a fairly low building, compared to the ones surrounding it, and set Subaru lightly to his feet. "Iie," he panted, clutching his stomach with one hand and wincing as he realized the bleeding had not yet stopped. "It's nothing."

"That's...a lie." Subaru suppressed his own pain as he spoke, "Kantoku-sama, it's my time to save you. Please..." His eyebrows furrowed in pain and concern, he prepared to scoop Yuurei into his arms, despite whatever Yuurei's response was.

Yuurei managed a pained smile as he glanced over at Subaru. "I'm all right, really. I just need to stop moving around so much for a while." But in the back of his mind, he knew it was more than that. This wound...it felt as though it were eating him alive from the inside out. What had the Sakurazukamori done to him? No matter. Before Subaru had the chance to do anything foolish, Yuurei swept him up into his arms again and leaped heavily down to the ground. An alley. Not the most pleasant place, but at least there were plenty of shadows here. "Sit down," he urged huskily, still trying to suppress the need to cough up more of his own blood. "Rest for a moment. We both need it."

"I'm not going...to rest," Subaru huffed, "...while you are BLEEDING to death." He pulled Yuurei into his arms, wincing as he did so. Blood oozed quicker as he did so, but he tried his best to ignore it. "The hospital isn't far. You'll be okay there..."

Surprised to say the least, Yuurei quickly caught himself and tried to hold up Subaru instead, but in the midst of pain and confusion, only succeeded in entangling their arms about one another. Still, through a mildly forced chuckle, he managed to shake his head. "There's been a battle at the hospital. It's not safe there." And somehow, in the middle of his sentence, he realized suddenly how close Subaru's face was to his own, and through the pain of his wound, he found that the blood in his cheeks was practically boiling.

"Then I'll take you to my apartment." Subaru started heading home the back way, leaping atop buildings when he could, but mostly normal walking. That didn't hurt him as much. "I'm not a doctor, but when I worked for," Subaru hesitated, "...Seishirou-san, I learned about bandaging wounds and taking care of animals." He smiled down at Yuurei.

Yuurei's eyebrow twitched inadvertently, but he managed another chuckle. "Animals? So you're going to treat me like a lost, injured puppy, is that it?"

Subaru smiled, just a teensy bit. "I guess you can say that...Dogs don't like to appear vulnerable in front of enemies, Kantoku-sama. Does that mean I'm your friend?"

* * *

He sat stunned, not daring to move as she sobbed. This had to be a dream...a dream within his own tortured mind and soul.

Yuurei had been lost to him, and this was what came out of the pain he was feeling, a dream within a dream to help him ease the pain.. but still she was as real as a spirit could be, her hands soft and firm, her eyes full of tears themselves.

His tears spilled over now, one after another down his ashen cheeks, creating a hazy blur of her features. Her hands cupped his face again and before he could do anything her lips were on his cheeks, her tongue both rough and smooth at the same time, swallowing each teardrop, her breath a light breeze on his face as she whispered.

"Of course I didn't pass through you."

Kakyou tried to speak, tried to say something but nothing came readily to his lips. But he found a second later he didn't need to as she leaned forward.. rested her forehead on his and.. kissed him lightly on the lips..

The first thing that registered was how different it was...like a feather barely there but there indeed as his lips tingled with a pleasant sensation. It was so different...from Yuurei's kisses. Her lips were fuller, softer...

It lasted for no more then a few moments but it would forever be embedded in his memory. Her once again whispered words, seemed like a promise to him...that she had always been there...would always continue to be there...

He still found himself speechless, only able to stare at Hokuto, the tears still flowing freely. Leaning forward he pressed himself against her, his sobs mingling with hers.

"Hokuto..." was all he managed to say, his voice trembling more so then before.

When he pressed himself against her, Hokuto sobbed once more, feeling bad for enjoying his presence. Subaru was going to be hurt, she shouldn't be feeling glad.

Kakyou seemed sad too for when she'd looked into his eyes, there had been so much pain. So much more pain than when she last saw him. She wanted to take him away from that. She wanted to do so much for him...

But she felt powerless now. Like she couldn't help him feel better, like she did before. Then realization hit her.

Images came flooding back. Subaru, catatonic after Seishirou's betrayal. Her own decision to use her power to stop him. Her own death. Telling Seishirou she loved them both.

And in her heart, realizing she loved Kakyou.

Hokuto jerked back from the dream seer and scrambled to her feet. She looked into his eyes, shock evident in her own. "He's already hurt. And you... I hurt you."

She sank to her knees again, salt drops flowing freely down her cheeks. "I hurt you..."

* * *

He felt himself drifting slowly in and out of consciousness, and he fought doggedly to hold on to his senses. Managing a weak smile up at Subaru's words, he shrugged and then glanced back down at the ground, his sweaty raven tresses, matted to his forehead and neck and dangling down toward the ground in damp strands. "I would be honored to call you my friend, Subaru," he said in a forcibly controlled voice. "Honestly, I haven't felt such deep connections with anyone since...since..."

His voice drifted into nothingness. What had compelled him to say so much? He had never told anyone such a thing before. If he had not caught himself--if the remainder of that sentence had not brought back so many painful memories--would he have completed it and revealed to Subaru his one true wish? But in that moment, he could not seem to stop the single tear that escaped from its locked prison, and only one word--one name--consumed his mind.

_ Kakyou...  
_

* * *

Arashi looked at Kotori. "You can just call me Arashi." she said. Arashi plopped down onto Yuzuriha's couch. Everything was happening so fast. Yuzuriha could really use her help, she shouldn't have left in the first place. But, would Yuzuriha want Kotori here alone? They seemed to be getting closer, those two. She wasn't sure what had happened to Kotori to make her so scared, and to make Yuzuriha feel that she needed to protect her and Kotori's friend.

Kotori looked at Arashi, squirming a bit. This uneasy silence. That girl who stared at her like a block of ice. She placed the first aid kit down, and sat on the floor. She opened the box, and searched through it, pulling out a tweezers to start picking at the glass in her feet.

"We should get you to a hospital." Arashi told her. Not the one that had been attacked earlier really. But, Arashi wasn't that great in fixing up wounds, thank God none of hers needed tending right this moment. But, Kotori there, looking so fragile, picking at her wounds...

"No." came the quick reply. Kotori wasn't going anywhere. That was stupid of Arashi to say. The hospital is what caused all of this to begin with. She coughed, her stomach feeling weird. She didn't want to think about any of that right now. She only wanted to worry about Kamui-chan. If her feet never got better, she didn't care, as long as he would be okay.

It was then that Arashi thought of Sorata. How could she have been dumb enough to leave him alone? She should have gone with him to escort the injured Kamui. Was Sorata even okay? He had been hurt pretty badly too. Worse than she had. Arashi stood.

Kotori looked up at her. "Miss...Arashi-chan?"

"Will you be okay alone for awhile?" Arashi asked. The scared expression that crossed Kotori's face told Arashi that she was insane. But, Arashi needed to check on Sorata! She couldn't possibly take Kotori with her.

"Ar..." Arashi sat back down with a low growl. Things were so difficult.

_'Be okay Sorata...'_ she thought, staring out a window, hoping that maybe he would find her instead, and his smiling face would just appear through the fogged glass.

* * *

Subaru's crimson-stained face turned to Yuurei. They weren't far now, they weren't. He could see his apartment from here, even with his wavering vision.

"Kantoku-sama..." Subaru forced a warm smile down at his new friend, wiping away his tears. "We're almost there. It'll be all right."

But Subaru knew it wouldn't be. Everything was going to be far from "all right".

As he looked down at Yuurei, he recognized the wound as the same one Seishirou gave to Hokuto. Subaru recurred that he wouldn't allow anyone to suffer the same fate as his onee-sama. That was the one promise he had to keep.

He leapt to his door, Yuurei still in arm, blood dripping from the sky as rain as he jumped, nearly hitting the apartment railing as he did so.

Subaru opened the door and managed to make it to the couch before carefully placing Yuurei on it. He winced.

"You stay here," Subaru said, wiping Yuurei's hair out of his face as he stumbles to the bathroom to get medical supplies.

* * *

Hiding within the closet within Seishirou's apartment was the poor little boy known as Tokuichi Shouri. He had dodged into the closet the moment he had known that Seishirou was awake. He had watched everything that had occurred... EVERYTHING. The fight, Subaru... all of it. His emerald orbs were reflecting the little light that came through the cracked door.

He was shaking. He felt like his thoughts were being overrun. At least Subaru was safe, but now he was locked in until Seishirou went to bed. It was so strange. Things had changed so much since he had last seen the twins and Seishirou... so much that he almost wondered what had caused them to cross paths again. Everything had a reason or a logical answer or explanation... so what was it?

Perched upon his shoulder was the small bird of water. It was shaking in response to Shouri's fear, but it held together quite well. It shook more, still not making a sound or a chirp.

Shouri looked at the ground slowly, finally breathing again after it was over. His eyes were wide, very wide. How had he gotten into this? He hugged himself silently, leaning back. He'd be fine, right?

He felt a presence re-enter his mind, finally. Sasori was back in his head again... he could feel that empty, hollow space filled. His sister was back... and apparently feeling much better.

_'We must get out...' _Sasori said simply in his head.

".. I know." he whispered, still staring at the ground. ".. We can't though.. not yet..."

_'SHH! He'll hear you!' _snapped Sasori, frowning. _'... I need a nap.. I'm very weak..'_

_'Sleep then.'  
_

* * *

In that palace-like room in Shouri's mind, Sasori now stood from her place in the center of the room. Her child's body didn't permit much in her powers really. As she walked towards the large bed, those long, silky white strands trailed behind her until she laid down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep...

* * *

Shouri glanced at the water bird who nipped his ear lightly. _'... Great.. trapped in a closet... with a psycho just outside. Not like he has any reason to hurt me.. he doesn't even know me.. and I bet.. He doesn't remember either.. so.. I'm safe...'  
_  
"We're safe..." he reassured the little water bird, patting it upon the head lightly as he looked back to the ground, carefully beginning to pull the door shut.

* * *

Noroku smiled at the boy. "I'm taking you to the safest place I can think of until you're well enough to move." He skidded to a stop as a ramp lowered and led to the outside world.

Noroku drove up the ramp quickly and pulled out front of the main building, jumping out of the car as he brandished his trusty fan. "Now then we should get to my office before anyone else figures out where you are."

He walked over to Kamui's door and opened it. "Need some help?"

* * *

If he had not believed in the strength of purpose before, he was certainly convinced by Subaru's actions. He almost acted as though he had never been injured at all. Almost. Yuurei could still see him wincing as he straightened his back to limp wearily to the bathroom, but not once did he complain.

So here he was, back in Subaru's apartment. A stark set of rooms, but infinitely neater than Yuurei's temporary living quarters. But it was terribly difficult to concentrate on anything with the pain in his gut. Shutting his eyes tightly shut, he deftly gripped the edges of his trench coat and wrapped it solidly around his middle in an attempt to at least slow the bleeding. He would have told Subaru not to bother and to help himself first, but he found that he had no voice to do so. Thus he was forced to await the young man's return.

Subaru returned with the first aid kit. He had actually bought one at the convenience store not so long ago. Seemed as though the little white box would prove to be a worthy investment, especially tonight.

Subaru set it down on the floor at the base of the couch. "We're going to have to get you out of your clothes." Subaru, realizing the bluntness of his words, quickly blushes. _'That's a nice way to say it, Subaru,' _he lectured himself. _'Now Kantoku-sama's surely going to think you're coming on to him.'  
_  
_'No time for thinking such things, Subaru!' _he lectured himself, although thinking kept his mind off of other things he'd rather not deal with.

Yuurei nodded without much thought. His clothes were indeed sweaty and stained with blood, though not nearly as ensanguined as Subaru's attire. Nevertheless, he pushed himself up into a sitting position and a bit numbly shook off his trench coat, fumbling with untucking the hem of his black tank top from his breeches, and pulling it off over his head. Even more scars from recent battles had been added to those that already lined his powerful, muscular chest, his brawny arms pale but sleek with a thin sheen of sweat. Wincing as his stomach muscles were stretched with his movement, he quickly retracted and moved his hands back to his belt. Only then did he feel his face begin to flame again.

What was happening? He had never been ashamed or embarrassed of his nudity; he rarely ever gave a second thought to what others might think of him. Was it just the thought of whom would be seeing him? But it was true that his pants were ripped and a little bloody. Whether it was from nervousness or loss of blood, his fingers trembled slightly as he unfastened his belt, sliding his breeches down to his knees to reveal his long, virile legs, then eventually letting them fall to the floor as he lay back down on the couch, pressing his hands over his wound as he felt the entry wound in his back covering the cushions in his blood. He closed his eyes languidly. "Gomen nasai...I must be making a mess..."

Subaru had to struggle to peel his eyes away from Yuurei's body. He looked horrible. Subaru forced another smile, "No it's fine. Just promise you'll help me with the cleaning," he said jokingly. "It'll be hard to explain to someone why they need to clean your bloody carpet."

Subaru started wrapping from the front, instructing Yuurei to turn when necessary. He pulled the bandage tight. Really tight. He didn't want to risk Yuurei bleeding any more than he had to. He wasn't going to lose him like he lost Hokuto. Not by Seishirou. There was no way.

If Seishirou even took this away from him, the first "friend" he had in nine years... Subaru wouldn't know what he'd do.

"I hope I'm not hurting you," Subaru said softly, his blood mixing in with Yuurei's on the couch, as he frantically-- yet meticulously bandaged Yuurei's wounds the best he could with only slight veterinarian-assistant training.

For a minute, he almost regretted quitting school nine years ago.

But no use regretting that that's already done.

"I'm not one to complain about a little pain," Yuurei replied, stifling a flinch as he moved to let Subaru wrap the bandages around his well-built abdomen. But even as the bleeding seemed to be slowing, his dizziness did not abate. And while Yuurei was no doctor himself, he could see that Subaru's wounds were far more severe than his own. "You're truly kind," he murmured, lifting his hands with meticulous control to peel away the remains of the younger man's torn, bloody shirt.

At least Subaru had been wearing clothes. The last time Yuurei had seen him, Subaru had been stark naked on the floor of the Togakushi Shrine. "Subaru...," he said, taking a deep breath as he looked up into the young man's eyes. "I know you love him. I know why...your wish is what it is. But...the Seals can't afford for you to die. I don't want you to die..." He let his eyes fall back to Subaru's lithe chest and shoulders, taking up another strip of gauze and carefully leaning forward to wrap it around Subaru's slender body, pulling it snug against his bruised skin. Not as perfectly bound as he would have liked or would have been able to do, had he been completely well, but it would do for now.

Subaru was somewhat alarmed at the fact that his Kantoku-sama knew so much. How had he know what his wish was? And that he really loved Seishirou? There was no way that he could have known. No way.

"I...don't love him," Subaru denied. "I may have used to, but not anymore. I can't ever love a--" Subaru cringed as Yuurei wrapped bandage around a more tender wound. "--a killer like him," Subaru finished. He mentioned nothing of the wish. It really wasn't anything that he wanted to talk about. Was wishing for his death really that selfish of a wish? After all Subaru had been through, it was probably the most justified wish out of any of the angels.

"You should lay back down," Subaru said as soon as Yuurei was done. "You're going to hurt yourself if you keep pushing yourself."

Obeying without an argument, Yuurei again rested himself back on the cushions and relaxed a little as the bandages soaked up his blood. "Arigatou, Subaru-kun," he murmured, then caught himself only a moment too late. He had not meant to say the affectionate "kun" suffix at the end of the young man's name. That was a loving title he reserved only for Kakyou. What was more, it would surely bring back memories of Seishirou.

Yuurei winced again, but this time not so much at the physical pain. As his vision wavered once more on the verge of insensibility, he focused his crimson gaze on Subaru's pale, battered face, hoping that an apology would not be necessary...

Subaru started to stand up and head for the kitchen for a glass of water for Yuurei when he heard it.

"Subaru-kun."

For a minute, he turned around, half-expecting Seishirou to be standing right behind him. But the only thing there was Kantoku- sama, laying peacefully. He sighed in relief.

"It's been a long time since I've been called that by someone other than Seishirou," Subaru said, slowly making his way to the kitchen, using the walls for support. He pulls a cup from the cupboard, and in his clumsily weak state, drops it to the ground, sending it into pieces.

He picks up another one and manages to keep a hold of it long enough to fill it with faucet water and ice and bring it back to the living room.

"Here," Subaru said, handing Yuurei the ice-cold glass.

Yuurei was ready to get up and rush to Subaru's aid at the sound of the glass crashing to the floor, but when the young man appeared back in the doorway moments later, he breathed a short sigh of relief. Gratefully he drank the water, relishing the cold feel of the liquid as it rushed down his parched throat. In only a few large swallows, he emptied it.

"Arigatou gozaimasu," he thanked the man, setting the glass on the floor. And as soon as he did, he felt himself begin to grow dizzy again.

Collapsing back onto his back, he felt the fresh sweat drip down his face as he panted for air. What as happening? The wound in his belly began to sting even more severely, and he lurched his spine upward awkwardly, clenching his teeth in pain. He did not cry out, but fervently he knotted his hands around the cushions until his knuckles turned white.

Subaru panicked. Small animals sometimes seizured in surgery, but nothing like this! He quickly kicked the glass away so Yuurei would avoid injury. It wasn't procedure to hold down the animals when they seizured, but that was the instinctive response Subaru had; instead of holding him down, he grabbed one of Yuurei's white hands and clasped them with his own.

"Kantoku-sama..." Subaru said, for lack of anything better to say.

Yuurei knew in the back of his mind the only way to stop the pain. But still he fought against it, afraid of the consequences of letting himself slip out of consciousness. He felt Subaru's hands come around his own, and slowly that seemed to bring him back to reality, though not quite back to his head. He felt as though he was seeing the world from a distance, as though he were a bird viewing the scene from high above the ceiling. He was slipping away. It was only a matter of time. The more he fought, the more he was likely to injure himself.

One more time he managed to focus his fading vision on Subaru's lovely, bruised face. "Thank you for everything, Subaru," he choked in broken syllables. "I'm sorry...if I've caused you any trouble." With that he closed his eyes...and allows his mind to leave his body and venture deep into the realms of his dreams...and the dreams of his beloved...

"KANTOKU-SAMA!!" Subaru cried out, clenching to his hand for a minute, tears pouring over his eyes. Subaru thought he had lost him. That he was gone, now.

That sadness took only a minute to turn into rage. Subaru grit his teeth as he stood up, relinquishing his grasp on Yuurei's hand. Did Seishirou had to take everything from him?! Did he have to even take away his friend?!

Subaru stood up abruptly.

He was going to kill Seishirou.

Even if it took his life.

* * *

Everyone seemed to be awakening. The hostage Aoki, the human girl. Yet still the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth remained unconscious, which meant Yuuto would have to remain in charge for at least a while longer.

Upon the request for the girl to be taken home, Yuuto reluctantly shook his head. There was no reason for the girl to get hurt, but he certainly could not release her. "She knows of this place now. I'm afraid she'll have to stay here, at least for the time being."

Then, turning to Aoki, he chuckled amiably and patted the man on the shoulder. "I see you're awake now, my friend. Very good. Would you like some tea? Or milk or coffee, perhaps? I'm sure you must be thirsty..."

Aoki looked at Yuuto.

"Well, some coffee would be nice. I'm quite irritable in the mornings other wise." Aoki said with a chuckle.

Aoki looked around the area as best he can.

"This your headquarters I take it? Have to say it's not as nice as mine."

* * *

The pain was dull here. But that was only to be expected. He stood in a world of nothingness for the longest time. This was his own mind; his own world of visions. He rarely dreamed. Mostly he only wandered into the dreams of others, though he was not a dream seer in the least. Rather, he was more like Kanoe, who watched yet had no effect on the dreamer.

Except for one.

The scenery began to shift, and at first he thought the cry of the distant gull was only his imagination playing games with him. But when his vision focused clearly on the new world before him, he saw that it was real. Well, as real as a dream could be.

It was the same as before: the same rocky shore where, just the night before, Yuurei and his beloved had made tender, passionate love. So much had happened in this day. It seemed like forever ago. And Subaru was nowhere to be found. Of course he was not here. This was the dream world.

But Kakyou was there. At first his figure appeared as nothing but a soft silhouette against the baby-blue horizon, but as Yuurei drew nearer, the human form began to register in his mind. However, there was also someone else. Yuurei's heart sank despairingly to his stomach. Hokuto. He loved her dearly, almost like his own sister; he had even watched her die. But in this light, he could not look upon her without feeling the utmost distress tighten like an iron grip around his soul.

When he saw her, he stopped dead in his tracks. He was not sure what he had been doing when he had entered Kakyou's dream anyway. What could he say? That he betrayed his precious beloved for the sake of a world he did not even truly love?

But although this was a dream, his physical condition in reality did carry over to this realm to some extent. And he did not have the strength remaining to veil his entire aura...


	46. Chapter 44: The Choices We Made

**Chapter Forty-Four: The Choices We Made**

**-dream sequence-**

Fuuma awoke in a shadowy library...the library was in tatters, lit only by the holes in the ceiling...This was Knowledge. There were gears in the background, turning every so slightly as they foretold the course of the world...This was destiny. He looked around startled, eyeing the room around him. He didn't belong here...He wanted out. He struggled to his feet, coughing up blood...It was cold? He saw a crow staring at him, shrieking in his direction as the blood split to the floor. The veins bulging in that bird's eye. The pain he felt coursing through his body was like nothing he had ever felt before. This was Death? His eye widened again as he ran panicking down the library. Faster he ran, heavily breathing...Faster yet again...The door...

THE DOOR HAD TO BE HERE...He ran again faster, his lungs pumping battery acid...He couldn't rest or...Suddenly he felt a thread seize him by the neck, pulling taught as he ran, stopping him as he strangled himself. Slowly his head turned...eyes widening with horror as he saw that smile.

The figure was a familiar one...that smile of insanity on that boyish face. He was the master of that insanity that drove him to such terrible things...Kamui. The figure continued to smile as he pulled the string ever so slightly to cut Fuuma's neck...drawing nearer as he laughed. "Ironic how the string that ties us isn't red...They always said it would be red. Wait there it goes." The blood ran down the razor wire attached to Fuuma's neck.

Fuuma was speechless, fear wouldn't allow him to speak. That pain was so strong now...so potent...so real. He coughed up more blood as he sank to his knees, moving toward where he ran...and reaching a dead-end. This couldn't be...This wasn't the ending he wanted. He couldn't accept this ending!! He didn't want to hurt Kamui and Kotori...He had no choice in the matter. The Dragon of Earth grew nearer...very close to Fuuma now.

"This string binds us Fuuma...you choose to cut the other string...But the result would be the same only Kamui would've had to grant those wishes...He would've been your enemy still...That is why." The Dragon of Earth leaned over Fuuma, licking the wound on the man's neck suggestively. "We are one...That is why you must hurt the ones you love." The figure reached into Fuuma's jacket, touching him with that cold touch.

Fuuma shuddered under the slimy touch of the figure in front of him. The pain was unbearable...the pain of that touch of malice...and yet he understood that pain. It wasn't his choice whether this ending was like this or not, whether he would live that happy little picture again...

This is Fate...

The scene grew silent before the Dragon of Earth laughed in a manner that drove even the most well balanced person to delusion.

**-end dream sequence-  
**

* * *

Kakyou could do nothing but look up at Hokuto his golden eyes wide with surprise as she jumped away from him as if stung.

"He's already hurt. And you... I hurt you." Her voice trembled and her eyes showed too many emotions for him to name. As she sank down in front of him again he reached out with a shaky hand and placed it lightly on her knee. He opened his mouth as if to speak, words of comfort ready to come bubbling from his lips..

But just as he begins, something immediately stops him. Someone else was here...the aura was unmistakable. Yuurei... Another pang at his chest, as his hand darted off Hokuto's knee and his eyes turned to stare at the man...

It was then he realized he was now in the same dreamscape with the two people he cherished most in the world... and for some reason, he wasn't happy as he should be..

"Yuurei..." he whispers, his voice horse from shed tears..

* * *

The very words that she heard next nearly caused Uo to lose her grip on the table's edge and fall. This could not be happening. She needed to get home. She needed to let the others know she was okay... she needed to.. well, for one, record every last thing in a detailed report and store it in her computer in her lab. All of that seemed so far away, though.

She slumped a little, managing just barely to hold herself up again. She stared at the ground.

_'... Gomen Yuzuriha-chan... Kotori-chan..' _she thought to herself as she forced back a sea of tears. She'd be strong... though the pain she felt made that quite hard.

Okita placed a hand on the girl. "Yuuto-san...please I'll take responsibility for her...I also need to kind of return to the real world." He eyed the girl with a sigh...He had done this to her and he deeply regretted it all.

She looked up at him and paused. Why did she suddenly feel so bad? She tilted her head at him and paused.

She placed her right hand over his. Why, she didn't know. She would be fine if she stayed... it was more of a 'go' gesture, but she was too tired to really give much more comfort than that... though, why she had in the first place, she was still unsure.

Okita eyed her with sorrowful eyes., shaking his head slowly. She was his responsibility now...he had done this.

Confusion. How she hated it. Why did he even worry about her anyways? It wasn't like it was is fault. She sighed lightly, still holding herself up.

".. What I said.. before.." she managed to say something, throat quite sore, but she forced it. ".. gomen.."

"Don't worry about it." Okita smiled weakly.

Uo sighed and closed her eyes. Not much else she could do. She could have cried, but for her that was not an option.

Okita touched her shoulder, comfortingly. He sighed and waited for Yuuto's reply.

* * *

Hokuto felt his feather light touch on her knee and she started slightly. She had died. Died for Subaru. Died to save him. Then why had Kakyou been all she longed for in the final moments before darkness took her?

Why had he been all she could think of?

She didn't want to leave him behind then. But she was still doing this to save another loved one. And it had been too late to go back. She didn't want to either.

She reached out for his hand, but it was quickly removed and Hokuto looked up, finding his face turned from her. She looked in the direction of his gaze and her heart stopped.

"Yuurei.." Kakyou whispered and Hokuto sobbed, hearing all the love in his voice. It wasn't for her.

* * *

Yuzuriha scoured Tokyo with nothing. She knew it in her heart that there was no way she'd be able to find Uo, especially if the Dragons of Earth had her. She and Inuki stopped on a nearby bridge. The bleeding was getting worse, and Yuzuriha knew that. But even so, there was no telling what they'd do to Uo if she didn't find her.

As her fingers ran threw Inuki's thinning coat, it hit Yuzuriha-- as if an epiphany.

There was no way to ascertain ate that all the Dragons of Earth and allies were accounted for. But certainly, if a kekkai were put up, then the Dragons of Earth would come, thinking there was some Related-related trouble. At least, maybe.

And if one of them came, just to make sure things were all right... Yuzuriha wasn't sure what she'd do.

But she'd wing it.

Throwing her hand into the air, she released her kekkai, which circled a good portion of Shibuya.

* * *

Subaru stood above Yuurei, gazing down at the young man's motionless body even yet. While he longed so deeply to kill Seishirou, the need to be killed by him and to be thought as worthy of being killed was even more. Why had this handsome man died by the hand of Seishirou, yet after over fifteen years of being "hunted", he had not?

Why did he torture him like this?

Subaru knew he needed time to recover. He also knew that there was no use in returning to Seishirou's apartment, especially since the Sakurazukamori killer wouldn't grant him his wish.

Instead, he kneeled down by Yuurei, inhaling deeply--and exhaling even deeper--and held his still-warm hand.

* * *

As Okita made his request, Yuuto shook his head again. "You can't keep track of her every moment for the rest of her life...or yours. I don't want to frighten or worry you by keeping her here, but in a real sense, this has to be considered a hostage situation. I'm sorry, Okita. Until Kamui-sama awakens and gives his own orders, I am not inclined to take such risks. Her words and promises are no good to me." He gave her a passing glance, still smiling amiably, though just beneath the cheerfulness of his eyes, there was something far darker. "After all...she is still only human. And humans cannot be trusted."

But suddenly he felt it. A kekkai. He knew the others would feel it as well. It was in their blood--their Destinies. Sternly averting his eyes to Kusanagi, his expression suddenly turned to one akin to a sergeant general dispatching his troops. "Kusanagi-san, I want you and Okita to go down and investigate what's happening. Satsuki, Kanoe, and the clone are still missing."

Before Okita could protest, Yuuto turned back to him with a softer smile. "Don't worry. I don't plan to hurt the girl. She'll be safe here; you have my word. I have no reason to hurt her, only to keep her from being a threat to us. This way I'll be able to watch over the Seal and Kamui-sama as well."

* * *

Not wanting to be treated like a child, Kamui ignored Noroku's kind gesture and stepped out of the car on his own strength.

For a moment, his legs seemed that they were going to give way, but Kamui held his ground the best he could. Tossing the blanket on the seat of the car, he slammed the door shut and casually placed his hands in his pockets.

"Well...lead the way..." Kamui spoke.

Noroku eyed him with a amazed stare. He had healed after all that...truly amazing this boy was. Noroku smiled and nodded toward the building. "This way please..."

Noroku stepped forward, holding the door for Kamui...Courtesy was his forte after all. After a exquisite looking staircase, the two arrived in front of Noroku's office. "Here we are." Noroku opened the door, unaware of his current visitor.

* * *

Even from where he stood, he heard Kakyou utter his name, saw the man's lips move to form the two syllables. But just before their eyes had met, Kakyou's hand had rested softly on Hokuto's knee. He had yanked it away abruptly when he had seen Yuurei. He looked...frantic. Nervous. It was because of Yuurei's sudden appearance.

So perhaps Yuurei's decision had been the right one after all. If he had chosen the Dragons of Earth, or had refused to choose at all, he would have sacrificed much just for Kakyou...this frail dream seer who might not even want him. After all they had been through together, after knowing one another for so long, had it all been for nothing? Had Yuurei willed himself to believe in a lie with all of his mind and soul?

But it was undeniable. Kakyou had already been tearful, but he had not appeared utterly uncomfortable until Yuurei had made his presence known. And the knowledge that he was the cause of the lovely dream seer's pain hurt more than any physical blow Yuurei had ever been dealt.

For moments at a time he only stood there staring in dumbfounded silence. But after an indeterminable time had passed, he finally was about to shake himself out of his sudden trance-like state. He should have never come. He knew now, and he needed to know. But he did not want this burden on his mind. He did not belong here. Not now. Not ever again.

So abruptly he cast his gaze away from those beautiful golden eyes. Whirling about on his heels, he faced the darkness once more and began to walk away...

* * *

Hikari turned to the door when she heard it starting to open. Panicking a bit, she started to look around for a way out.

"Not good... not good..." she said softly.

* * *

He had no sense of how long he had been on the move since leaving his former captor, but some inner sense told him he was quite some distance from the other Dragons of Earth. Perhaps a distance from the Dragons of Heaven, as well. They were harder to track with his inner sense. Nataku paused atop a telephone pole, the wind carrying his fabric about his body in a swirling mass.

Which direction was it? He had to find Kamui- no. That man had called him 'Fuuma.' Names aside, Nataku felt an urgency to locate the dragon. A sharp stinging sensation ran through his mind, and he glanced around.  
Had he been attacked? There was no one nearby, and the sensation was something other than one of pain. Realization, perhaps?

His eyes fell on a greenish cylinder within a few buildings' distance. The sign of a Dragon of Heaven. And, perhaps, the Dragon of Earth he sought. Nataku leapt from the telephone pole, his feet barely  
touching the nearest rooftop in his haste. Within a few more leaps, he was close enough to make out the shape of a figure inside the cylinder. It was too small to be certain who he was looking at.

His feet left the rooftop, and Yuzuriha's kekkai tugged on his body as he passed through it. He landed on the ground with only the slightest of sounds. The girl was familiar. Ahh, yes. The one who had sought to attack Fuuma earlier. She seemed in a sorry state; he took a step towards her, uncertain if she was aware of his presence yet.

* * *

The look in Yuurei's eyes as gold locked with crimson was all Kakyou needed to understand that the Watcher had seen his hand resting on Hokuto's knee...

As he continued to gaze at the man, Kakyou found that for the first time he could no longer read what Yuurei was thinking.. and that was what scared him most, what made him uncomfortable...

He didn't care that Hokuto was kneeling next to him, as much in pain as he.. all he cared about was the fact that Yuurei had sealed him off. Like he had done... It seemed to Kakyou that Yuurei was regretting what had happened earlier. He didn't even know how long ago it was, but he still remember...remember everything... and his body tingled with those memories...

Their eyes were locked for only a few moments and then as quickly as he had come Yuurei turned on his heels and starting walking back. A single look was all he had given, no words, no explanation..

Without a word to Hokuto, Kakyou scrambled up off his knees and broke into a run. "Yuurei wait!" he cried hoarsely.

By some miracle he managed to catch up to him and with both arms, grabbed Yuurei around the waist from behind. His breath was ragged and harsh, his vision once again blurring with tears he tried to blink back. He leaned into Yuurei's back, his arms locked around the man's waist, not caring if he was dragged along by his brisk walk. "Please don't go." he whispered, his voice muffled against the man's shirt.

* * *

Kusanagi sensed it as well. The energy from the Kekkai was unmistakable.

"Wonder what that's all about.." said Kusanagi scratching his head. But before he could say anymore, Yuuto ordered him and the young man to investigate the incident.

"Recon mission, eh?" he joked. "Well, I'm up for it. I just hope we don't run into any trouble along the way."

Placing a hand on Okita's shoulder, he tugged at him lightly towards the exit. "C'mon kid. You may not agree with it right now, but its probably best for the girl. And don't worry. I don't think he'll do anything wrong to her. I trust him..."

* * *

Kamui wasn't quite sure why he was here. According to Noroku, it was for his own protection. But he didn't quite feel this was necessary.

His wounds were healing quite nicely and Kamui could feel his energy returning to him once again. He would rather much go out and try to discover the whereabouts of Kotori. She was pretty much the only thing on his mind at the moment.

_"(I hope she's alright...)"_

Following him up the staircase, Kamui could feel the presence of someone waiting for them in the office. The ki was unfamiliar, but very powerful. He hesitated for a moment, standing in front of the office door, unsure of what might be waiting inside.

"Are you expecting anyone?" he asked. "Doesn't seem like you get to many visitors at a place like this..."

* * *

Uo's eyes had followed each one as they spoke. Yuuto's words came as a disappointment to her. Then again, she hadn't expected to get off Scott-free. Had she been in his position, she would have, of course, done the same... however, it was that look, and certain bits and pieces of what the blonde said that worried her.

He had kind eyes, but at the same time those eyes were like a deception. Why did she suddenly have such a bad feeling about being left with this stranger?

_'A kekkai?' _she thought to herself, mind backtracking. She hadn't seen anything weird... besides the fact that everyone had simply vanished for a few minutes. Perhaps it had something to do with that. Her mind jumped to the next question: _'Seal?'_

Her eyes slowly darted around. Hadn't the blonde said "Kamui", as well? What was that supposed to mean? That was impossible! Kamui wasn't there... of course... Yuuto had mentioned a game. In a game, there were sides. Perhaps... no. Certainly not. Her head began to spin. Had she not heard something about Fuuma... and...? Wasn't... ?

Uo frowned. She had heard Aoki speak already, so after her thoughts pieced together, she deduced that the person must have been the 'Seal'. Kamui wasn't there... but she did remember who had been with the group. Yuuto had been carrying something, right? .. Something...

She slowly turned her head, forcing herself not to wince. She spotted Aoki easily.. but as her eyes landed on what was on the other table beside her... she froze stiff. Ice ran through her veins. No. No no no no no no NO! It couldn't be... it had to be a mistake.

Whether it was the fear or the anger, she wasn't sure... but she didn't move. It was Fuuma. "Kamui" was Fuuma? She was speechless. She still didn't quite understand... but.. how could she!? A person, the brother of a dear childhood friend who had raped that dear friend of hers and caused so much grief, was right there. Her first, and foremost instinct was to attack. How could she though? The instant she let her shoulders relax, she felt the pang of the glass that tore deeper into her shoulder.

A small grunt could be heard. She looked up again. She wished that the boy was still there... but she could do nothing to stop Kusanagi from taking him. She couldn't even hold her own anymore, really... or think clearly. She forced back an oncoming whimper and held herself straight, not looking back at the creature whom she so despised. Should she look at him for too long, who knew what she might try to do... but she would only fall on the floor and cause herself more pain. Vengeance would be hers in due time... but... at the moment...

Uo hung her head, silver bangs falling over her eyes. That was the one thing different about her. The rest of her hair was a rich brown, but the bangs were silver. As she stared at the floor, she frowned. _'... Kotori-chan, I'm scared... where are you? I hope you're safe... And Yuzuriha-chan, too.'  
_  
She tightened a fist. Hiding emotions had become an instinct to her in the past few years since she had out-casted herself from most other people. Showing any, to her, was a weakness in many ways. She was content with the fact that she could always protect her friends and keep smiles on their faces... but she had never thought of the consequences of relying so much on herself. She had forgotten that everyone needs support from some source, people, most of all... And the emptiness had grown into a black hole that was gradually consuming her. Still, she didn't realize it. She simply fought to keep herself from trying to follow after Kusanagi and the boy, trying to keep herself from even looking at "Kamui", and trying NOT to look directly at Yuuto. After all... the only thing she wanted to see was that boy, her friends or family, or her homework that was waiting ever-so patiently on her desk at home for her.

* * *

Not noticing Nataku in the distance, she sat beside Inuki, running her fingers through his fur. "Inuki...I have no idea what I'm even going to do," she said, placing her face nose-to-nose with her spirit-dog's. Inuki's eyes smiled, confident in his master.

"I know I can do it, though, Inuki!" she said, patting her dog. "I have to, because Uo-chan's life depends on it." A bit exaggerated, perhaps.

Yuzuriha wrapped her arm around her body to slow the bleeding, just a bit. "I hope they get here soon..."

* * *

Hokuto watched in silence as Kakyou ran after the man, wrapping his arms around him and pleading with him not to go. Kakyou loved Yuurei.

She knew it. She could see it in his posture, she could hear it in his voice and she could practically feel his longing for the man.

And oddly enough, even though she loved the yume-mi too, she was happy. Happy that he had someone alive to love and hold, because she knew the only reason she was here was because of Subaru's dream. He had dreamt of better days, when she was still alive and they only thought Seishirou was the veterinarian he posed as.

And she knew she would fade. Because she had walked in Kakyou's dreams ever since she had died, an invisible creature, watching over him. Not constantly, but she had been there.

Looking down at her hand, she could see their mixed tears soaking the sand. She could see it through her pale hand.

Hokuto smiled, tears still rolling down her cheeks. It wasn't in her place to make Kakyou happy. That was Yuurei's task now.

* * *

A cold chill began to blow as a hand reached out from the darkness and gently set itself on Hokuto's shoulder. The figure stood silent for a moment, surveying the scene before he smiled gently at the girl. "It is a lover's quarrel that you were never a part of...You must not cry."

Fuuma's icy glance stared down at her, still managing to keep that gentle smile genuine. "Just as the world is about to revolt for it's own happiness, people must seek out their last moments of it before it's too late...This is Destiny, do you understand?"

Fuuma gave a evil smile to Kakyou. _You can only run so far before I find you Dream seer. Enjoy your time together but remember who possesses you.  
_  
Fuuma turned back to smile brightly at the girl again. "Come, lets take a leisurely walk. I have Ice Cream!..." He paused and looked at the ground comically, "But only for those who stop crying over things they can't control. And You're one of those people right?" He made a cat like grin...It was amazing, even in the dream world, Fuuma had managed to find someway to bring something to satiate his sweet tooth.

* * *

He heard the dream seer's words, felt his arms come around his virile waist. It was a risky movement, as Yuurei could have easily dragged his fragile body across the rocky dreamscape. But Yuurei would never hurt Kakyou. Not purposefully--or physically--anyway.

He stopped, but did not turn around. His eyes continued to stare out into the nothingness that was the dream's darkening sky. He could feel Kakyou's panting breaths against his back, heating the dull ache of the wound he had been dealt in the real world. But as much as he wanted to reach up and grasp Kakyou's hands and keep them around him for the rest of eternity, he did not allow himself to flinch.

Instead, patiently he waited for his voice to calm and strengthen. Then, at last, he spoke in a low, husky voice, barely audible enough for the dream seer to hear. "Go back to her. You have nothing with me."

It hurt, these terrible words. But this was what he would have had to say at some point, right? Languidly he lifted his hand and nodded to the index finger where the silver band had once resided. "I have broken the seal of Fate. I am now the guardian of the Seven Seals and the Dragon of Heaven. And as such, that makes you my enemy." His voice began to quiver, and he paused long enough to collect himself again. "You'd best get away from me, Kuzuki, before I decide to kill you."

And already it was happening--that instinctive psychological transformation that occurred whenever something became emotionally threatening to him. He blocked it off, forcing apathy to choke his sorrow and pain and remorse. His heart rate slowed again to normal, and his eyes became placid. And now that he had done the unthinkable, there was no way Kakyou could forgive him. Yuurei would never ask it, anyway. Instead, he could only force himself not to care about what happened anymore.

As for actually killing Kakyou...no. He would never. Even if Kakyou had cheated on him and tried to kill him, he would have never threatened the dream seer's life. But he would do anything short of that to get his point across.

"Go back to your ghost." And from the very depths of his soul, hidden behind the facade of indifference, he wanted desperately for that ghost to be himself. Tamashii Yuurei. The soul of a ghost.

* * *

Aoki smiled a bit.

"Oh, I'm sure you can go and all. I can take care of myself. Go on. I won't escape." he said to Yuuto.

* * *

Noroku blinked and eyed the door with narrowing eyes. "I'm not expecting no one but from what you're implying...I should be."

He reached into his jacket and removed a nicely polished pistol, pointing it forward as he tossed open the door and investigated who was waiting for him. He lowered the pistol when he saw the woman before laughing nervously.

"Damn you picked quite a time to pay me a visit...What can I do for you?"

Hikari blushed a bit.

"Um... well... actually... could you help me out some? I'm looking for a guy. My cousin to be exact. Shiyuu Kusanagi is his name." she said, smiling at Noroku.

It was a little surprising to find a woman waiting inside the office, but Kamui kept up his guard still. She was still emitting an incredible power, but it didn't seem like she was hostile towards them. Not at the moment at least...

The name that she mentioned didn't sound very familiar to Kamui, in fact, he could care less right now.

Walking inside, he leaned back and rested against the wall and folded his arms. "Is this going to take long?" Kamui spoke impatiently. "I rather not spend all my time in this place."

Noroku put the gun away and gestured for Kamui to enter the room. "Sure thing...but let me get this guy squared away first." Noroku went to his desk and sat in the very comfy looking leather executive chair. He gestured to a seat on the other side of the desk and another on the opposite side for Kamui.

"Kamui...I realize you might want to get out of her but I also have my own reason for bringing you here...There is someone looking for you, a individual who seemed trustworthy but I would use caution. She asked me to give you this photograph and to arrange a meeting with you." Noroku removed a photograph from his desk and slid it to Kamui...The photograph was of two women, both having a striking resemblance to someone dear in Kamui's life...His mother. The photo seemed dated and old.

"Do you understand now why I brought you here?"

Hikari smiled and waited.

"Thank you so much Mr. Noroku. I knew that you would help me out." She said.

Kamui could only gaze down at the picture than Noroku handed him. "Mother..."he whispered. "Why do you have this? And who is this other woman?" he asked.

* * *

"C'mon kid! Try to keep up with me!" he cried out to Okita as he leapt from roof to roof.

The kekkai was easy to spot from the distance and it didn't take long for the two to reach the place. Landing down just barely inches from the field he looked over and Okita.

"Get ready. Usually when one of these things go up, something bad is happened inside. You want to be prepared."

Cracking his knuckles he nodded towards Okita and stepping inside the barrier.

Inuki's ear flinched as he sensed new presences within the kekkai. He turned to Yuzuriha, who nodded and stood up. She didn't know where they were, but she'd be ready for them, if they tried to attack.

Okita blinked and walked into the Barrier. "I guess I'm in this like it or not."

There didn't seem like a lot was going on as he entered, but Kusanagi still kept his guard up. Glancing around he stopped and scratched his head a bit puzzled. "Doesn't seem like anyone here," he told Okita.

"Yeah I know...Can these things appear on their own?" Okita stood silently. "Hey you mind making a few stops with me after all this...I should grab my bike and a new set of clothes."

Yuzuriha scoured the area. Inuki was never wrong-- he knew someone was here. But Yuzuriha couldn't see the movement of the two men walking together, or the person who lingered in the shadows.

"I don't think so..." said Kusanagi. "Yeah, sure thing kid. But I think its best if we get things straightened out here." Continuing to scout the area, Kusanagi cupped his hands around his mouth and cried out, "HELLO??? ANYONE HERE????"

Okita cringed at the sudden yelling. "Hey now...I kind of need to hear to use my power...plus I think we need the element of surprise."

Inuki leapt after the source of the voice, Yuzuriha clumsily making her way behind him. "KUSANAGI-SAN?!" Yuzuriha shouted from atop a nearby building, seeing the familiar face down below her.

Kusanagi and Okita, Yuzuriha couldn't have asked for anyone better to respond to the kekkai. But even so, Yuzuriha's heart tinged as she remembered Kusanagi's words at the last battle.

Nataku glanced up, his attention diverted. It appeared someone else had entered the kekkai, although the voice was not quite familiar. He was content to remain hidden and watch for the time being. He moved closer to listen.

"Relax," he assured Okita. If anyone was out to harm us they would have done it..." But Kusanagi words were cut off suddenly by a familiar voice. Looking up towards the distance, he spotted a familiar face. "YUZURIHA!!" he called out. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE!? IS THIS THING YOUR DOING!?"

"Yuzu-chan?" Okita called out after Kusanagi. Great that would mean he would have to harm her...just great.

Yuzuriha normally, would have leapt straight down to the ground, but in this condition, she wasn't going to risk it. She hopped towards a smaller building, then a smaller one, and then finally to the ground. "Konnichi'wa," she smiled.

"Hey there beautiful." Okita smiled and waved. "You ok?"

"Annooo," Yuzuriha started, "You haven't happened to have seen my friend, have you?"

"Friend?" Kusanagi questioned. He glanced at Okita, unsure of what to say really. Even though she was supposed to be the enemy, it didn't seem right to not tell her.

"You mean the girl?"

"Hai!" Yuzuriha sent another smile in Kusanagi and Okita's direction. She was happy to see the both of them, especially when she was so concerned about them during the battle. But at the same time, she felt hurt, and a bit betrayed. Why did they have to be Dragons of the Earth? It didn't make sense! Both of them were her friends! Why did they have to be on opposing sides? Yuzuriha didn't want to have to fight them! It just wasn't FAIR!

"We...we did find a young girl. She seemed about your age. Is that who your looking for?" Kusanagi asked.

Yuzuriha nods. "Her name is Uo-chan. She really shouldn't be involved in all of this, really. I just want her back, safe and sound. If you need to erase her memory, or something like that..." Yuzuriha droned on, "...I really don't mind, just as long as she's OK."

Okita stood, eyeing Yuzuriha. He didn't fit into all this and wished that there was someway to avoid choosing a side...He also felt kind of forced into this...

Yuzuriha allowed her eyes to wander to Kusanagi. The first man that was able to see Inuki. She couldn't help but feel her heart flutter as she looked at him, but unlike before the last battle, she tried to suppress it. She couldn't feel anything for them. They were the enemy. But why was it so hard?

"She's fine," Kusanagi assured her with a gentle smile. "There's nothing to worry about. You'll...you'll have her back soon enough..."

"Alive, right?" Yuzuriha certainly was being skeptical tonight.

Okita lurked in the back. He couldn't see that Yuzuriha had cared for him...Oh well that just made the choice easier.

"Of course. We wouldn't imagine harming an innocent person. Especially one who has nothing to do with this stupid war." That was Kusanagi's intention at least. He couldn't really speak for the other Dragons of Earth. But he kept his hope up that Yuuto would keep his word and not harm the girl.

Yuzuriha nodded, her eyes turning to Okita lurking behind Kusanagi. "Okita-kun, is something wrong?" she asked, cocking her head to the side for a closer look. She felt a little bit better knowing that the Dragons of Earth had no intention in harming her friend. But even so, she felt inclined to ask, "When are you going to let her go?"

Okita looked up and smiled. "You just haven't said anything to me...I kind of feel left out." He laughed nervously and eyed the barrier. What were these things for?

"That's...that's hard to say," Kusanagi said unsure himself. "Its not really our choice..."

"It sends all the people not involved with the End of the World to another dimension, just like this one. Unless the kekkai is destroyed, anything that is broken or affected here will not be affected in the other, 'true' dimension," Yuzuriha answered Okita, trying her best to explain. "Anno..." Yuzuriha looked at Kusanagi pleadingly. It sounded like she was almost going to request something.

"Interesting." Okita smiled and looked back to Yuzuriha. "don't worry about you're friend...I'll take care of her."

"Yeah, don't worry. We'll make she gets back to you safe and sound." Kusanagi assured. "Now, how about you put this thing away and we all go out for ice cream or something."

Okita sighed. "Kusanagi...I really need to do that stuff I talked about before someone recognizes me."

"I won't," Yuzuriha said, firmly. "Not until I **KNOW** Uo-chan's OK. Even if that means that we have to sit here all night waiting for your friends to come with her." Yuzuriha's visibly worried, and a bit paranoid, at that. While she trusts these two particular allies of the Dragons of Earth, she's yet to meet any other ones she's liked. There's no telling what they might do to Uo-chan.

A drop of sweat fell down the side of Kusanagi's head. He didn't expect this outcome. "Ano…Yuzuriha..."

"Umm Yuzu-chan, you realize if we aren't their to watch her..."

Nataku moved closer still, golden eyes glancing from one figure to the next. The larger man he recognized. Hadn't he carried the wounded Fuuma away from the last battle? A stone skidded away from his foot and he stopped in mid-step.

Okita stopped as her heard a sound.

Yuzuriha turned her gaze to Okita, waiting for his response as Inuki flinches. He heard it, too. "I heard something..."

Yuzuriha turned to Inuki, brushing his fur with her hand. "Inuki heard it, too. Did you bring someone with you?"

Okita shook his head. "But I'm thinking they saw your signal."

He cursed himself for his lack of caution, although the idea of learning of Fuuma's location had caused him to forget to tread lightly. Yet, there was no longer a reason to hide from the threesome. Sooner or later, they would have discovered his presence. He continued forward, fabric floating about his body in billowing waves.

Okita eyed the familiar figure with wide eyes. He was still getting used to all this...it was all so weird...weirder than the world of J-rock.

Yuzuriha blinked in surprise. "One of your friends?" she asked, turning to Okita and Kusanagi. She certainly had no idea who he was.

Okita smiled nervously. "Not sure exactly heh..."

Standing in front of Yuzuriha for protection, he glanced around to wear the noise might have came from. "Who the hell would have followed us here?" he asked. "Unless...they were already here when you put the shield up..."

* * *

Thankfully Yuurei stopped only a few seconds after Kakyou latched around his waist. Perhaps he was reconsidering, rethinking, but when the words started to come from those soft lips, Kakyou knew it was nothing like that at all..

"Go back to her. You have nothing with me." Languidly he lifted his hand and nodded to the index finger where the silver band had once resided. "I have broken the seal of Fate. I am now the guardian of the Seven Seals and the Dragon of Heaven. And as such, that makes you my enemy." His voice began to quiver, and he paused long enough to collect himself again. "You'd best get away from me, Kuzuki, before I decide to kill you."

The voice was so soft that Kakyou strained forward to hear, and with each word he recoiled back, not wanting to hear it after all. The quiver that existed for a mere moment helped him to at least understand that Yuurei was going through some kind of pain, but the Watcher seemed not to care. And when did Yuurei suddenly think that Kakyou cared what side he was on..? Kakyou knew this would happen. He had seen it...and yet there was nothing he could do to stop it...as always... A single tear trickled down his cheek but he refused to let any more fall. _'Go back to your ghost.'_ he had said. And suddenly the irony struck him, but it was too late.

Giving a tiny sigh, Kakyou loosened his arms from around Yuurei's waist and said in an equally hushed voice, "I'm already with my ghost, but he seems to not know that anymore.." He took a small step back and waited for Yuurei to start walking away as the dream seer already knew he would do.

It was then that it hit him, another presence had just entered the dreamscape and without even turning around he knew immediately who it was. Not that he could have turned around in the first place anyway.. The force on him was so strong that he suddenly staggered forward, his balance lost.

And of course he collided with the one person that he was quite sure didn't really want to see him anymore.. Yuurei... Cheeks flaming he stumbled back and stuttered, "Go-..gomen..."

His eyes widened only slightly in a relapse of remorse as Kakyou's arms slipped away from his waist. That tender touch...that warm embrace. Yuurei wanted it back. But it was only an instant. The next moment, his eyes narrowed again, and his breathing composed itself into an indifferent stare. With not so much as another word or glance over his shoulder, he started once again to walk away.

And that was when he felt it. The presence bit into the back of his mind like a knife through the temple. That essence. It needed no definition or explanation. he already knew.

And just as he turned back around, Kakyou staggered back into his arms, his frail little body trembling in fear. Yuurei's mouth suddenly went dry as he grasped the dream seer's slender shoulders, holding him up as the younger man blushed and hastily apologized in humble humiliation.

He lifted his gaze to where Hokuto had been standing. There, behind her, was Fuuma himself. Yuurei's crimson eyes narrowed in distaste, and instinctively he began to pull Kakyou closer protectively, but caught himself just in time. Gently but sternly he urged the lovely dream seer behind him, standing in front of him defensively.

"It's all right," he stated plainly. His voice was forcibly unaffectionate, though his soul harbored the deepest will to proclaim his every intention. "I won't let him hurt you. Just stay behind me."

He did not call out to Fuuma, nor did he glance behind him to see Kakyou's reaction. The only reason he was still here was to carry out the promise he had made to himself and to Kakyou so many years ago: to always protect the frail dream seer, even if it meant his life. Even if Kakyou did not love him. None of that mattered. Yuurei would not abandon him.

The arrival of Fuuma seemed to change Yuurei's attitude to one of protection to a certain degree. He was suddenly pushed behind the larger man, a wall placed between him and the Kamui...the man whom he had promised his service to, in exchange for something that would forever remain his wish even though so much had happened since then..

Forcing himself to stand up straighter, he winced a bit as his chest started to twinge again. Golden eyes stared across the dreamscape and locked on to Fuuma and Hokuto. As he continued to stare he suddenly remembered Fuuma's own promise about Kakyou's wish.. What if Fuuma was here to talk to him? Would Yuurei be in his way? And if he was would Fuuma try to kill him? A thousand questions like these floated about in his head and they always came to the same conclusion. He did not want Yuurei killed. Even if the Watcher didn't love him...

Stepping forward, he placed a tentative hand on Yuurei's shoulder. "I swear to you he will not hurt me... so please just go...like you wanted to.."

Removing his hand quickly, he bowed his head, letting his blond hair obscure his eyes, hoping that Yuurei wouldn't see the tears trailing softly down his cheeks...

* * *

Yuzuriha winced. She didn't know if these two were being genuine, or not. While they were her friends, their destiny as Dragons of Earth came before something as "petty" as friendship. After all, with intent to destroy them all eventually, what did friendship mean? There would be no use in making an effort for something that could not live when they reached their final goal.

"Can you see him anywhere?" Kusanagi asked Okita. "Seems like he could be anywhere..."

"I thought I saw him.."

"Yuzuriha, if you put the shield down now, maybe we can all make a break for it. I'd hate to get you involved in a fight right now..."

"No need," a quiet voice replied as the white-haired clone appeared practically beside the three. "I came here looking... for someone as well."

Yuzuriha blinked in surprise, hopping back. "Looking for...who?"

"Someone..." Nataku looked to Kusanagi and Okita, recalling their hasty exit with Fuuma earlier. "You should know him - the Dragon of the Earth?" His voice remained flat with only the slightest hint of curiosity seeping through.

Okita blinked and scratched his head. "He's looking for that guy?"

Still keeping Yuzuriha in back of him, Kusanagi eyed the stranger. He didn't recognize him at all, but he gave off an incredible power. "Dragon of Earth? Which one?" he asked.

There's more than one?!" Okita eyes widened. Yuzuriha took her place in the back, curiously observing the pale silver-haired figure before them. Who was this man?

"The.." Nataku seemed to falter for a moment. "He called himself Kamui." He took another step towards Kusanagi. "You would undoubtedly know of his location."

"That boy?" asked Kusanagi. "What do you want with him?"

"He..." The images flashed through Nataku's mind once more - the sad face, laughter, that name. Always that name. "He is the Dragon of the Earth." Anything more Nataku seemed less inclined to say.

Okita stood near Yuzuriha. This situation puzzled him. "Ummm I don't know what we should do Kusanagi-san."

"There's not much we can do," he told Okita. "Unless Yuzuriha puts down the barrier, we're stuck here."

"I'm not going to put it down," Yuzuriha ascertained. "Not until I'm positive that Uo-chan is safe."

"Then give her the girl," Nataku said evenly, apathetic to the situation. "It wouldn't matter either way, would it..."

"Well you see, that's sort of the problem," Kusanagi with an uneasy laugh. "Unless we get the girl, Yuzu wont put down the barrier. But with the barrier up, we cant go out to get her."

"Then let me come with you," Yuzuriha said firmly.

"She would pose no threat, not to three of us," Nataku replied, uncertain why he was arguing for the girl. "She could easily be rendered unconscious, blindfolded... with at least two dragons to guard her."

"That's besides the point." Kusanagi said. "She would be heading right into enemy territory. And...I cant endanger her like that..."

"I trust you," Yuzuriha said, not sure if her words were true at all, especially after the last battle. "Yuzuriha..." Kusanagi whispered. "If things get really bad, I can put my kekkai up. The Dragons of Heaven will see it, too, and come to my aid," Yuzuriha said in a confident facade.

Okita sighed and shrugged. "I really don't think we should...Yuuto won't listen to us."

Yuzuriha gave Kusanagi and Okita the puppy-dog eyes, "But you two and Inuki'll protect me, nee?? Nee?"

"With my life..." he said patting her on the head. "But it will also compromise our secret base...How about this."

"You let one of us go and they go try to reason with Yuuto."

"That does seem reasonable." he said to Yuzuriha. "That way we don't have to put you in danger."

Yuzuriha considered this before nodding, "Hai...but, which one of you will go?" She looks from Kusanagi to Okita to the strange pale man. Okita sighed and shrugged. "Umm Kusanagi you go...you can reason with him better than I can."

Yuzuriha nodded. "Kusanagi-san, if you could go to the edge of the kekkai..." Her eyes followed Kusanagi's movements. Why did fate pull her apart from her friends? This wasn't fair! It wasn't! But...she could still like them, right? Despite the fact they were Dragons of Earth? Despite that they wanted to destroy humanity? Yuzuriha wasn't so sure, now.

"Alright. I'll bring the girl back." said Kusanagi. "Take care of Yuzu while I'm gone, Okita."

Yuzuriha smiled at Kusanagi's informality. Maybe she could. Maybe fate didn't have to keep her from liking someone. She watched as Kusanagi spoke, following his lips' movement. Or loving someone.

"I will...don't worry," said Okita.

Walking towards the edge liked Yuzuriha requested, he turned back to her. "What now!?" he called out unsure what to do. Yuzuriha raises her hand into the air, and quickly raises the kekkai. "Hurry!"

Rushing through it, Kusanagi bounded off the underground HQ without hesitation. Just as quickly, the kekkai re-appears from Yuzuriha's hand.


	47. Chapter 45: Heart to Heart

**Chapter Forty-Five: Heart-To-Heart**

The light brush on his shoulder suddenly triggered something like rage within him. How dare Kakyou touch him like that...the same way he had settled his hand on Hokuto's knee. What was he? Not the dream seer Yuurei had known, that was certain.

The faint traces of a snarl tugged at the corners of his mouth and upper lip. Perhaps Kakyou desired Fuuma as well. At this point, little would have surprised Yuurei. Curtly jerked from Kakyou's defiled touch and turned his back abruptly.

"All right," he said calmly, though underneath he was seething. Still he tried to force apathy over on himself. "Go back to your master, then." He refrained from adding a derisive name such as "slut" or "whore" to the end of his statement, though the aching in his breast willed him to do so.

Suddenly he cared nothing about the promise he had made. Nothing but empty words. They did not apply now. Kakyou did not want him here, for reasons Yuurei could only imagine all too vividly. And why should he risk his life for such a treacherous little fallen angel? Yuurei hated himself for still loving Kakyou, but he was not about to be dragged down because of the man.

So, taking a deep breath, he walked away. This time he did not stop. Nor did he turn back or glance behind him. His surroundings grew gradually darker, and then he was walking in complete emptiness once again. Back in his own mind. His own dreams...or lack there of.

Alone.

Forever.

He preferred it.

A bit taken aback by his reaction, Kakyou let his hand drop to his side. His face was still covered by his hair, so Yuurei wouldn't have noticed the tears as they became more pronounced with each harsh thing he said.

Kakyou's shoulders began to sag, as if a large amount of weight had been added to them and he could no longer bear the strain. He did however manage to stay upright until Yuurei had vanished.

His words though continued to play like a broken record in Kakyou's head as he slowly crumpled to his knees, caring no longer what anyone did to him...

Hokuto felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up into Fuuma's cold eyes. She knew what he was. She knew he was the Chi no Ryu's Kamui. She could feel it.

She also knew he could kill Kakyou easily. Knew he could grant her beloved's Wish.

She intended to go with him, taking him away from Kakyou, but when she saw the scene displayed before her, her legs moved towards the yume-mi and the retreating Watcher.

Fuuma's hand slipped from her shoulder and it didn't take long before she was level with Kakyou. "Don't worry." It was all she could say before running after Yuurei into the darkness.

She could see him, though not clearly, he was moving away from her. She didn't have much time. She felt itching as her body started to fade.

Hokuto sped up, intent on reaching him. "Yuurei!" She placed her hand on his shoulder, it laid there for a few seconds before going straight through him.

* * *

Coming back from his hot shower, Seishirou collapsed on the bloody comforter of his bed and closed his eyes. He may have done the most damage during the battle, but he had by no means won. Subaru had escaped, and Seishirou had been left far from unscathed. His muscles still ached, though the sleep he had just recently awakened from had refreshed him enough for the time being.

In the quiet of his room, he noticed that not everything was quite as it should be. Little noises--creaks and cricks--pricked at his ears. And an essence--not terribly powerful, but significant--grated at his senses. Someone was here. It felt...familiar, somehow.

He sat up. Slowly. Glancing from side to side without shifting the position of his head, he got to his feet. Noiselessly he followed his instincts to the closet doors. His fingers brushed the handle. Then he paused. He was probably being paranoid. He would only find nothing and then curse himself for being so jumpy.

But in this profession, one could never be too cautious. With a swift movement, he jerked the doors wide open...and raised a curious eyebrow. Indeed, someone sat inside. A boy...who looked suspiciously like Subaru with the green eyes and dark hair. It was the boy from downtown who had been walking with Subaru.

"Well, well," he chuckled darkly. "Looks like I've found myself a little mouse..."

Shouri had been completely calm, sure that he wasn't making too much noise and that Seishirou wouldn't check in on him. He wasn't that loud, was he? That was, apparently, a very big mistake on his own part.

His eyes widened in alarm as the doors of the closet were jerked open. A gasp escaped him. The boy scuttled backwards, trying to push himself to hide beneath something, anything, but to no avail. The small water-bird still perched on his shoulder, acting as a solid object would if pressed against something and merely perched in silence.

Seishirou's voice startled him only more. He looked slowly up from the floor and to the tall man. He was afraid, but he knew better than to think about trying to dodge out. As he stared at the man in front of him, he really did recognize him, a little. Even after quite a few years, Shouri still recognized the few that he had known... and Subaru and Hokuto had played a part in his life, even if it was a short part. The fact that Seishirou had been there also made him recognizable... though vaguely. Sasori had never really been fond of most people, especially Seishirou.

As he tried to think of some excuse, his complete and utter lack of concentration and exhaustion finally got to him. The water bird itself flickered for a moment, only to reform as he noticed. He had to calm down and keep himself from shaking. He needed to preserve his energy, as he had been ever since he had entered Seishirou's home. The bird didn't absorb his energy, so he had been recovering... but he was still considerably hungry, a bit fatigued, and 'somewhat' frightened.

"A-ano.. would you believe I'm the... the paperboy?" he suggested, knowing that the little ploy wouldn't work; though, a part of him hoped that it would.

* * *

Fuuma eyed the girl's departure with a shrug, she would be back...He turned his attention to the scene, grinning at Yuurei. _You seem to be very unpopular for your words but I can clearly say I understand you._

Fuuma's smile grew darker as he walked forward, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear the words that would cause Yuurei to snap...The words that would kill Yuurei when he made the mistake of attacking Fuuma."-You-... are scum...the type I wipe from my shoe, though I must say you are about the worst type I've seen...a perfect example of Humanity's reason for death. You use language as a weapon to pierce those who will hear you, break hearts so you can gain your own future at the cost of others. You to put it simply...are worse than I can ever be." He let that little bit settling into Yuurei's tough hide before he continued.

"While I take lives, you make people suffer and for what? Your own selfish end...your own selfish beliefs that will make you happy the next day while the other person weeps over such a minuscule amount of damage to their emotional state. At least I grant the wishes of those I set free...You however take it all for yourself. You are the prime example why Revolution must occur...For you are the weakest link."

Fuuma stopped at a respectable distance, looking to Kakyou with a nod and the at Yuurei with a smile...Not just any smile, one of pity. The type of smile you wear when you see a man who can only buy himself the liquor to forget the pain...The type of smile when you have such little respect for something that it almost makes you break into hysterical laughter. The type of smile where this something is barely worth your time. Fuuma used this smile to cut through that tough hide.

Hokuto's soft voice penetrated his grief stricken mind and he managed to look up in time to see her run after Yuurei. Trying to stop him. Kakyou found though that he could no longer move from his spot even had he wanted to. Tears continued to roll down his cheeks as he slumped forward, his shoulders shaking with his silent sobs. He didn't even want to know if Hokuto had stopped the Watcher..

And then a shiver of pure ice raced down his spine, as a second and much more deadly voice started speaking. This time he managed to lift his head and watch Fuuma as he spoke..

Kakyou knew what those words would do, Yuurei hated Fuuma enough already and those words would either harden his resolve to leave or set him on a rampage... And though Kakyou didn't really want either to happen something had to be done..

The nod and smile Fuuma gave sent another fell blown shiver down his spine and without a second thought he scrambled to his feet, and shaking took one halting step after another in Fuuma's direction. His golden eyes, a bit red and puffy from his cry bore into Fuuma's own, as he deliberately stepped in between Fuuma and Yuurei. His trench coat fluttered in the breeze and his hair whipped about his face. "You promised not to hurt him Fuuma." he said hoarsely, his throat still clogged with tears. "He hasn't done anything yet...so please let him go...that's what he wants..." _- But not what I want...oh god…Yuurei...what have we done to deserve this..-  
_  
Kakyou choked on the last words not wanting to say them at all, wanting to do a million other things instead.. His voice trailed off into nothing, leaving a tense silence in his wake..

* * *

"She claims to be your mother's sister and has to tell you something very urgently very soon or else it will be too late...This is what she told me and before I could look for you, you came to me..." Noroku stared at Kamui with a serious expression. " I know there must be doubt in your mind Kamui but please hear her out...She sounded quite desperate to see you. Well that's all I have to say. So what do you want to do?" Noroku stared at the boy, awaiting his answer.

Hikari stands back, letting the two men talk, smiling.

"My mothers sister?" Kamui questioned. His mother never mentioned any other family members to him before, but the look was unmistakable. "W-where is she now?" he asked.

"I don't know...all she said is that she would call and I was to arrange a meeting for you two...She also said this was having to do with the End of the World if that means anything to you" Noroku eyed the boy, he knew fully well that the end of the world was a common subject for him.

Hikari shuddered a bit at the mention of the end of the world.

"Are you ok, dear?" Noroku eyed Hikari with concern.

"Yeah. I'm fine... it's just... the end of the world?" Hikari asked.

Noroku smiled. "Don't worry about it...it's nothing that concerns you."

"O... Ok..." Hikari replied.

_"(The end of the World...)" _thought Kamui. Why had she been involved in all of this? And why did she just appear now? Looking back at Noroku Kamui asked," The how will this meeting take place?"

"If you wish I can set up the meeting in a location I have a lot of  
access in...And I can leave after you're sure you are  
safe..."Noroku's attention went back to Kamui. "It's all up to you  
Kamui."

"I really want to know what all this means..." he said. "If you can, try to get her to come to the old Tougakushi shrine. I don't anyone will bother us there anymore..."

"Very well...when I talk to her I will tell her to meet you there.." Noroku stared at Kamui with concern. "Kamui, you sure you will be ok?"

"I'll be fine..." he said softly. "At least...once I find someone and get all this straightened out..."

Noroku nodded. "Then I shall do as you asked."

It wasn't in Kamui nature to thank anyone for anything really. So instead, he acknowledged Noroku with a slight nod.

Hikari smiled. "You two done now?"

Noroku sighed and gestured to the door. "How do I contact to tell you when the meeting is?"

"Almost...just one second dear." Noroku smiled to the girl.

Hikari blushed a tad at Noroku.

"Just leave a message on my machine at home..." he said Scribbling down his number on a piece of paper. I'll be sure to get it eventually.

Noroku nodded and took the paper. "Then I guess I'll tell Sorata you got better and left?"

"That would help. I hate to trouble him anymore than I already have..."

"I'm sure you haven't...he's a pretty understanding guy once you get to know him. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to help this lovely young lady."

"Alright..." Kamui spoke. Without saying much of anything else, he stepped out the door.

Hikari let Kamui pass by, smiling at him.

"So what seems to be the trouble?"

"Well, as I said before, I'm looking for my cousin." Hikari said.

Noroku smiled and pressed his fingers together. "I see, Family reunion?"

"Yeah. I haven't seen him in years."

"That's sweet...Well leave it to the Clamp Campus Detective Agency to find him!...Unfortunately I'm not quite sure where my colleagues are...or my apprentice...so I guess I'm taking this solo."

"Well... I did find this note here." Hikari said, giving the Noroku the note from Ryu.

Noroku eyed the note and read it.

_'Noroku, I had to leave. Pressing matters. I'll be back tomorrow. Ryu'_

"Hmm just my luck...oh well I'm just glad I get to spend my time with such a lovely young lady." Noroku smiled widely.

Hikari smiled back, though mentally laughing a bit.

Noroku rose from his seat and looked down at the girl with a smile. "So do you want something to drink or shall I get to work on finding your cousin?"

"Sure... but nothing alcoholic. I don't want you trying to take advantage of me." Hikari said.

Noroku laughed. "Damn you caught on to my plan...best get you a soda then." He spoke in a comical tone as he reached into the office fridge and grabbed two sodas, handing one to Hikari.

Hikari took one and began to drink it. "That and your reputation as a ladies man precedes you."

Noroku smiled and shrugged. "Are you a student or something? I didn't know that reputation traveled outside campus."

"Well... I was walking by when I heard about you and your group..." Hikari said.

"Ah yes...We actually started with to help women in trouble...much like you actually..." He smiled and opened his soda. "Ah so many memories."

"So do you think you can find him?" Hikari asked.

"Of course..." Noroku sipped his drink. "I'm the type of guy who never lets a damsel in distress down...Do you have any leads?"

"Just that he's here in Tokyo."

"No picture?"

"Well... I might have one of him... but I don't know if it'll be much help." Hikari said. She started to go threw her purse, soon pulling out a picture and giving it to Noroku.

"Hmmm...Any idea of his job or where we can start looking?" Noroku stroked his chin as he thought about the case.

"He said that he wanted to go into the military..."

"Interesting...I should look up some information on the defense force then...unless you mean overseas."

"No, I don't."

Noroku nodded and pressed a button on his desk, a computer raised from under the desk. "Ok lets see here...I hope I don't make anyone mad by going into their mainframe..."

Hikari went and looked over Noroku's shoulder.

Noroku typed in the name and began to scan the list of names, finally finding the man's profile and picture. "This him you think?"

Hikari smiled. "Yeah! That's him." she said.

Noroku printed out a copy, grabbing it from the printer. "I guess I'm well on my way then..." He got up and headed to the door. "Where can I find you to tell you when I found him?"

"Oh, I was kind of hoping to come with you." Hikari said.

"Hmm I suppose I could let you...It's not like it will be too dangerous." Noroku gestured for her to follow. "So tell me about yourself Hikari-san."

"Me? Well, what would you like to know, other than my measurements."

"Hmmm Will you tell me your measurements in addition to your personal information, favorite food, movie and time of day."

Noroku laughed nervously, he wasn't usually so forward with anyone but he felt it was ok in this case.

Hikari looked at Noroku. "Well, my favorite food is Chinese, I enjoy watching romantic movies, and I don't have a watch, so I can't tell you the time of day." she said.

Noroku laughed at her wit. "Funny..." He jotted down her information to add to his book later. It was ashamed Ryu wasn't here, he would've loved to help in this case.

Hikari smiled a bit. "What about yourself?" she asked.

"Hmm? I enjoy pretty much any kind of food, romantic movies, and I'm not sure what time of day it is." He smiled as he grabbed his keys and gestured for her to follow him to his car.

Hikari nodded and followed him. "And I guess I'm the type of woman you like?"

"All women are my type...because all women are beautiful in their own special way." Noroku stopped beside his car, opening the door for her.

Hikari smiled and slid into the seat. "Really now?"

Noroku gave a cat like grin and waved his fan. "But of course..." He slid across the hood to his side of the car, giving another grin to his passenger.

Hikari smiled back at Noroku.

Noroku laughed and jumped into the drivers seat. "Lets roll." He started the engine.

* * *

Yuurei was already veiled in the darkness beyond Kakyou's dreams when he heard the voice in his subconscious. Fuuma's voice. And though the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth could not see him, nor could he see Fuuma, Yuurei refrained from allowing the words to touch him. Possessed or not, Fuuma was still an ignorant child, and every action he took was determined by Fate. Every wish he granted was true but cruel. Yuurei was not meant to grant wishes--not meant to interact with the others at all. He already knew well enough that his interference would cause pain and suffering to a select few, but he also believed he could work toward a greater good...of only he could see what it was.

That was when he felt the hand on his shoulder. One more step, and it passed through him. But he stopped nevertheless, head lowered and eyes narrowed. He did not turn, but spoke in a low voice to the girl behind him. "Hokuto. I know why you followed me. Do I need to tell you that it's pointless?"

Hokuto fidgeted, all the while fading. It was slow going, but she still had little time. Straightening up, she concentrated on her own substance, forcing herself to stay just a little while longer. He hadn't turned, hadn't made any move to turn and look straight at her, but she knew how his face was set. Eyes narrowed.

But she knew.

It was a facade. To stop himself from crying. "But why, Yuurei?" She saw him flinch slightly. "You love each other. He's choosing you. And I'll be gone soon anyway. Why do you insist on making yourself and Kakyou miserable?"

In essence, had that not been Fuuma's question as well? What was the answer? When Fuuma had given his derisively morose speech, Yuurei had been able to push the essential question out of his mind. But now that it was being asked directly, and by someone who truly cared, he could not ignore it. So, to find the truth, he delved deep within himself, searching out his own intentions and feelings. Was it because he truly believed Kakyou was a pitiful little whore who willed himself to be taken by anyone who might want him? No, far from it. Then was it because Yuurei wanted to protect him? Again he shook his head. Not even that. He certainly did not hate Kakyou. So that left only one alternative...

He could not hold back the ironic chuckle that worked its way up his throat. Fuuma was right. He was a selfish bastard. "I don't deserve him," he said at last. "What happens between Kakyou and myself has nothing to do with Fate in my mind. I am selfish. Fuuma got it exactly right; I'm worse than the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth himself."

"So what?"

His head jerked up.

She bit her teeth together, walking around him, making him face her. "So what if you're selfish? Your selfishness will make Kakyou happy." She flinched slightly, wanting to be selfish. She wanted to go back to the Yume-mi, wanted to make him happy. Wanted it to be because of her. She wanted to be happy with him. Fidgeting, she almost cried. She wanted to be alive.

She was straining her jaw from telling him to get the hell away and leave Kakyou to her. But she couldn't do it. Even if she wanted to be happy with Kakyou, she'd rather see him happy when it was possible. She couldn't give him that. Yuurei was living. He could.

"I want him to be happy." She bit back a sob. "With you."

Yuurei's eyes finally met hers. There was pain there. And even anger. She disapproved of his demeanor. But what was different about that? He took a closer look into her eyes, narrowing his own as he shoved thoughts of his own predicament out of his mind. "You want to be with him, ne? You want to take care of him. What if I told you...that it's possible?" Perhaps that could be his gift to Kakyou. Even if it was impossible for he and Yuurei to be together, at least Yuurei could grant this girl her wish and allow her to be close to Kakyou forever... Would that be considered a selfless act?

Hokuto stopped breathing. She could feel her heart caught in her throat, she even felt like her blood froze. Be alive again...? The thought hadn't even entered her mind. She didn't think it possible. Even Subaru, even Seishirou couldn't pull it off.

She shook her head. "It's not possible." It couldn't be. It couldn't.

She took a step back from him, still meeting his eyes. She couldn't see any lies. But there was so much more. Sincerity, concern, longing, sadness, a want to help, desperation. "It can't be possible."

Yuurei shrugged a bit uneasily, though he veiled it well. "I'm not exactly certain, but give me the chance to work on it. I can have the answer within a day. For now...I beg you not to speak to him concerning me. If I don't wake up soon, I may not be able to do anything at all. My body is dying. Being here isn't helping."

"But..." Hokuto paused. Could she really be alive again? Was it really what she wanted? Even though she wanted to be with Kakyou, she wanted Yuurei to be happy too. "What about you?"

He smiled. "You're as kind and thoughtful as your brother. Let me worry about him. I think he's starting to trust me." He closed his eyes drowsily. "I believe my time here is up. I did what I came here to do. Thank you, Hokuto-san." With that, he began to move around her to travel deeper into the darkness.

Hokuto smiled slightly, but she couldn't stop thinking she was making this man give up his most precious person, all to gain her own happiness. "Be safe." She said as his image faded. "Thank you."

* * *

His temples throbbed; his throat was scratchy and dry. When he tried to inhale, he succeeded in only letting out a hoarse cough. His eyelids felt like lead weights. Was this reality? It felt like Hell. His bowels were on fire. It was as though he was being eaten alive from the inside-out.

Finally he managed to compel his eyes to obey his will, fluttering open sluggishly. His vision was still terribly distorted, but slowly his hearing began to kick back in. He heard...soft sobbing noises. And his hand was being compressed. When at last his sight returned to him to some degree, he painstakingly maneuvered his head to the side to see the still-blurry figure of the young man kneeling beside him.

"Su...Subaru?" he croaked out in a throaty gasp. Before the young man could respond, Yuurei drew in another deep breath and coughed up a few droplets of blood. But his expression was one of something almost like joy. "It's...Hokuto! Please...help me...for her..."

* * *

Seishirou laughed almost amiably at the boy's pitiful attempt to escape his impending punishment. Almost as cute as Subaru... "Somehow, I doubt that," he answered dryly. "I've seen you before." His eye fell to the glass-like bird on the boy's shoulder. "You were the one who sent that creature to follow me here." His smile darkened. "So now...what should I do with you?" Lifting a hand to his face, he tapped his chin thoughtfully as he studied Shouri's uncertain figure.

Shouri frowned even more. Well, such a pathetic excuse wouldn't have worked. His memories of Seishirou weren't that clear, either, so knowing precisely how he'd react wasn't something he was capable of. His eyes shifted slightly to the bird. He was given away by his own assistant. He shuddered slightly. He wouldn't wake Sasori. She'd worry.. and she was tired as it was from traveling through the dreams of other people. He closed his eyes and sighed. What was he to do? He glanced around and only shifted a little, quite uncomfortable because of the way that Seishirou was looking at him.

"... Nani?"

Seishirou gave a more friendly smile as he leaned down to extend a hand to the boy. "Why don't you just come out of there for now? You look tired, and you must be hungry. I've got plenty of snacks in the kitchen." Grasping the boy's arm, Seishirou pulled Shouri to his feet. About Subaru's height...as well as appearance. Those eyes...that hair...that skin. Caught up in a moment of nostalgia, Seishirou lifted his other hand and gingerly brushed it against the boy's cheek. So soft...like an angel. An innocent angel. His index finger moved tenderly over the young man's lower lip, and he managed to ask in a husky, almost sensual voice, "So what are you doing here, anyway?" Even though he already knew the most probably answer...

Shouri's emerald eyes flashed slightly. Kindness? He hadn't been expecting any favor or anything of the sort. He had been expecting more of a beat-down than anything else, so it came as a surprise to him. Still... why would anyone hurt him? It wasn't like he was involved in this and he hadn't done anything to hurt anyone, right? After being pulled up, he looked up at Seishirou with a bit of curiosity in his eyes. He paused for a minute. Why was Seishirou looking at him like that?

That tone of voice only made him more uncomfortable. He paused, nearly feeling himself choke on his own words. "Looking.. For Sumeragi-san..."

Seishirou nodded. "I figured as much." Releasing his arm, he made his way toward the kitchen. "Can I get you anything? Sushi? Tea? Maybe some pocky? I'll bet you'd like some pocky, wouldn't you?" He grinned cheerfully as he entered the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and then moving to the cabinets on the other side of the room.

He calmed down considerably and paused, following Seishirou, though not closely. "Well, I don't want to impose.." He said, managing to breath again.

"Don't be ridiculous," Seishirou replied good-naturedly, rummaging around as he tried to remember where he stashed the pocky that Subaru used to be so fond of. "Make yourself at home." He paused, then turned back toward the doorway where the young man still stood. "By the way...how much did you see of what went on in there?" he asked somewhat cautiously, speaking of the battle between himself and the Watcher.

"A-ano... not much... I couldn't see very well.." he lied.

He had seen more than he wished to remember. Simply thinking about it made him a bit uneasy. He suddenly wanted to leave- to get out. He was afraid that if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to. Why hadn't he left earlier when he had first heard them wake up? He smiled nervously again, that childish smile that usually is never seen on the face of many who aren't children themselves.

Seishirou knew the boy was lying. But he shrugged anyway and turned back to what he had been doing. "Oh, how rude of me," he added after a moment. "I forgot to ask your name."

Seishirou kept his eyes averted, his face hidden by an open cabinet that he was rummaging through. He was seemingly unaware as he nodded in subconscious acknowledgement of Shouri's reply.

Shouri looked relieved and suddenly made his silent sprint for the door. His fear wouldn't permit him to stay still, only to move as fast as he could.

But Seishirou had been very aware of Shouri's every movement. When the boy made a mad dash for the exit, Seishirou suddenly vanished from his spot in the kitchen, moving so quickly despite the soreness of his muscles that, to a mortal eye, he would have appeared invisible. And just as abruptly he stopped in front of Shouri, grinned guilefully as he blocked the way out.

"Now, that's not very polite," he said darkly, lashing out with one hand to grasp Shouri's lithe throat. "I try to be hospitable, and this is how you repay me?" Harshly he dragged the boy back into the bedroom and slung him onto the mattress. "You do realize that I can't have any witnesses. That's the very reason how I came to know Subaru, did you know that? But unlike that occurrence, I won't make the same mistake of letting you live..."

Shouri panicked. He had been so close! What had happened? ... Simple. He had underestimated Seishirou. He frowned and tried to scuttle backwards on the mattress, finding it hard to do even that. Though his natural body energy wasn't expended, he was still very tired. He should've waited longer.

He swallowed hard. "N-nani?" He was simply too young to die! Who would take care of Matsuko at the shrine? Who would play music for the little children in the park? Most importantly... who would watch over the children, his friends, at the orphanage? He shook his head slightly.

"Gomen.. but I can't die here.. and don't plan to..." he managed to whisper. "I can't." Most of all... there was Sasori. If Shouri died.. then she died, too... right?

Sensually Seishirou crawled onto the bed on his hands and knees, positioning himself over Shouri and leaning down to casually lick at his cheek. "You look almost just like him, did you know that?" One hand slid down to the young man's thigh as a voluptuous simper spread across his face. "Everyone dies," he added, coming back to the boy's frantic words. His single good eye fell to Shouri's full lips, then gradually he let his mouth fall to them, tracing his tongue along Shouri's upper lip. After a moment, he backed away with a deep chuckle. "Subaru has a sweeter taste..."

If he had been able to find strength, he would have pushed away. Even so, that wouldn't have worked, certainly. If anything, Seishirou was probably faster and stronger, especially at the moment. He really stood no chance. He swallowed hard, eyes reflecting the fear that was growing every second within him. Damn. Damn it all.

"... Please let me go.." he whispered, shaking slightly.

His chuckle deepened. Lifting his hand from Shouri's leg, he uttered a curse that almost instantaneously placed a sharp metal wire tightly around the young man's throat. Pulling it tightly until it drew blood by cutting into the boy's tender flesh, Seishirou leaned down to lick up a droplet of the salty liquid. "I'm afraid I can't do that..."

Too tight. Too sharp. The pain was felt immediately as the sharp wire began to cut into his neck. He couldn't even breath, or was getting to that point! It was so very painful. He tried to speak, but couldn't find words. He began to flail, like a rabbit caught by a fox. His thoughts began to rock back and forth, to and fro.

_'No! No! Not this way... it can't end this way..' _he thought, struggling even more. 'I have to get loose... must.. I can't breath..'

Seishirou's smile widened. "So how does it feel...to be dying?" he whispered seductively in Shouri's ear. Then, lowering his other hand to the boy's stomach, he muttered an incantation and summoned the power of his Onmyoujitsu blood, causing sharp, tiny beams of light to puncture Shouri's supple middle, grinning at the frantic expression on the boy's face and relishing the feelings of pain and fear he was emitting.

He wanted it to end. To end right then. Shouri couldn't take it. He screamed, but only briefly. He couldn't keep it up. His eyes widened as he shook his head, trying to force himself up. He could feel it leaving, the blood leaving his body. Death was slowly taking him. His emerald eyes flashed slightly. Oh, if only he could get his fingers loose. His right hand fell limply to his side. He couldn't move his hand enough to charge any ice. The energy that had been forming within his fingers drifted off into nothingness. It was hopeless to try anymore... hopeless. He closed his eyes tightly, wincing. Too much...

* * *

Her eyes flashed open. The pain had awakened her from within her brother's mind. She could feel it, as if it were cutting and tearing away at her. She was losing him. An emptiness was beginning to fill his mind. The palace within his mind that she lived in within his mind was beginning to deteriorate. She stood up, running quickly down the halls, only to turn. Her childish form stopped in a hallway. It was eating away! He WAS dieing!

".. Shouri..." She frowned as she backed up, crystal eyes widening slowly. "... I... can't let you die... it's.. not your time to die.."

She closed her eyes and sighed, a circle suddenly surrounding her. with strange inscriptions. A dark shadow hovered over Sasori. This was 'fate' in Shouri's mind, or so the form that it took. Her eyes flashed slightly as she stood up fully, her child form taking on another form. Yes, her brother needed her now...

* * *

The energies began to build from Shouri's form, a different aura mixing with his. The young man gasped now for air, eyes wide and open as he tried to breath, tried to cry... but no tears again... and none would come. He felt as though the world were collapsing. What of Sasori? ... He felt an odd energy building up, something building up that made him shake. Why did he feel... as though something was emptying from him?

The light was almost blinding, but Seishirou clenched his teeth and did not relent. What was this? Was this young man also involved in the End of the World? But had not all of the Dragons already been assembled? Then who was this boy? "Seems I'll have to cut your life shorter than I'd intended," he smirked, revealing an Ofuda and planting it on Shouri's chest, uttering the enchantment that would hopefully drain whatever energy this was that was causing the boy to radiate such a powerful aura.

From within, Sasori felt the sudden pull. It was drawing her out. Perfect. She needed to be drawn out to do what she was going to do. She lifted her head, eyes still closed. Yes, the shadow of fate was there. It called to her. Why? Because... she knew, though Shouri had not figured it out, that when Shouri had completed some part of the prophecy and absorbed Sasori in their mother's womb to save her life, he had tampered with her original fate. She was supposed to die as a child at birth... when in the open, but prophecy, an unclear part, had been completely and tricked fate. Now, fate must run its course... though the prophecy still not be fulfilled.. but this small part of it had to be fulfilled.

She allowed herself to be pulled, evaporating..

And reappeared again as the ofuda suddenly tore into pieces all at once, releasing the full length of the blinding light. Sasori stood in the room, a woman, and yet a child. She appeared older than she should, at Shouri's age, but still very much like a child as she had within his mind. Her childish-side made the fact that she was merely a child all the more obvious. She appeared standing beside the bed, the light not fading quite yet as the force of her arrival, with the torn fuda, sent a powerful blast in all directions.

Shouri felt it. The warmth of that light. It seemed to relieve him of his pains... why? Where was this coming from? .. He couldn't think. He could barely even cry...

Seishirou now had to shield his face with his arm at the blindingly brilliant light. When he managed to open his eyes again, he stared in awe at the image of the woman standing by the bed, though he said nothing as she continued to glow with her radiant aura. As his Ofuda was ripped, he cringed and staggered, almost collapsing on top of Shouri out of mental exhaustion, but he managed get to his feet, summoning another curse tag--this time stronger--and flinging it at the apparition.

Sasori's eyes seemed to burn now at the on coming tag as she suddenly lifted the left side of her long, white robe and cast it off, swinging the right side easily against it. and letting her white robe simply meet the tag. Her eyes flared slightly as she saw her brother in this horrible condition, then settling upon Seishirou. Her eyes narrowed slightly as the emotion of hate came to her. Her dear brother, wounded like this... by this man... this man whose name... was...

"Seishirou." She said aloud, her voice acting as though it were echoing in many halls. It was a name she knew.

Shouri flinched. He heard his sister's voice. "... Ane..." ... Was she outside of him? He could scarcely hear any longer...

Seishirou chuckled as his second tag was disintegrated. "I don't know who you are," he called out over the sudden swirling wind that picked up and whipped through his spiky hair. "But that doesn't really matter. I don't like you being here, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Drawing upon his inner aura to create the inverted pentagram as his shield, he awaited her response.

"... I shall soon enough." her eyes flashed as she raised her hand once more. Her energy would soon deplete. She could not live unless she was inside of Shouri... and she had never been out. She would not be able to go back in, and even then... fate would still find her. It was better for her to die now.. then to cause him pain... Or fate.. would find him and take him with her, perhaps. "... Watashi wa Sasori No Sora desu."

The voice of his sister merely made him wince. "... Ane..." he called again, only to begin coughing wildly.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Seishirou revealed six more Ofudas between his fingers, muttering the curses under his breath as his wicked smile somehow persisted, despite his dangerous predicament. "I'm afraid soon isn't good enough," he exclaimed, and directed the tags at the girl. This time they attached themselves to her form, and suddenly erupted in a dazzling display of lights. Seishirou smirked. It would take more than pretty lighting effects to defeat him.

Sasori screamed, tumbling backwards as she tried to reinforce her energies. This was too hard, simply too hard on this foreign body. It had been so much easier floating within her brother's dreams and mind, hovering over the ground. She screeched like a banshee as she stumbled backwards, squinting. She could just barely make out the form of her brother, just barely hear him call out "Ane". That was what she needed...

Her eyes opened again as she managed to lift her left hand from her side. "Kage... no Kokoro ... iku!"

Pulling together a light, flooding energy, she forced herself to ignore the pain from those accursed tags as she winced. Was she bleeding? ... Most likely... but she still had to send the attack. She pulled her left hand back as a half circle formed around her, only to vanish into the ground again as she launched the shadow of darkness from her fingertips. A mass of negative energy, crammed together in a small, black sphere. It hurt so much though, losing that energy... And the pain...

There was nowhere to run or dodge; the room was far too small. Plus, if any more damage was inflicted upon the small apartment, Seishirou would never hear the end of it from his landlord. It was an insane effort, but there was nothing else he could think of in the split second before he was struck. Doggedly he lifted his palms and caught the orb, instantly shoved back by its power. His back collided with the wall, and he clenched his teeth and grunted deeply as he struggled to keep the blast from tearing his body apart. At least his Ofudas had worked to some extent, otherwise she would likely have decimated him with her blow.

He could see that she was bleeding badly. She looked tired. Almost as tired as Seishirou felt. Still she was determined to stop him. She was fighting for Shouri's life, he realized. And with a virile groan, he managed to summon enough strength to shove the blast upward, watching wearily as it tore through the ceiling and shot into the heavens.

Then he turned his one-eyed gaze back to her. His vision wavered. How could his he be seeing double when he only had one working eye? Oh, well, it hardly mattered. His mind was in too much of a disarray to worry about such trivialities. It took all of his effort simply not to fall to his knees...

The white-haired apparition was not without her own causalities. Blood stained her white kimono, soaking in. She was still bleeding. It was as if all of the blood was beginning to drain out of her body itself. Her white hair was in a tangled mess, and those empty eyes of hers had lost all color. She stared at Seishirou still, as if daring him to so much as even touch her little brother again. She knew what had happened... with the twins. There was a reason that Hokuto, Subaru's big sister, was no longer there... and having heard faintly what he had said of Subaru... she had a feeling she knew precisely. Her eyes glinted as she coughed wildly, but swallowed the blood as it tried to come out. Looking up at him, she ignored the slight dribble that came.

Pain- a thing she had never experienced in the real world. It was much different from within dreams and minds of people. What a horrible thing... and she had always thought that living in the physical world was easy. How wrong she had been. Her eyes flickered a little. "... You think... you'd learn.." she managed, smirking lightly. "... after.. making one mistake..." She said, referring to the fact that he had "let Subaru live", as it was a mistake. She shook a little more. "That... was for everyone you've ever hurt.. and for my little brother..."

Another tear. Her body was almost ready to simply crumble... but she smiled... somehow, she still smiled.

Shouri's eyes were barely open. Blood. Blood was everywhere! He wanted to scream, wanted it all to stop. He would rather die then watch this happen. He felt himself shaking a little more. He was afraid. What was he to do? He couldn't even find it in himself to move. Why was Sasori smiling? What was she planning? It hadn't dawned on him yet...

Seishirou returned her smirk, though he, too, was almost ready to fall. "Everyone I've hurt?" he replied derisively. "Little girl, there isn't enough energy in the world to exact revenge for everyone I've hurt." His grin widened. "Besides," he snickered, "I can feel your life force depleting rapidly. You're as good as gone. And when you're dead, I'll do whatever I want with Shouri. But don't worry. He'll join you soon."

Sasori's eyes flashed slightly. He was right. She was going to be gone, but Shouri wouldn't die. Fate would not permit that, to say the least. Still, for her to have to die like this... and for the prophecy in fragments, unseen and unknown by even her, she only knew what was in store for her little brother. She then glared silently, bringing both hands up slowly.

"Would you like for me to try?" she asked, coughing a little more. "Besides... this is above your head, Seishirou. This is.. merely the completion of one chapter..."

Her lips curled into a devious grin as another charge began. "But, I still will not.. permit you to harm Shouri..."

Shouri's ears perked. What? Fate..? What was she talking about? His eyes flickered this way and that as he stared at her from his spot, still on the bed... still weak. His eyes were wide with fear.

"Gomen ne, ototo... " she replied, staring directly at him. Her body was beginning to tear. As soon as she sent this last attack, she knew she would deteriorate and return to her original destiny, fulfilling the 'chapter'. She looked back at Seishirou and gave a nod, the negative energy forming the sphere once more. It wouldn't be strong enough to kill.. not at all... too weak to do so. She then nodded weakly as she sent the Kage no Kokoro once more, closing her eyes.

Just as he feared she would do. She sacrificed herself to save him. The blast collided with his hands again, but this time he was not strong enough to hold it away from him as well. With every last ounce of power in him, he shoved it to the side, but it still grazed him. And spent all of his energy. He felt weak...drained. Again his vision distorted. And then...slowly he sank to his knees, smiling wearily up at her. "You're...kind," he choked. "Just like...him." Then he closed his eyes, pitched forward, and was almost completely insensible before his head hit the floor...

The apparition's body was now tearing as though she was paper. Her skin ripped itself, bleeding intensifying as her blood simply flowed. She looked at Seishirou, smiling softly at the man. A strange creature he was... but she had the feeling that, somehow, perhaps he was not half as bad as she had always thought him. She glanced slowly to Shouri who was watching every piece of skin rip, her kimono even. She was sinking down, becoming a child again. She was growing younger and younger until she was finally around the age of four. Her body was still tearing, ripping apart. Still, she suffered. She wasn't dead. She could feel it coming. Staring at her brother, she smiled lightly.

Barely opening her lips, she managed to mouth three words. "I love you."

Shouri's eyes widened as he tried to lift a hand, to reach out to her. What was happening to her? What had happened to Seishirou? His mind was emptying.. the palace built for so long in his mind was disintegrating and becoming an endless void of nothingness. His eyes filled with tears. Was... no... she couldn't be...

Sasori closed her eyes, still smiling faintly as she suddenly erupted into a light of dark blue, crumbling into nothing but a skeleton the size of a new born. The bones remained for a moment before they, too crumbled into dust and blew upwards into the hole in the ceiling to escape with the four winds. She was gone...

Those emerald orbs were filled with tears, so wide that it hurt. His body shook wildly as he tried to hold it in. "Ane..." he whispered, "Ane..."

He suddenly erupted in tears, screaming like a hurt animal. "SASORI-CHAN! SASORI-CHAAAA-AAAAN!"

It didn't take long for his body to give in and simply shut down. He fainted. It was just too much for him, and the blood loss only made it worse. He sank into darkness. For once in his life, there was no dream. Only the darkness that now embraced him, trying to suffocate him...

* * *

Something seemed to be pushing Kusanagi forward as he made his way back towards the underground HQ with all his strength.

Maybe there was some fear him that something unexpected would happen to Yuzuriha. Despite Okita being there to guard her, he just didn't feel assured enough that the young man was capable.

Landing down on the sidewalk with a loud thump, he raced down the stairs from the entryway of the subway.

To lost in thought, Kusanagi didn't hear the on coming train down the tracks, and fell backward as the train rode past him. It nearly took him with it hadn't he stopped himself from jumping down to the tracks below.

"Baka, baka, baka..." Kusanagi mumbled as he pushed himself off from the ground.

Even with his eyes not fully adjusted to the darkness of the tunnel fully, Kusanagi was able to find the entrance way. Slowing down as he made his way inside, he approached Yuuto."Um, hey there," he greeted. "You and I need to have a little talk. It's concerning the young girl..."

* * *

Subaru was on the verge of tears, clutching Yuurei's hand when he felt a sudden twitch. He blinked back the tears to open his eyes to find Yuurei very much alive.

Subaru was both relieved and surprised at the same time. He had thought that Yuurei was dead, but he had proven him wrong. Yuurei was stronger than Subaru had ever anticipated...

"Ho...Hokuto-chan?" Kantoku-sama wasn't making any sense. No sense at all...was he delusional? Had he lost it?

Subaru pressed the back of his hand against Yuurei's head, checking his temperature. "Kantoku-sama, it was just a dream. It's all right." For a moment, Subaru wondered if Kantoku-sama had actually died and come back from the dead. Perhaps he had seen the onee-sama he loved so much.

Or maybe not.

It was more probably that he was dreaming.

"It's all right," Subaru repeated, although more for his own sake than Yuurei's.

This definitely wasn't going to be all right.

He pulled his hand away from Yuurei's. As worried as he was about Yuurei's pain, he had forgotten his own. Knowing that he was all right brought back the all-too-painful reality-- that he was dying.

And not just him, Kantoku-sama, too. Both of them were going to die at this rate.

Die in this lonely, blood-strained apartment.

No, knowing his luck, he'd survive. It was his destiny to survive-- and to watch all those around him die. To be tortured by the deaths of all those he loved around him. To live with the knowledge that he could have done something, but didn't. To live regretting every single action he took and every thing he said and every thing he did.

It was a fate worse than death.

Subaru felt his knees collapse underneath his own weight. Pulling the arms that lay at his side to his head, he dug his bloody nails into his scalp, covering his face from sight.

No, he wouldn't cry.

He wouldn't.

Not for anything. He wouldn't be that weak again.

He pulled his hands back away from his face. He wouldn't cry. Not for anything.

Never again.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Seishirou or Shouri, another presence had been within the room the entire time. That presence had been watching, unseen and hidden behind both Sasori and Seishirou. A man stood there, leaning silently against the wall, arms crossed and eyes closed. This mysterious figure, cloaked in black and his face concealed by a long black hood, did not need to open his eyes to know what was going on. This was the same man that had been wandering around Tokyo for such a long time, hidden in the depths of the shadows and merely watching and observing all that had happened.

His name was not known by any man, though if one looked far enough, he could be found in several different legends... unclear, and lost to those who have not kept up with traditional records. Most of those shrines that had kept up to date with legends and had paid attention to the prophecies that traveled might know of him... but most did not.

He lifted his head. Sasori was gone. He had felt the disturbance, the powerful aura... he had watched it all. He was the guardian of the two and it was his job to protect them, or at least Shouri... Sasori's destiny had been clear. He had never shown any sign of thought towards them, nor did he now. He knew his job. No one else did. No one even knew his name. Why tell them?

The specter stepped forward, over the unconscious Seishirou. His eyes scanned over the man. Indeed, a Dragon of Earth. He had not been void of what had been happening, what was to happen... he, too, knew of the End of the World that was foretold, the battle between the Dragons of Earth and the Dragons of Heaven. He stared at Seishirou for one more moment more before shaking his head. The Dragon of Earth was lucky. The last man that had attempted on Shouri's life had suffered a gruesome end. However, direct tampering was not permitted... and it was best that the child remain oblivious to the prophecy... certainly.

Still, he remained silent... not intervening and never showing himself. His business was with the boy who had suffered so... so very much.

He stopped silently in his tracks. Yes, the boy was going to die if he didn't get him somewhere. He cast a glance to the hole in the ceiling, dark eyes shimmering slightly from beneath the hood. The emotion that could be propelled from his mind, felt as he 'spoke' by expressing his emotion, words forming, would have been, "Rest in peace, Sasori-sama."

The specter now turned his head in a slow, eerie fashion towards the boy once more. Yes, he needed to be taken to some place... or someone, who could take care of him momentarily. The blood loss and sorrow was too much. He had no doubt that should the child not be watched properly, he would attempt to do something foolish to harm himself... though he, himself, knew that Fate would not permit Shouri to harm himself. He extended a gloved hand and paused as he slowly grew solid. Yes, completely solid. He had done so very few times... but he was beginning to warm up to it. What he was and who he was...well, that would all be revealed in time, wouldn't it?

He extended his gloved hands, the tears in the knuckles revealing a slightly pale color as the specter lifted the unconscious boy and began to walk out of the house. He cast a glance once more to Seishirou. He knew that they would be meeting again... Shouri would eventually take upon the notion that he wished for revenge. When he overcame his fear...

The specter stared silently, eyes blank as he continued to walk out. Out of the apartment, closing the door, he walked swiftly as if he were the wind, feet not even seeming to lift from the ground. His cloak and ghostly appearance made him all the more mysterious. Blood stained his cloak, but he didn't care.

Shouri couldn't feel or hear anything. He was a silent little thing, a frown upon his face as he slept, falling into the new void of darkness within his mind where there was no comfort for him. He was empty, void of anything and everything. The emptiness was momentarily broken when he opened his eyes just slightly to see two dark, dark orbs staring down at him, but he faded again quickly...

His mind continued to dance with horrible dreams, dreams of death and suffering... dreams of Sasori when he and she used to play within his dreams while he slept, when they had both appeared as children. A continuous nightmare, that was what Shouri suffered now... and the scene of her death after every good memory haunted him. A tear, mixed with his blood, made its way down his cheek...

On the specter walked, stopping finally at the park. Who could he take 'The Child' to? Whom could he trust with this boy that he was to protect? ... He closed his eyes. Sumeragi? ... Perhaps. Or he could trust his instinct.. and live him there, on the bench at the park.

His eyes flickered upwards. No. He could not. He sensed a kekkai. Dragons of Heaven and Dragons of Earth- he had no doubt that, eventually, Seishirou would want to know more about this boy... This boy whom he protected. He would most likely even tell his comrades. After all, you don't often see such things... nor hear such words from an apparition, or anything, for that matter. He had no choice, though, but to leave him there... or perhaps..

For once, the specter reasoned with himself. To leave him in the park wasn't smart. No one was really... THERE. He needed to be found... So after a moment of silence, the specter took him to the nearest bench and gently placed him down. It wasn't far from a chain of apartment complexes, maybe close to many of the big business buildings. The hospital wasn't too far away, either... someone would notice the boy... and if not, he would personally see to it that someone did by expanding his aura enough to startle those sensitive to it.

Shouri began to shiver. The bleeding had not subsided...

Seeing this, the man whipped his cloak off in silence, save the hood, and wrapped the boy in it so that, at his stomach and neck, it was slightly pressured. He was a fast healer though, both of them... so he was not worried, though... he knew that the boy would need proper medical care very soon. Backing away from him, he closed his eyes and vanished into the shadows before any could see him...

... And Shouri was left to his nightmares, the nightmares that wished to consume him and rip his very soul in half. It was his fault that any of this had happened, his fault she wouldn't be there any more to guide him with her bright light. His light was gone, and the darkness greeted him like the city lights greet the high mountains. He could only suffer in his dreams while his body fought to remain alive...

"Ane..." he mouthed the words, voice barely audible in his sleep. "Ane.."

* * *

They had been gone a very short while. He had just turned back to see to Fuuma's bandages, it seemed, when Kusanagi returned breathlessly. Yuuto held back a smirk. Probably almost got snagged by a train.

When he mentioned the girl again, Yuuto nearly rolled his eyes. "Since the kekkai is still up, can I assume you made some sort of deal with the Seals? If you think the girl can be handed over directly to our enemies, you must be a blithering idiot. I thought you were a military man, Kusanagi-san. Surely you know something of strategy. Letting her go is risky enough. Delivering her directly into the Seals' hands is practically suicide! If that's what you've come back to request, forget it. Unless Kamui-sama proclaims differently. And as of the moment, he's still quite insensible." He turned a cold stare on Kusanagi. "So that means I'm still calling the shots."

* * *

As Subaru sank to his knees and curled over himself, Yuurei slowly came back to his senses. He, better than anyone, knew no dream was only that. Dreams held prophecy...and truth. Disregarding his own pain, he slowly sat up and edged himself down on the floor, taking Subaru by the shoulders and easing the young man closer to rest his head on his lap. Softly Yuurei stroked his hair, keeping one hand over his stomach wound at all times. "It wasn't just a dream, Subaru. If..." He took a deep breath. "If I tell you how I know this, will you trust me and help me?"

Subaru nodded numbly. There was no use NOT believing him. Did he want to once again, regret his actions?

He didn't.

He laid his head down in Yuurei's lap, feeling like the little boy he used to be. Hokuto held him like this once. Just once. But despite his condition at the time, he never forgot her last embrace.

Yuurei smiled a bit. The short nap had eased his pain a little, it seemed. Leaning his head back to glanced up at the ceiling, he eventually closed his eyes and began. "Like, you, the one I love is one of the Dragons of Earth. For a while, I thought he returned my love. But now I see it was all only an illusion. But I still love him, and I would do anything to make him happy. Both your sister and myself know him only through our dreams. She loves him as well. And, I believe, with a combination of your onmyoujitsu techniques and my shadow sorcery, we may be able to resurrect her." He broke off at the end to cough violently for a moment, but at least he had finished. He waited patiently for Subaru to absorb his words.

His sister...loved a Dragon of the Earth? The words hit hard. He didn't know all of the Dragons of the Earth, but...how could she? When did she? This didn't make any sense! Why hadn't she told him? Why hadn't she ever said a word? He felt a sting in his heart that he hadn't felt before. Hadn't they shared everything? They were twins, after all...why I hadn't he seen this? Was he blind?

"Hai..."

Yuurei could read Subaru's confusion, and quickly he forced up a chuckle. "Oh, gomen nasai. They knew each other for a very short while before she died. But her spirit has continued to visit him in his dreams, though she's fainter each time. I believe we may be running out of this time slot we've been given to bring her back. Before long, her essence may fade completely."

Subaru nodded, a difficult task, considering where his head lay. "What do I have to do, Kantoku-sama?" He'd do anything for Hokuto, and now he found himself wanting to do anything to make Yuurei himself happy. He found it strange that he'd wish for the happiness of a man he had met only a few days before, but the more he was around Yuurei, the more he found himself wishing that Yuurei was never involved with the End of the World. The more he wished that Yuurei could live a happy, normal, ignorant life, away from all the pain being around Subaru served him.

He smiled and ran his callused, bloodstained fingers through Subaru's short raven tresses. "First of all, you might as well know my name. Call me Yuurei." Again he leaned back, still exhausted physically. "I'm not sure exactly...but I think we should start by going to her grave site. Her spirit energy must be strongest there, right?"

Subaru nodded. "Hai...Y...uurei?"

He hadn't been to Hokuto's gravesite since she first died, nine years ago. He spent the last nine years of his life fumbling for excuses, avoiding the yearly ceremonies his grandmother always insisted he go to. But now, there was no use detaining it. He would look at the sakura tree that marked her body, and would be faced with the infallible truth-- Hokuto was dead.

Subaru's mind felt numb; his entire body tingled, as if it were asleep. The only thought that swayed in his mind was the doubt that Hokuto would be revived. But even she wasn't, it was worth trying, right?

Subaru bit his lower lip. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. Hokuto shouldn't have been the one to die in the first place.

The one who should have died was him.

If he had died, no one would have to suffer. Hokuto could be with her lover, Yuurei would have never experienced so much pain because of Subaru's recklessness; he wouldn't have put the Dragons of Heaven in danger with his rash personality.

He wouldn't be a Dragon of Heaven. Someone more capable of it would have taken his spot. The battle would be over, and everyone would be satisfied.

Or not.

* * *

Yuzuriha found herself growing progressively more fidgety. "Okita-kun..." she began, not knowing how to finish. She swallowed deeply, "...why are you with them? With the Dragons of Earth?"

It was the same question she had been wanting to ask Kusanagi. From her perspective, all the Dragons of Earth were horrible people who wanted to hurt them; as much as she tried to understand them, she couldn't understand their motivations! Why should humankind have to restart? Why should they be the ones to choose the extermination of an entire race?

Yuzuriha didn't understand it.

Looking down at the ground, Inuki brushed against her leg, his way of telling her it was going to be all right.

But it wasn't.

"Gomen'asi..." Yuzuriha apologized, bowing as she did so. "Gomen'asi!" she repeated louder. "It's...none of my business...why." Her voice grew low.

She hoped that Uo was all right...

* * *

Uo nearly fell forward as she heard the news. She had managed to turn enough to at least watch Yuuto, the other man, and Fuuma. She still flinched at the sight of Fuuma, but contained herself. She didn't feel like turning her back on them was a wise choice, and thusly kept herself sideways so that she could watch the door and watch them at the same time.

A low growl, something that you might hear from a cat or a very, very unhappy dog came from the upset brunette. Her eyes sharpened slightly as she sat there in Indian style, glaring slightly at Yuuto. By this time, she had managed to get her voice up again, and luckily had picked almost all of the glass out of her shoulder on her own. She was very feisty, and overly determined. Her movements were still slow and her reaction time and strength at an all time low. She stopped growling after a minute and forced herself to speak.

"... At least," she stopped, putting on the calmest, sincere look that she could, and straightened out her tone, "Let me send them a note... let them know I'm okay. I don't mind staying here.. but, I... don't like to make people worry."

She exhaled and sighed, closing her eyes and smiling ever so lightly. "... Gives me time.. to think of an excuse for making them worry so much. At least grant them that much, sir." she said to Yuuto.

After all, she had to be on good terms with at least one of them that was a 'higher authority'. She doubted she'd be so lucky when Fuuma woke up. She forced herself not to growl. After all, that wasn't going to help... even if it did make her feel better. She really rather wished that Okita was still there. It was hard not being uneasy. She wondered if he'd even permit that. Not like she could write in code or anything...

* * *

Subaru had agreed. Now the only factor remaining was that of transportation. Neither were in any shape to travel, and at this rate it would take them forever to reach Kyoto. Only one sensible option remained, and at the moment, not even that was looking like a very fathomable possibility.

Shadow-walking was a delicate procedure. One false step through the threads of darkness that composed the night, and the traveler could lose himself in nothingness for all eternity. Any distraction could cause him to be ripped apart at the seams, simply because he lost his concentration on his destination. And right now, the pain in Yuurei's body was enough to consume him completely.

Still, they needed to move quickly, before anything else happened. Slowly Yuurei patted Subaru's shoulder. "There's a way to get there that'll take only about ten minutes...but I won't lie to you. In my condition, the risk is substantial. Do you trust me?" And then, after a moment, he added with slight hesitance, "And before we leave...do you mind if I use your shower? I still seem to be a bit bloody..." But, of course, as soon as he said it, he realized that Subaru was in a much worse physical state. "Gomen nasai," he apologized quickly. "Go ahead. I'll wait."

* * *

Yuuto glanced at the girl. Obviously upset, but with fairly good reason. Her proposal, however, was a clever one. Tapping his chin lightly, Yuuto finally gave a shrug. "I don't see what's wrong with that. As long as I know exactly what you're writing, I'll allow it."

"I don't think that will work," huffed Kusanagi. "The young Seal made it perfectly cleat that without the girl, the field wont come down. We already have two members trapped inside there. Are you willing to sacrifice them for something so petty?"

Yuuto held back a scoff. "Petty? Petty as in, if we return her, nothing will keep her from leading the Seals straight to us?"

"The girl clearly has nothing to do with the seals themselves. She's just an acquaintance. I seriously doubt she has any idea what's going on around her. Keeping her here would just hinder our plans."

Uo frowned slightly. Seal? She gave a rather dark glare to Yuuto. "Who says I don't know? I might know more than you think.."

Still Yuuto shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I'm not budging from my decision. If you disagree, you'll have to wait until Kamui-sama comes around and learn what his orders are. "Until then, I'm not going to do anything that might anger him."

Yuuto smiled more amiably at the girl. "I don't know why you're snapping at me. The more you know, the more reason I have to keep you here."

Kusanagi glared at the girl, angry that she would say such. "Your not making this easier for me kid..." he muttered under his breath.

"And the sooner I get out, the more I can tell." She remarked. "I'm a strategist. No one here is perfect. First slip up and I'm out... even if I can't move very well.. . so..." She trailed off.

Do we really need to get Kamui involved?" asked Kusanagi. He wanted to avoid that outcome any way he could. He had only seen the young man since the fight with the other Kamui, but it was clear...there was something not human about him. He could only imagine what he would do to the young girl.

Yuuto nodded. "So...you stay here. No more questions. End of discussion." He nodded curtly to Kusanagi. "Get the others out, if you can. But I'm sure they can fend for themselves."

* * *

Okita crossed his arms and sighed. "I'm not actually a Dragon of Earth...technically. I just kind of got dragged into this and I haven't been able to get myself out of it."

He looked to her with a friendly expression. "Frankly I don't know what this all is exactly about yet...but the way it's looking, Yuuto-san really wants me on his side and you really want me on your side...So it's hard."

He sighed and leaned back onto a wall, sighing heavily. "All I wanted to do was go home so I could take a shower and think and then this all happened."


	48. Chapter 46: Two World’s Apart

**Chapter Forty-Six: Two Worlds Apart**

Fuuma watched as Yuurei left and strolled toward Kakyou. "He is certainly a person who has arranged something I feel for no mere man, my hatred." He smiled brightly at the dream seer and touched the man's cheek. "Yet you must understand that I have done this for you because I care for you as one of my own." Fuuma leaned over and gave the man a peck on the cheek, retreating back to his original position. "We must be together from now on Dream seer...after all, You are mine now."

Fuuma waved his hand toward the man, turning on his heel. "Well I suppose I should now wake up...I'm more than able to now. Until our next meeting." Fuuma walked away...disappearing into the dark shadows.

* * *

Fuuma awoke with a grin. He heard what the argument was over and the whole thing made me chuckled ever so slightly. He finally rose quietly from his bed, eyeing Yuuto with a pleasant smile before he rose. "MY decision is this...Yuuto keep the man here while I deal with this seal..." He stood up and started to walk casually for the exit, turning his attention to Kusanagi for the moment. "I'm sorry but you have a personal attachment to this seal and that could compromise our goals...Therefore, you will sit this situation out while I go hammer out the lose ends. Yuuto, restrain him if he tries to leave."

He didn't give Yuuto a chance to answer before he left, hoping that his rudeness would be forgiven. Fuuma's walk was casual as he strolled down the sewer whistling a melody.

* * *

"I don't mind."

It was true. Subaru didn't mind. He had become indifferent to the aspect of death; he had remembered when nine years before, he was so worried about others, and about himself, too. He never wanted to be hurt, even if it meant he got hurt instead. But even so, he'd take risks to make sure that he and others escaped injury. Subaru knew that if he got hurt, or if he died, Hokuto would cry. And he never wanted to see Hokuto cry. Not ever. He loved her too much to watch her cry.

But now, Hokuto wasn't around. No one cared about what happened to him. If he died, if he was injury, no one would care about him. No, they'd only care about the Dragon of Heaven-- the Onmyouji magician-- not Sumeragi Subaru, the person. Subaru's special person, the only one who he thought cared about him was not the Seishirou he knew. He was the crazed Sakurazukamori that ravished in Subaru's pain. He wasn't worried about Subaru being ok; in fact, in most circumstances, he was the one who caused him to NOT be ok.

Subaru had no-one.

Despite Yuurei's irresistible offer, Subaru declined, "You go...first. I can wait." Subaru pulled himself upright, leaning against the sofa for support. That was one thing that hadn't changed about Sumeragi Subaru. He was still as considerate as ever.

* * *

Uo fell flat over now at the simple fact that Fuuma-was-awake. Fearful? .. Sure was. She forced herself not to let it show, especially as she felt the very loud crack as her left shoulder dislocated upon contact with the floor. She held back what could have been identified as a hiss and forced herself up with her right hand. She was still tired, and playing one-handed-push-ups was not what her body needed.

She forced herself back up and onto the table, eyes wide. Too late to protest. Fuuma was gone, gone to get her friends. A dark shadow passed over her face momentarily. She was powerless to stop him, too. The pain in her shoulder didn't matter to her at all. It was the fact that someone she knew and cared about was in danger and it was her fault.

She stared towards where she knew the door to be and licked her lips. Maybe she could make it, but Yuuto would stop her before she got more than two feet out. Still, her spirit pushed her to try and go. She knew that she would only fall though.

"... Yuzu-chan.. Kotori-chan..." Uo trailed off as she frowned, closing her eyes. ".. Why's this happening anyways? This is stupid... like some distorted horror film that keeps replaying... it isn't fair." she said aloud, not necessarily to anyone.

Playing her right hand on her left shoulder, she didn't bother to close her eyes as she pushed her shoulder back into place with a very loud, thunderous crack. She didn't flinch. She was too busy thinking. How far could she get before she collapsed... and could she fight off Yuuto? Perhaps she should stop trying to play hero. Hadn't that gotten her here to begin with?

"... If anything happens to them, I won't ever forgive myself." She said aloud to herself through clenched teeth.

Tears she could avoid. They were merely water to her that washed one's face. Biting her lip, she tried to force herself to stand again, only to sink back to her knees roughly. She was too exhausted to go anywhere.

"... I hate this." she muttered, not bothering to pull herself up. Her eyes were becoming glassy. So what if they saw her cry? It wasn't like she was going to wail or anything. Only a tear escaped though... and that alone was probably the most she had cried in years.

_'... Please stay safe.. please stay safe. Fuuma, I don't know what's wrong with you... but please... don't kill them... don't hurt them..' _she thought, her humanity screeching in her mind. _'That's not who you are... or have you changed?'  
_  
Speaking of people... wasn't Okita there!? Would Fuuma hurt him? Her mind tumbled about. He had better not! A sudden fury rose up in her head. Why... she wasn't sure... but, just as she was protective of Kotori and Yuzuriha and Kamui, she now found herself raging over the thought of Okita getting hurt. Was that her fault? ... Maybe. Maybe not. Still...

"... Okita.." she whispered, barely audible. Heh, so she had remembered his name...

* * *

Yuzuriha smiled. It was good to know that he wasn't all for destroying the world. He was just confused. She could still convince him that it wasn't the right thing to do.

But at the same time, she didn't want to pressure him into taking her side. She simply gave him a long hug. "I'm sorry you got into all of this mess, Okita-kun..." she whispered. She didn't want him involved in all of this...

Nataku glanced up, his eyes tracing the outlines of the buildings at the edge of the kekkai. He could faintly sense a strong power moving towards them. If it was Kusanagi, the angel was certainly returning quickly. Perhaps too quickly.

Which meant that the power moving towards them was probably a seal. Nataku's eyes shifted from the buildings to the girl nearby. Perhaps the seals had come to claim their own... His eyes narrowed. Perhaps there was a way to prevent that from happening.

Inuki's ears flinched; Yuzuriha could see it- she felt it, as she looked over at Inuki, still holding Okita in her embrace. She pulled back. "Inuki...is something wrong?"

Inuki began to growl. This definitely wasn't good!

"Inuki, it's all right..." Yuzuriha stared nervously in the direction Inuki faced, knowing that nothing was all right. Inuki was very intuitive, and never, ever wrong. Someone was coming, and it certainly wasn't an ally.

"Is it Kusanagi-san...?" Yuzuriha sure hoped so.

"There's someone coming," Nataku said simply, his statement aimed more at the young musician than Yuzuriha. She seemed already aware of the approaching power. He stared straight at Okita. "Whoever it is, they are emitting a strong power. Perhaps you should wait at the edge of the barrier to watch and see if our ally is returning."

Okita seemed less inclined to leave Yuzuriha with the emotionless clone, but Nataku had a point. If someone WAS approaching, and they weren't friendly, it would be best to know in advance.

"Watch Yuzuriha-chan, then, please." He patted her on the head before heading down the nearest street towards the edge of the kekkai.

Yuzuriha glanced nervously at the calm-speaking young man. He couldn't be much older than her, and although she sensed a strong energy from him, it was nothing she couldn't handle with Inuki by her side...

Or could she?

Nataku watched the young man go, his attention only partially focused on the retreating form. The girl beside him seemed to be watching him nervously. Once Okita seemed well on his way to the outer edge of the kekkai, Nataku turned to face the seal.

"I seem to recall you from before." His voice was as emotionless as his features.

"From...before?" Yuzuriha tilted her head slightly to the side. She couldn't remember seeing this man before just now...

"This is the first time we met, right?" Yuzuriha asked nervously, slowly becoming more flustered. It'd be horrible if she had met him and had forgotten his name completely!

"Formally," he answered, "although I remember you from the battle before." The fabric floated about his body in lazy waves. "When you received that." He inclined his head to include her injury. "From the Kamui."

"Oh," Yuzuriha said numbly, bringing a hand to her wounded chest, her eyes following the movement of the ribbons as they waved in the night air.

"I don't think I saw you there..." Yuzuriha droned off, losing her focus. The kekkai's energy wavered slightly for a second.

* * *

Arashi stopped. Her attention averted from Kotori to the window again. Something was going on. "Who..."

Kotori stopped and looked at her. "What?" she asked softly.

Arashi stood abruptly. "I'm sorry. I have to leave you..." She didn't bother to add that someone was in trouble. Kotori didn't need anything else on her shoulders right now.

Arashi forced herself to give a smile instead of her ice cold glare to Kotori before she jumped for the doorway. She swung the door open, and stepped onto the balcony.

"Yuzuriha-chan." Arashi spoke swiftly. She took a step closer to the edge of the steps, and then she pounced up to the nearest building before moving her way along to the next. Yuzuriha's kekkai was barely visible, and it wavered, which only made Arashi push herself more.

Kotori ran out as she saw Arashi leave. "Arashi-san!!" She tripped over the landing and fell onto the landing of steps. "Arashi..." Kotori coughed and choked back the ending.

Her hand instinctively came her mouth as she gagged. Her hair fell around her face, and she crawled on her knees and one hand to pull herself to the edge of landing, enough to lean her head over. It wasn't like there was anything that she could throw up- she really hadn't eaten lately. She was supposed to be cooking when she pulled away to Kanoe, and then her brother went...insane. She was in the hospital with no one before Fuuma took her for a free fall landing across Tokyo and told her that her father...

She coughed again. Translucent-like liquid spilled from her lips. It wasn't something she wanted to think about right now. Her eyes filled with tears as she brought her head up long enough to follow Arashi's disappearing act.

* * *

Shrugging compliantly, Yuurei stood and headed for the bathroom, too tired and in pain to protest. The prospect of a hot shower was too tempting to resist, so he did not insist that Subaru go first.

And indeed, it was relaxing. As the steaming water poured down over his muscular, battle-scarred body, the memories of the past days also entered his mind like a torrent. Love, desperation. Pain, despair. Coming, leaving. An endless cycle.

Suddenly he felt very dizzy, and with a husky groan he slid against the shower wall and slumped to the floor. The hot water continued to pelt his body as his head rolled to the side to rest against the cool mortar of the wall. Numbly he placed his hand over his abdomen. Instantly he recoiled at his own touch, and it almost caused him to gag.

He looked down in dismay and horror. The wound had turned the entire surrounding area of his stomach a gruesome blackish-blue color, not wholly unlike a heinous bruise. Even inhaling and exhaling was strenuous and becoming quickly excruciating. Keeping his breaths shallow, he leaned forward and reached around to feel the entry wound in his back. A bit of an improvement, but probably only because the skin there was not in almost immediate contact with his entrails. His back still felt bruised.

Deftly he scrubbed the blood and dirt from his body. At least the wound Seishirou had given him had ceased bleeding for the most part. A bit of watery liquid bubbled from it every now and then, but it did not come in gushing torrents, so he paid it little heed. Finally he got to his feet again and got out, toweling himself off before attempting to wrap it around his waist before exiting. But the contact with his injury caused his skin great discomfort, so with little hesitance he shrugged it off again and left the bathroom stark naked.

His mind was in partial delirium; he was too disoriented to feel any sort of embarrassment at his lack of clothing. But numbly he made his way back to Subaru and snatched up his slightly tattered attire, struggling not to agitate his wound as he pulled on his breeches. But once that was done, he already felt exhausted again, and a thin sheen of sweat had already appeared across his forehead. He was undoubtedly running a fever. Wearily he collapsed back onto the couch half-clothed, nodding vaguely to the younger man.

"Go ahead," he said, indicating toward the bathroom. "It's all yours." And before Subaru could even get up to leave, Yuurei closed his eyes and took a hard swallow...

...And realized that he could barely breathe.

* * *

A small sweat drop crossed his brow as Fuuma awoke and promptly left, apparently having recovered a great deal since his near death experience only a few hours ago. "Eh...hai, of course," he stammered, but too late. The Kamui of the Dragons of Earth was already gone.

By this time the young girl had fallen from the table and already scrambled back up. An amusing child. On a whim, Yuuto went to one of the cupboards and retrieved a package of crackers, coming back to place them in her lap. "You're not injured anywhere, are you?" he said pleasantly. "We have drinks and plenty of food, if you're hungry. You probably need to get at least a little of something in that skinny stomach of yours," he added with a light-hearted chuckle, nodding toward the crackers. "Just let me know if there's anything I can do to make you more comfortable, as it looks like you might be staying here for a little while."

With that, he turned his attention back to Kusanagi, and his expression grew slightly more stern. "I hope Kamui-sama has made that perfectly clear. I won't hesitate to subdue you, should you try anything rash..."

For a minute or two, Uo was silent. Really, how could she stay here while people she cared about were in danger? To simply sit back while she could do nothing was torture in its own, peculiar form. She glanced up at Yuuto, blinking down at the crackers on her lap. It was hard to hate people that were so nice to her. Maybe she was getting soft.

"... Arigato." she said. Her voice was barely audible though just because.

Uo couldn't help but worry. How could she eat at a time like this? It took a few minutes of thinking for her to manage to reason that if she didn't eat, she wouldn't be able to stay awake. She would have rather been awake than to faint while in this strange place. She wasn't entirely trusting of the people. After a few more minutes, she finally opened the crackers and ate them, every last one.

She felt a little sick after eating them. She hadn't eaten fast, but she usually didn't have numerous bruises and wounds to hinder her stomach's acceptation. She didn't care though. Her body had needed the food and the recovery of her natural strength, and her strength and energy in general, depended upon it.

She twitched a little though. Why did everyone keep calling Fuuma "Kamui"? Fuuma wasn't Kamui! Kamui was Kamui and Fuuma was Fuuma! She resisted the urge to ask but simply glanced at her left shoulder again. That last little piece of glass would be tough to reach, so she went at it again, two fingers reaching for it. It was pretty big, but it had to come out. After a minute of picking, she caught it between her fingers... and almost screamed.

Holding it for a few seconds, she suddenly brought the glass out, ignoring the rip of the flesh that had already been attempting to heal. Blood attempted to pour out, at least a little, but she held it back with her hand and pressured it.

Uo heaved a little sigh and shook her head. She had to endure... after all, she had to regain her strength before she saw Fuuma again. She just HAD to, and she would, too. Now... if only the bleeding would stop...

_'... Don't worry, everyone. I'm going to find out what's going on here and what the heck has gotten into Fuuma.' _she thought to herself.

Once again looking up, she relaxed her grip on her shoulder. The bleeding was beginning to slow down, finally. Still, if Fuuma hurt anyone, anyone at all...

She clenched her fist.

* * *

As hard as Kusanagi tried, there just didn't seem to be any reasoning with the stubborn Yuuto.

"I don't see what's stopping me from taking the child and heading right out the door," said Kusanagi trying to hold back his rage. "I maybe a Dragon of Earth, but I have no real allegiance to you or your causes. If you think I'm going to take orders from you and.."

Something wasn't right. Kusanagi could feel it in the very depths of his soul. A horrible but incredibly powerful ki was emitting from Kamui's lifeless body. It was then that the young man rose again from his slumber, fully healed. It was as if that fight with the other Kamui hadn't happened at all.

"My decision is this...Yuuto keep the man here while I deal with this seal..." He stood up and started to walk casually for the exit, turning his attention to Kusanagi for the moment. "I'm sorry but you have a personal attachment to this seal and that could compromise our goals...Therefore, you will sit this situation out while I go hammer out the lose ends. Yuuto, restrain him if he tries to leave."

"K-Kamui..." stammered Kusanagi. "You cant do this! Leave Yuzuriha alone! She hasn't done anything wrong!"

But his words fell upon deaf ears and Kusanagi could only watch the young man headed out towards the kekkai.

* * *

She froze stiff as though she had been bitten by a snake and was paralyzed from the venom. Her eyes flickered slightly as she turned her head so quickly that she felt as if her bones might snap. She stared. That man knew Yuzuriha? She frowned a minute and then paused. If he knew Yuzuriha, then he couldn't be bad! The way he spoke, too, made her all the more sure that he could be trusted.

Wait a minute. Her mind backtracked. Seal. Okay, she sort of had an idea what that was. Kekkai? Still no clue. Something to do with disappearing? But if Yuzuriha was a seal... then...

She shook it out of her head and looked at Kusanagi again. "You know Yuzuriha-chan?" She questioned, almost as if in disbelief as she straightened up, still clutching her left shoulder.

* * *

Kamui gazed off into the distance on top of a building, watching the clouds slowly pass by over head. He had been lost in thought ever since he left Noroku's office.

Who was that woman next to his mother in the picture? Could she really be his aunt? The more he thought about it, the more he began to question. Mother never really talked about her family. not did she mention anything about having a sister...

He hadn't questioned it till now. Was she just keeping him in the dark for his protection?

Running a hand trough his hair, he sat up and walked towards the edge of the roof top. There was no use worrying about it now. he would just have to wait and hope that Noroku would come through as he promised.

Just as he was about to jump down to the streets below, something caught his eye in the distance. "A kekkai...?" he questioned. Why hadn't he noticed it before?

It was obvious that one of the seals was engaged in battle with one of the Dragons of Earth. Though he wasn't necessarily obligated to help any one of them, Kamui felt that perhaps he could get some information towards Kotori and Fuuma's whereabouts.

Leaping from building to building, he began to make his way towards the field when his path was cut off. There didn't seem to be anywhere close he could jump to. leaping down to the streets below, he began to cut through the park. It shouldn't be to long before he was there.

Just then, Kamui could feel the ki of someone close by. He wouldn't have paid attention to it so much hadn't it stood out. It was fading ever so slowly. Could someone be dying?

Kamui wasn't sure why he cared all of a sudden. None of it mattered to him really, but he couldn't help but worry about it even a little. "I guess becoming a Dragon of Heaven has made me turn soft..." he joked to himself.

The park was pretty large it self, but following his senses, he found the person emitting the ki. It was a young boy. Looked about his age and was bleeding badly. Had someone left him for dead?

Never really dealing with this kind of thing before, Kamui wasn't sure what to do. It didn't seem wise to move the boy. He took a hold of the young mans wrist and began to check for pulse. "Hey...you ok..?" he asked?

Shouri heard a voice, felt someone was there. That darkness though- it didn't seem to want to let go of him. As he tried to wake up, tried to force himself from this nightmare, he found it nearly impossible. Someone was there though... a light of some kind? The light of a person... how strange... it seemed to reach out to him, to force an eye just barely open.

"... N... ani..?" he managed to speak that much.

Standing behind the two, leaning against a tall tree, was the mysterious specter. His eyes flashed slightly as he looked at the man. Hai, the Kamui of the Dragons of Heaven. That was who it was... heh, well, why not step in?

The specter's eyes flashed slightly as he allowed his presence to reveal itself only a little, itty-bitty bit, enough to get his attention. He step forward and paused, voice coming again from his expression of emotion.. words forming within the mind, or at least could be interpreted as such. He did not move his mouth, but let his mind do the talking.

_"... He needs to be taken to a hospital..." _His mind's voice was... quite strange... and echoed as if he were in a hall, yet it was soft and soothing... though very mysterious...

* * *

"That would be entirely possible," Nataku replied calmly, "Kamui had your sole attention then." The same wash of faces and voices that always seemed to fall upon Nataku whenever his thoughts turned to Fuuma played through his mind, but he shook them off for the time being.

He remembered what the girl's role in that battle had been. She had seemed bent on killing Fuuma any way she could, which had landed her in her current weakened state. And had attributed to Fuuma's less- than-best state as well. The fabric's movement grew more rapid, tracing circles and figure eights in the air.

He could certainly aid Fuuma this time, now that he had the chance..

Yuzuriha felt herself becoming increasingly nervous. Was it the calm in Nataku's voice? The way his silk streams seemed to be swirling with increasing intensity? Either way, she glanced nervously in the direction of Okita's last footsteps, silently praying he'd get back soon. This man made her feel so uneasy.

He could no longer hear Okita's running steps, which made things easier. Although the man seemed to hold more of an allegiance to the Dragons of Earth, he would certainly not see the benefit to destroying this seal. Fuuma would, undoubtedly.

Nataku's hand gripped one end of the silken fabric hovering about him, pulling it back and bringing it forward in a whip like motion almost too quick to catch.

Yuzuriha reflexively brought her arms in front of her in an X position, trying to defend herself from Nataku's onslaught. She cried out in pain as his fabric caught her flesh and pulled back, blood dripping from the silky cloth. This Dragon of Earth was much more powerful than she had anticipated. Yuzuriha didn't expect fabric to hurt this badly.

Nataku yanked on the fabric still clutched in his hand with the intent of dragging the young seal across the ground. What remained of the floating portion of the fabric darted above first his head, then seemed to draw back in a mimicry of his previous motion to lash out towards Yuzuriha's neck.

"Oki--" Yuzuriha started to scream out before Nataku's fabric wrapped around her thin neck so tightly that she could barely breathe, let alone speak. Nataku's ribbon dragged her slowly towards him, her feet kicking at the cement in an effort to hold herself back, to pull herself free.

Inuki lunged at Nataku's face, not giving it a second thought. His master was in danger and there was no way he was going to allow him to harm her. Even if it meant his life, Inuki would give it up for the sake of his master.

The fabric wrapped about Yuzuriha's arms unwound itself in an instant, and in accompaniment to a motion of Nataku's hand, formed a hasty six-pointed star in the air before the clone's body. He had forgotten about the wolf.

Inuki flew backwards as Yuzuriha fell backwards, the ribbons no longer there to support her. Blood seeped out of the gaping wound in Yuzuriha's chest, slowly enveloping the already-tattered school uniform. Inuki bounded to Yuzuriha's side in an instant, growling lowly at Nataku as he did so. He'd protect Yuzuriha, even if she couldn't herself.

Nataku stared through the swirling star still hovering in front of him, one hand clutching the free end of the fabric. The wolf was going to complicate things, and this had to be done before the owner of that approaching power arrived.

He took several steps forward, the star straightening out into stiffened fabric once more. As it did so, it rushed forward, stirring white hair to obscure golden eyes as the fabric sought to curl about a vulnerable part of Inuki's body.

A cry rose from Inuki's throat as the fabric wrapped against his body. Yuzuriha, groggy from the attack, lifted her head slowly at the sound of Inuki in trouble.

"NO! Inuki!" Yuzuriha slowly pulled herself towards her precious Inuki, fingers digging into the gravel as she did so. "In...ski..." She knew she was powerless. The only thing she could do was try to help Inuki.

Yuzuriha raised her hand towards her spirit-animal, and it materialized into sword-shape, held bound tightly in Nataku's ribbons. Still unable to reach it, nor get there fast enough to intercept Nataku from getting it, she tried once more to call for help, "OKITAAAA!"

The change from wolf to sword seemed hardly to faze Nataku. The fabric stiffened about the sword in an eerie fashion that seemed unlike the usual manner of cloth, and one quick yank brought the sword clattering at Nataku's feet.

Yuzuriha crawled towards the sword, figuring that wasting her energy calling Okita would do her no good. As she crawled, she left a smeared path of blood that followed her trail. For a second, she was able to push herself upwards, before collapsing under her own weight. A few inches from the sword, she stretched her hand out as far as she could, only to find that it just wasn't far enough.

The kekkai wavered slightly, parts of the real world mixing with the battle scene. A opaque woman walked over Yuzuriha, obviously unable to see the battle that was underway. A second later, she was gone, as Yuzuriha focused her energy into the kekkai.

The sword, still trapped in Nataku's ribbons, rose into the air, following the motions of Nataku's hands grasping the ends of the fabric. It seemed to struggle against the movement, and in one motion Nataku brought it down, unsheathing the tip of the blade with a gesture.

The sword hit the concrete beneath Yuzuriha's arm, the blade passing through her flesh to hold her in place.

Yuzuriha cried out, tears streaking Yuzuriha's face; there was no way she was going to turn Inuki back. She wasn't going to allow that man to harm Inuki. She wasn't.

Yuzuriha knew that Inuki was angry at her; she knew that he wasn't going to be happy, but at least he was safe in this form. Safe from anything that the ribbon-manipulator might do to him.

Nataku gazed down at the fallen seal and the still-wrapped sword now protruding from her arm. It made little sense for her to allow herself to suffer in such a manner. The animal trapped in the sword would be her downfall.

However, that wasn't his concern. With another wave of his arm, the sword rose into the air, hovering above the seal's back. The sword rose higher. In a moment, it would all be ended.

* * *

"I have some clothes, if you want," Subaru said, his eyes still closed in contemplation as he felt Yuurei's soft footsteps nearby. What he opened them to was something that Subaru wasn't anticipating--

Yuurei. Stalk naked.

Subaru merely blushed, turning his eye's gaze to the far side of the room, although he couldn't resist glancing at him from the corner of his eye as Yuurei got dressed and plopped on the sofa.

"O--" Before Subaru could even allow the 'K' to slip from his lips, he noticed Yuurei's irregular breathing. "Kan--Yuurei-san," Subaru said, twisting his body around to face Yuurei, "Are you...all right?"

Taking in a deep, forced breath, Yuurei held back a cough and nodded. "Just a bit...tired." He opened his eyes finally and smiled at the younger mind.

That was when he noticed Subaru's flushed features, and it was only then that it registered in Yuurei's mind in what fashion he had come out of the bathroom. Of course, he had his breeches on now, but still he could not help feeling a tad embarrassed.

Quickly he closed his eyes again and sat up straighter, concentrating on his energy and his will, focusing on subduing the pain. Meditation of this form was a key to his training in the martial arts. By now he had built up a very large tolerance to pain. Now he had only to trigger it. By the time Subaru was done with his shower, Yuurei would probably have enough energy to make the trip.

"Okay..." Subaru was still a bit skeptical, but the idea of a nice, hot shower after the last day of chaos certainly seemed incredibly attractive. Stumbling under his own weight, he made it to the shower, slipping out of his equally-tattered trench coat. Yuurei's trench coat. Subaru sighed. He promised himself that after all of this was done, he'd take Yuurei on a shopping trip to Shibuya and buy him a nice, new leather trench coat. That, he would.

He slipped into the shower, allowing the blood and various other excrement on him to flow away; the water beneath his toes quickly became stained red as he pulled the ribbon of bandages from his body, opening the slightly-closed wounds from earlier. He quickly scrubbed himself clean and pulled his dripping body into a white bathrobe; tightening the belt around his waist, he fumbled to his room, pulling out the first things he found from his dresser drawer, a set of clothes for Yuurei, and a set for himself.

Finally making his presence known in the living quarters, he sat down on the sofa, placing a folded pair of pants and shirt next to Yuurei. Subaru watched Yuurei, as he seemed to be meditating, taking extra precaution to not disturb him.

Gradually Yuurei opened his eyes again, finding that nearly all of his pain had melted away from the time being. He breathed much easier now. Relaxing a little, he glanced at the clean clothes Subaru had set before him, and without much thought, pulled the shirt over his head. A bit of a snug fit, but at least it was free of tears. The pants however... leather and skin-tight. A vague sweat drop settled over the back of his head. "Ano...," he muttered with a slight skeptical chuckle, "I think I'll keep the pants I have on..."

Subaru sweat dropped a bit. "Gomen'asi, I didn't realize..." How embarrassing! Was it possible that his subconscious mind had chosen that outfit for Yuurei? No, it couldn't be. "I can get you some others, if you want..." Subaru offered.

Yuurei shrugged. "Doesn't matter, really. All your clothes will probably be a little small on me..." He gave a nervous smile as he looked down at the short-sleeved shirt again, noticing how the tight cotton fabric easily allowed almost full visibility of his muscles and the slightly protruding nipples of his chest. He normally never wore tight clothing. It just was not his style. Still he was grateful. "I appreciate you letting me borrow your clothes. Now...," he added, getting back to business, "should we be on our way? The sooner the better..."

Subaru nodded, slipping into his pants, the robe still over him to cover him in case he accidentally flashed Yuurei. Tossing off the robe once his pants were securely fastened, he tossed on the shirt. "Ready," he said firmly, turning to Yuurei. He paused and waited a second before asking, "Now what?"

Pushing himself to his feet, Yuurei approached Subaru with a reassuring smile as he extended an arm to wrap around the younger man's waist. "Now I suggest you close your eyes, unless you don't get nauseous easily. I've found that people have the tendency to throw up on their first trip through the shadows."

Subaru nodded, closing his eyes as he was commanded to. He tried to clear his thoughts, but his mind wandered to Yuurei's words, _'I've found that people have the tendency to throw up on their first trip through the shadows.'_ Who was that person he had taken before...? Was it the man he loved?

As Subaru closed his eyes, Yuurei took one more step closer, wrapping both arms around the younger man and holding him securely. With Nataku, it had been easier to transport him because the living doll had been restrained and held tightly. But if Subaru even squirmed a little, Yuurei's concentration was at risk of being disrupted.

So very gradually, he summoned the darkness of the shadows in the corner to rise and manifest around them like a blanket, absorbing them in a rush of tingling nothingness. As their bodies dematerialized, Yuurei guided their direction quickly in the direction of Kyoto, and without so much as a delay in starting time, the journey began...

* * *

"N-nani?" said Kamui.

Quickly whirling around, he stared at the stranger. The words he spoke were pretty obvious to the current situation. There was no way the boy was going to last for long in his condition without some kind of medical attention.

"Did you do this to him?" Kamui asked.

The specter's face remained hidden beneath the black hood. He shook his head slowly, the loose front of the hood floating eerily as if in the wind was blowing.

_"... I did not." _He replied, emotions 'speaking' in place of a voice. _"A Dragon of Earth did."_

Shouri twitched slightly. Voices... so many voices... so why couldn't he keep his eyes open? Were his eyes open? Even if they were, his mind was overridden with the images of Sasori simply tearing into shreds, shrinking, and crumbling into dust. He shook lightly, new tears preparing to make the journey from his half-opened eyes. "... Ane.." he barely whispered.

The specter appeared untouched by the emotions of the boy, but merely stared at Kamui in silence. So much to learn, and so little time in which to learn it... that was the way it was with all creatures...

He shifted and turned so that he was sideways to the others. It was obvious he was preparing to leave, or at least make himself appear to be leaving...

"A Dragon of Earth?" asked Kamui.

The stranger didn't seem to eager to answer and kind of real questions at the moment. In fact, before he couldn't even interrogate the man any further, he had already slipped away.

Looking down at the young man once more Kamui hesitated. He didn't have time for this right now. With the kekkai up, there was no telling who was inside. It might have been his one chance to find Fuuma again.

On the other hand, if the boy had been harmed by one of the Dragons of Earth, then he could very well be involved with the end of the world. Perhaps even an ally. Shaking his head in disbelief, he scooped up the boy in his arms. His warm blood soon began to stain his hand and seep into his clothing. There was already so much of it. If he didn't hurry soon, the boy could be dead by the time he reached the hospital

"You owe me for this..." he told him. Turning around in the opposite direction from the kekkai, Kamui leap off towards the hospital.

Shouri could just barely hear the voice as a few tears slid down his pale cheeks. He could see... well, scenery going by. He tried to lift his head, only to realize that his neck was still bleeding as droplets of blood left their marks upon the ground. He couldn't see very well any more at all, but he had just enough sense to know that someone was carrying him. Who though?

His body did not permit him to see. He merely felt like stopping his struggle to live... was he struggling anyways? No. He almost wanted to die. Then he'd be with his sister, ne? Still, he couldn't even bring himself to relinquish his hope of living, and his need and will to live.

_'... Who..?' _he thought.

* * *

The kekkai wavered again. Arashi pushed herself harder. As she approached, she noticed the symbol of the kekkai that took shape. "Yuzuriha..." Arashi finally made it. She jumped to the ground, landing in front of Yuzuriha. She looked at Nataku, and automatically knew that he was a Dragons of Earth.

* * *

Okita stood watching the attacks on Yuzuriha... Was this all it meant? That one of his friends would die for this stupid cause everyone seemed to care about. It was stupid and pointless...yet there he stood, never really having a voice on which side he was on. Yuzuriha would die if he did nothing and there he stood...Okita eyes narrowed as he saw the destiny that laid before if he continued this path as his fist clenched.

Yuuto-san...Satsuki...They were also his beloved and now he had to choice which one he would fight beside in a war he didn't understand at all. His eyes widened again...a choice and it had to be now...A Choice for the future...Even if he couldn't make a difference in the war he would die defending what he believed and that was all he could do.

Okita suddenly walked toward Nataku, his head staring at the ground. He stopped near the young boy and finally looked up grimly. "I won't let you do this anymore...I WON'T LET YOU HARM SOMEONE I LOVE!!!" The last sentence picked up speed and rocketed toward the cloth wielding boy, with enough power to knock him through a brick wall. Okita stood firm and glared at the result...His choice was made.

_I'm sorry Yuuto-san...It's nothing personal...I really wanted to have tea with you too.  
_

The attack took Nataku completely by surprise, sending him flying backwards, away from the half-dead seal whose body seemed to leave a crimson stain on the concrete. The sword-form of Inuki, however, remained prisoner in Nataku's fabric even as the clone's body hit the pavement a considerable distance away. Regaining his feet, albeit slowly, he gazed dully at Okita and the young woman he couldn't recall having seen standing beside Yuzuriha moments earlier.

While the woman seemed an ally of the fallen seal, the power he had sensed earlier was not stemming from her. Rather.. someone else. Someone who was closer than before to their current location. A motion of Nataku's hand sent the fabric swirling about his head, the sword ever-poised to strike as he made his way back to his former location.

"Your reaction is illogical," Nataku said calmly, his voice even, "she is of the Dragons of Heaven, seeking to destroy the Kamui of Earth. You are for the Earth as well, yet you are for this one. Why?" His eyes revealed something akin to puzzlement.

"O...kita-chan..." Yuzuriha smiled, her eyes flickering shut as she did so.

* * *

Kakyou refused to look Fuuma in the eye, instead keeping his golden eyes downcast, staring at the rocky ground below his feet. Each breath wavered as he forced himself to remain standing at least until he was alone...

The peck on the cheek surprised him, and he started a bit, enough to send his already fragile frame of body and mind into another spin. He managed to catch myself before he fell to his knees however, trying to maintain a stiff pose, and blinking rapidly forced back the tears that wouldn't stop anymore.

As soon as the Kamui for the Dragons of Earth had vanished into the shadows, Kakyou allowed himself to fall to his knees. The sobs now rising unabated from his already horse throat. Tears spilled from his golden eyes, falling with a small plop on to the ground below. His hands balled up into fists within his coat.

The harsh planes of the rocky shore against his knees through his slacks made memories surface that he didn't think he could bear. "No...please ...I can't stay here...I..I..." he said this out loud as if he wanted…needed someone to hear him, but all their was the sound of gulls flying over head and the ocean crashing against the shore.

Forcing himself up, he began to walk away from this dreamscape, his eyes tightly closed, hands still twisted within his coat. He just had to get away, anywhere but here...anywhere but here... He kept repeating this to himself in his head as he stumbled forward, his steps getting more hurried and frantic as the sound lessened and eventually died...

The scape had changed dramatically by the time he managed to stop his headlong pace. His breath came in short, shallow gasps, his hands were still twisted so hard in his jacket...no his clothing had changed as well. He wore his kimono now.. the one he had been wearing before Hokuto.. That name brought back the flood of painful memories all over again and he slumped down against the doorway that had become visible in the long line of wall.

The scape was dark now, black as night and not a sound could be heard, save for his own occasional deep breaths and the last of his tears.

Pulling his knees to his chest, he rested his forehead against them and tried to will everything away...

* * *

As Kusanagi started to rush forward, crying after Fuuma to stop and reconsider, Yuuto chuckled and shook his head, stepping in front of the bigger man's path and blocking the exit.

His gaze hardened, though his guileful simper remained intact. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that..."

* * *

Subaru hugged Yuurei's body close to his, feeling a bit uncomfortable as he did so. How strange it was, to be holding a guy so tightly. Subaru had never hugged someone so tightly in his entire life...

He slowly felt a sickening feeling overwhelm him, and he shut his eyes tighter. "How much...longer?"

He was very conscious of Subaru's slight squirming as they continued to race through the shadows of their path. The younger man's mental question caused Yuurei to smile inwardly in sympathy.

_ Soon, _he whispered back to Subaru's mind. _ We're almost there. _

A few more minutes passed before Yuurei willed them to slow, and eventually they came to a complete stop as the Watcher summoned the shadows about them to return them to their physical forms. And there they stood, in the shade of a tall, thick sakura tree, directly neighboring a beautiful shrine that stood apart distinctly from the rest of the city.

They had reached their destination. The temple of the Clan of the Sumeragi. Yuurei glanced down at Subaru, who was still clinging tightly to his shirt. "You can open your eyes now," he said with a low chuckle.

Subaru slowly opened his eyes, still clutching Yuurei's shirt, realized what he was doing. Slowly, he relinquished his grasp, his hands falling by his side as he stared at the Sakura tree before him-- the same Sakura tree Hokuto was buried beneath.

"Ho...kuto-chan..." He knelt down by the tree, letting his fingers run over the many lines on the bark of the tree. As if on cue, a Sakura petal fluttered in front of his eyes and fell to the ground.

He got up suddenly, and turned to Yuurei, fumbling through his pants pocket for a cigarette. None. He had forgotten them.

Why couldn't he have a GODDAMN cigarette when he needed one?!

Subaru was already becoming a nervous wreck. Yuurei could see the sweat glistening along the creases of his brow. As the young man dug around desperately in his pockets for a cigarette, Yuurei sighed as he took a look around. The last time he had been here had been during Hokuto's funeral. Of course, no one had seen him.

Turning to face the kneeling Subaru again, Yuurei placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "I'd love to give you a lecture on the dangers of smoking, but I think you already know well enough." He forced a light chuckle with his words, but it quickly faded. "We should get started, ne?"

Subaru nodded numbly, not saying a word. A cigarette would have helped to calm him down, but now he'd just have to rely on himself. He took a deep breath. Another. Another.

Okay, he was fine now. He was fine.

Subaru flinched as a slight breeze burned his un-bandaged skin.

Okay, so he wasn't fine.

"What first?"

Yuurei thought for a moment. He had not considered this task very thoroughly when he had endeavored to bring it into being. But there had to be a way. "You have some sort of life spell, don't you?" he said at last. "Something that...transfers energy into objects through your Onmyoujitsu techniques."

Subaru nodded slowly. "Hai..." He didn't mention that it transferred his own life force; if he was put in danger, he knew that Yuurei wouldn't permit it to be done. But Hokuto's life, was so much more valuable than his own.

Yuurei nodded. "Good." Standing back about twenty feet from the tree and the grave beneath it, he passed the back of his hand before his eyes, and the shadows began to swarm about the area like a whirlwind. "Stand back, and get ready to cast your spell," he muttered as the whites of his eyes began to melt away into his pupils as his eyes glowed a brilliant red color with the strain of his power.

"Hai." Subaru pulled an ofuda out of his shirt pocket, and began to chant, progressively growing weaker and weaker with every syllable. He didn't let it show, holding his shoulders high, as he did so. He trembled after a few seconds, almost unable to bear his own weight. But even so, he continued, "...On vajra sowaka, on batari handomei..."

If it had not been for Yuurei's own power depleting as he worked, it might have sensed Subaru's precarious predicament. With a surge of energy, he delved into the ground with the manifested shadows, and moments later, the ground beneath their feet began to rumble. Within moments, the earth broke, and the casket slowly began to rise from the ashes, lifted by a bed of darkness. Eyes still glowing with energy consumed, Yuurei then summoned the shadows to set the coffin down and swathe it with power, absorbing Subaru's spells and adding to them his own--not of life, exactly, but of restoration and strength. Different from Onmyoujitsu. This was the Watcher's special genre of sorcery. Shadow-skill.

Subaru's words never wavered, even when he was on the verge of collapse. The ground beneath him rumbled, and he couldn't hold himself up any longer. Even as he fell, he continued chanting. Even as he lay in the uprooted dirt, his weak voice continued chanting, "On vajra sowaka, on batari handomei..."

With the casket bathed in shadows, totally unrecognizable for what it truly was, Yuurei allowed himself to relax just enough to realize that Subaru had collapsed. Yet the young man continued to chant. But instead of demanding that he stop before he killed himself, Yuurei nodded and muttered wearily under his breath, "Just a little longer, Subaru... Hold on just a little longer..."

And so now...it would begin: the summoning of Hokuto's deceased spirit back into her earthly body...

* * *

Kusanagi should have expected the retaliation from Yuuto. He seemed more loyal to Kamui than anyone else...

"Get out of my way Yuuto. I don't want to have to hurt you..."

* * *

Sorata tossed as his mind replayed Stargazer's vision. Those words haunted him almost more than the past he tried to hide from the world around him. He groaned as he violently kicked at his covers. The image of that boy in the rain replayed in his head.

_When you find that which you value most, your star will shift from Heaven's grace. It is then that your fate shall forever change and that which you sought to protect, will you try to destroy...The past will extinguish the star and in result, it shall be reborn in another form.  
_  
_The boy's head jerked back as Stargazer struck the child correcting-ly.  
_  
Sorata jumped up from his bed, breathing heavily as that cold, clammy sweat poured his face. He stared at the floor where Noroku once was...He hadn't returned yet, probably for the best he supposed. It wasn't safe for him anymore, the star was beginning to shift and he could feel that past catching up to him...That past that would eventually kill him...He reached for his jacket as he thought of the girl who was that he valued most...

"Ganbatte Arashi-chan..." Sorata smiled weakly at the window, all he could do was wait for his future to arrive.


	49. Chapter 47: The Voice of Reason…Er…Not

**Chapter Forty-Seven: The Voice Of Reason…Er…Not.**

"Yuzuriha-chan!!"

Arashi lifted the girl halfway into her arms, shaking her lightly. "Yuzuriha?"

She looked behind her. Where WAS that dog of hers? Her dark eyes landed on the clone.  
"You..."

* * *

Okita stood glaring at Nataku. "Because I'm the master of my own destiny and I'm not going to sit by and watch her die for something I don't understand." He noted the presence of the woman from earlier...lacking her smiley Osaka colleague no less.

Okita eyed the boy with sad eyes. "I won't let you hurt her anymore...Even if you have to kill me instead." His eyes grew cold as suddenly the sounds Nataku grew quite louder.

* * *

Fuuma watched from a top a building, smiling down at the conflict. He hadn't wanted to enter the barrier but curiosity was his worst foe. He met eyes with Nataku...signaling him to bring the traitor in alive. Fuuma eyes then fell upon the terribly happy Dog Girl. Excellent, he might just have to join this fight very soon.

* * *

Uo paused as she looked up from the ground to stare at the two men who now appeared to be ready to fight. Indeed! Was this man, Kusanagi, so protective of Yuzuriha that he was willing to fight his comrade over it and disobey orders? She furrowed her brows as she contemplated it. Yes, that seemed to be the case.

A hint of mixed worry and curiosity was hidden upon her features as she looked at the two. If they fought, could she get out? Her eyes trailed to the other man, the man tied to the table. She couldn't leave him there, could she? It was partially the fact that he had been with Yuuto that had caused her to follow them to the hide-out. She had figured he was one of Yuzuriha and the other's friends and followed for that reason. It had been only later that she had formed the plan of finding out the location of the hide-out.

She crawled over the table, whose base she had been leaning against while seated, after standing. She backed off it so that she was closer to the other table, rather acting as a shield in case things got out of hand. If anything really bad happened she knew that her body could shield him and take it. After all, he couldn't move to avoid anything.  
Even if "Yuuto" and "Kusanagi" were careful, it didn't mean they wouldn't mess up.

She had thought over trying to escape, but would that be wise while the two were fighting? Yes and no. She could find the others and tell them where the other man was being held, but she wasn't quite sure what the distance between the subway trains' running were anymore and she couldn't change it in her condition. She couldn't bare the thought of leaving without at least giving some reassurance that she would get him help, either. On the other hand, if she stayed longer, she could recover and perhaps learn some more about these people and their goals. She could learn the timing for the subway trains, perhaps even confront Fuuma concerning his strange and horrifying behavior lately.

Indeed. Her mind was made up. She was staying. Perhaps she could break up the fight before it started?

Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, she spoke as best she could and pushed her voice hard to sound at least a little bit restraining. Risky. Very risky. What if they turned on her? ... Then again, they weren't dogs. It wouldn't hurt to try, would it?

"Please stop! Don't fight!! Save it for the people that you hate so much... _even if I don't know why and can't see why. _You're on the same side. Can't you at least get along?" - What the hell was she saying?

_'This has gotta be some kinda bad movie where the li'l forest  
creatures frolic and play.'_ she thought to herself.

She spoke again, still pleading. "Please."

* * *

It didn't feel long to Hokuto. She turned around after Yuurei had disappeared into the darkness, gazing the way she had come. She could faintly see Kakyou in the distance, surrounded by the beach dreamscape. She didn't know if she actually saw him or if she thought she did because she knew he was there, but she took a step in his direction. And then she felt it.

There was a twinge in her heart. She jerked back, clutching her chest. There it was again, dragging her backwards, into the shadows where Yuurei had gone. Away from Kakyou.

She knew what it was. She could feel her soul being pulled in the direction of her body. To Kyoto. And she could feel Subaru and Yuurei there. She knew what they were doing.

Panic took her. Alive again. She couldn't do it. She couldn't. She had made the choice to die instead of Subaru. Would the spell disappear? Even if it meant being besides Kakyou, she didn't want to risk her brother's safety.

Alive again. Did she even know the meaning? Walking around, being with the living. Joking around with Subaru, eating ice cream, taking long walks, wonder about the future, not knowing, making people freak because of her resurrection, suffer, die again. She didn't know how to do it. And she would die again. Again. That was the word that scared her. Live again and then, wither and die. Again.

She'd been there, done that. But she still wanted to be alive. Still wanted to be able to grow old, still wanted to feel the real sand beneath her feet, still wanted to see Subaru and Kakyou with her own eyes. Again.

There the word came back. Again. But it was all fear. Fear for repeating history.

And she needed to face it.

She went with it. She let their spells drag her away, to Kyoto, to her old home, to her rotting flesh in the ground. She couldn't help but let a giggle escape her. A rotting fleshy Hokuto walking around? Oh yes, she'd definitely freak people out. But then again, her body would probably be healed. To her current age or to he 16-year old self, she didn't know. But she'd be alive.

* * *

The hospital was farther than Kamui had anticipated and he was beginning to feel a fatigued from jumping back and forth through the city.

Unsure weather he arrived there on time, Kamui burst through the hospital doors and ran towards the receptionist at the desk.

"Oh my god! What happened!?" she cried out upon seeing the young man in his arms. Kamui wasn't sure how to answer that really. He didn't even know himself. Without hesitating much the nurse called for help and it wasn't long till several men arrived with a stretcher.

They snatched the young man away from him and began to take off down the hallway. "Well...I did all I could..." Kamui said softly.

* * *

He could feel her spirit being drawn back to her body... closer.. closer... Away from her dreams, away from death, away from Kakyou... But that would be only temporary. Soon Hokuto and Kakyou would be together in peaceful happiness, and Yuurei could finally embrace his death.

Because, as he well knew by now, he was indeed dying. Another twinge of pain bit through his abdomen and into his entrails, causing him to flinch. His meditation would not be able to hold off the effects of Seishirou's enchantment much longer.

Her spirit began to enter the shadows swathing the nine-year-old casket. Was this a selfish act, bringing the girl back to life after she had died so altruistically to save her brother? But now Subaru was suffering more than ever. He needed Hokuto. Kakyou needed Hokuto. And Yuurei...needed to know these two people would be all right before he died.

Commanding the shadows to manifest into their purest forms, he summoned them inside the sepulcher and let them bathe her body, surrounding her with an enchantment of life force that drew upon the energy of his own existence. It was the least he could do. His youth, his form, and Subaru's as well, he knew, would act together as a powerful restoration spell to bring the body of Sumeragi Hokuto back from its rotting state. But the effects it would have on the two spell castors had the potential of being quite devastating.

But he pushed that matter aside. It made no difference what happened to him now. Soon it would all be over. Now all he wanted to do was to make certain he spent every remaining useful moment of his life securing the content of those most precious to him...

* * *

He opened his eyes, and was surprised to find that his head did not hurt at all. In fact, he felt rather well, considering what he had just been through. He had, in fact, only been knocked out for a few moments, but in his state absent of dreams, his Onmyoujitsu powers had finally been given the time needed to restore most of his powers.

Pushing himself to his feet, he steadied himself as a sudden head rush blinded his vision with blinking lights and flashing colors. Once it subsided, he approached the window, surrounded by broken fragments of glass. Splatters of blood flecked the walls. He smirked as he turned back to his closet to change again, noting with a low chuckle that soon he would have to get an entire new wardrobe at this rate.

After changing into another black suite, he returned to the window and leaped out, vaulting from building to building--rooftop to rooftop--toward the kekkai in the distance. Its presence of energy had been in the back of his mind even as he was knocked unconscious for those few moments. But it was not the psychic barrier itself that drew him there fastest. It was the aura that was nearby, not quite inside the field, but watching from the border.

In minutes, Seishirou stood beside Fuuma, glancing down with his one good eye to gaze at the battle below. "Seems you've recovered nicely," he commented without looking at the younger man, remembering how, even though he had not been there, he had sensed the rapid depletion of Fuuma's energy from a distance. Then he leaned closer and lowered his voice to a husky murmur. "The Watcher has gone to Kyoto," he said flatly, still eyeing the fight between the two female Seals and the genetic doll, with the treacherous J-rock idol caught in the middle. "I know what a nuisance he's been to you. But soon he'll be dead; I've already seen to that." He smirked, recalling the horrified expression on the Watcher's face when the man had realized what Seishirou had done to him.

But just as quickly, his gaze hardened again. "One of the Seals is also with him." He did not say Subaru's name, though he knew Fuuma would know well enough without it being said. "What would you have me do?" And he could only hope that it would not have too much to do with combat. Seishirou was not in the mood to enter another battle again so soon...

* * *

The wind had whipping through his dark hair had been the only thing that had reassured him that he was still alive. Unable to move, he could do nothing but let himself be carried by the stranger whom he had heard speak before. Where was he going? Who was carrying him? The questions in his mind remained unanswered as he had teetered back and forth between consciousness and unconsciousness.

A voice reached his ears, a feminine voice. Who was it? He didn't know. He could barely hear anything anymore.

Something grabbed him. A light gasp escaped him as he tried to twist. His vision was so blurred now, his senses so deaf, that his body was acting of its own accord and trying to wrench away from whatever it was that grabbed him. The change in touch, the fact that he was no longer being carried by the stranger, had startled him and only made him worry.

The feel beneath him changed. He had been placed on something. His neck ached from the sudden shift and his stomach churned, flopping this way and that way as he felt the shifting. He felt as though he were going to throw up.

What happened after that was a blur. The change in scenery was barely noticed as the deep, emerald orbs fought to remain open. He couldn't sleep. He couldn't rest eyes, even for a moment. If he did, the shadows would reach out and capture him in their deadly embrace. That embrace was one that he now feared. It was the emptiness that filled the void where the castle in his mind had towered...

-"What's the patient's condition?"

Voices now haunted him, voices that he had never heard before and had no memory of. Some were soft and gentle, while others were dark and filled with hate. He closed his eyes slowly, still fighting to keep them open.

- "Scans completed. No sign of any ruptures at the neck."

_'Na... ni?' _Shouri's thoughts broke through the glass. Who knew how much time was passing between the words that he heard and whatever was taking place. Of course, the words did point out that he WAS at a hospital.

The darkness surged around him, playing on the very edge of the small barrier of his mind. It wanted him. It wanted him badly. It tried to reach out and claw through, only to draw back when it touched the barrier of consciousness. It was hissing and laughing. Soon that barrier would fall...

_'Go away... leave me alone.' _The words formed within his mind as he heard the constant hissing. _'Haven't you... done.. enough?'_

_'Have we?' _A low hiss came, followed by several…

- "No internal bleeding, so far. Tests showed negative for internal bleeding at the neck, as well."  
"Finish the scans-"

The barrier was slowly deteriorating and Shouri knew it. He was completely helpless to fight it, to stand up to the darkness that ate away at his only protection.

_'Why do you fight us?' _Another voice hissed through the darkness.

At the question, the boy looked towards where the voice had come in the endless black. _'I'm not...'_

_'You are. You still want to live! Why? How can you? What's the point?'  
_  
He stared into the black again.

Why did he fight? Why fight the darkness and try to stay alive when it would be so much easier to die? At least if he were dead... he would be with Sasori. Why not die? Why not succumb to the darkness and let it snatch him from his pointless existence? Was she really gone? Was his onee-chan really gone? Hai... but why? Why was it that she was gone?

_'... Seishirou.' _His memory kicked in suddenly, sending a wave of negative energy from his body. _'Onee-chan...'_

- "Scans completed. Tests completed. No sign of ruptures or internal bleeding."  
"Sterilize all wounds and-"

**_---Dream---  
_**  
During the time that passed after it, Shouri was left to himself, to his dreams and mind. He could do nothing but cry within the darkness after it had consumed him, wrapping its 'arms' around him and suffocating him beneath it. What was he to do? What could he do? Absolutely nothing.

He was standing on darkness. Around him was nothing but darkness. There was no light for him to confide in or take comfort in. Just the endless abyss that was darkness.

"Sasori-chan..." he tried to see through the darkness, to find a light as he called out, "Ane-chan, where are you?"

"You know she's not here." A smaller voice replied from behind him.

Shouri turned slowly to face the figure behind him. He had to look down because he was so short.

It was a small boy, no older than six or seven. He was awfully small to be that age though. He had very messy black bangs and eyes that would make the flowers and trees seem dead compared to the shining emeralds he possessed. He looked like a chibi, sort of... a very odd one at that. He recognized him though. It was him... but a version of himself from a very long time ago. So long, in fact, that Shouri had forgotten and almost not recognized him. After all, he had no real pictures of himself before the age of eleven.

But that was impossible. Shouri was Shouri and this boy could not be him, nor could he have penetrated his dreamscape in any condition. Was he seeing things? Was this some kind of trick? His mind could only question what he saw before himself.

"Of course it's a trick." replied the Chibi as he smiled up at the older version of himself. "A trick of your mind."

Shouri stepped back, not saying a word.

The boy began to walk towards him, bouncing a pure white ball with his left hand as he did. "What's wrong, Tokuichi-san? Don't you recognize yourself? Or have you forgotten that, too?"

"I don't know you-" The older boy furrowed his brows as he stepped back. He was afraid.

"You're right." The boy stopped, catching the white ball in both hands and holding it to his chest as he continued to smile at him. "You don't know me. You never have, have you? You don't even know yourself, do you?"

Shouri snarled and turned to the side, looking at the ground. The child was right, but he didn't want to admit it. He had never known himself... ever. He had always been afraid of the world, of everyone... and even of himself. He had stayed away from everyone because of that. He bit his lower lip at this realization.

"You're afraid to face this world, and even yourself. You've always been afraid of everything." Chibi said as he took a step forward again. "That's why you're weak. That's why Sasori-chan is gone!"

Upon hearing the name of his sister spoken, Shouri turned defiantly and glared at the boy. "Yamete." He said in a shaky voice.

"No. You know it, don't you? If you hadn't been afraid, none of this would have happened! You let her down! You've always let her down! You've always been a failure! Look at you, the little sniveling orphan boy who can't even remember who he is!" The Chibi taunted as he began to giggle.

Another step back. Chibi was right, wasn't he? If he hadn't been afraid, he could have protected Sasori. He could have prevented everything from happening. If he had acted before Seishirou had made his move upon Subaru, also, it all could have been avoided. But he was afraid. He had always failed everyone.

Any thoughts of consolation slowly perished from his mind as he took this to mind.

The Chibi giggled again before his laughter completely ceased. He now took a serious tone, words cutting through Shouri like a dagger.

"Always the weakling out of the crowd, pretending to be strong. While everyone built you up in that orphanage, you doubted yourselves. You couldn't always protect them. You knew it. You never thought about anything of your past, never tried to remember it... never wanted to. You never even looked. When you moved in with Matsuko, you hesitated to tell her about your abilities because you were afraid she'd turn on you.. and you never once considered that she might be understanding until a year had passed! When Sasori was with you, you relied only on her and never even thought about her happiness or how she felt! You never even gave Sumeragi-san and Hokuto-san a second thought after you left them with the knowledge of Sasori! You selfish little bastard!"

Shouri spoke up, eyes narrowing. "Sasori-chan was happy! I've always cared about her! She's all I've ever had!"

"Correction." The boy seemed to grow darker, a shadow passing over his face. "All that you ever did have."

A silence passed over the black dreamscape again. It seemed that the silence would never be broken.

Shouri felt like falling upon the ground and weeping. He would have screamed and kicked had he been smaller, but he had grown out of that long ago in the orphanage. Every word Chibi spoke was true. He had always been weak, always relied on others, and always let everyone down, hadn't he? Perhaps not always... but he really was a let-down. He wasn't even worthy of being a little brother. His fear and uncertainty had cost Sasori her life, and left him alone. What of his past? He had tried so hard to remember, but he had never really been trying. It was all blank. Something else for Chibi to push upon.

A small tear crept down Shouri's cheek as he looked at the small boy. "What.. am I to do...?"

"So much going on right now, ne?" Chibi looked at Shouri as he smiled again. "So much out there in the world... so much we can't even begin to understand. We have to keep walking down our path... we can't die here. Not now."

"Then what the hell would you have me do?" Shouri's voice was still soft.

"You know the answer already." Chibi smirked as he began to bounce the white ball again.

"I don't. Can I die now?" Shouri asked hopefully.

Chibi seemed to vanish and reappear before his eyes before jumping up and slapping the boy on the face.

It felt as though claws were being applied to his cheek. He stumbled backwards. What in the world was that for?

He didn't get a chance to ask because the darkness began to spin. He knew what was happening. He was waking up.  
**_  
---End Dream---_**

When Shouri opened his eyes, he was staring at a pure white ceiling. He felt slightly restrained at the neck, but he no longer smelled the blood so strongly as he had before. He felt clean, and that bothered him a little.

Without much thought, he slowly tried to sit up only to feel a slight restraint at his stomach, too. He saw the basic outline of a hospital room. What surprised him even more was that he could actually see clearly. It wasn't logical. His eyes should have still been sore... but they weren't. They were just a little irritated.

The room was the basic standard for a hospital room. A clipboard sat on the table by him, attached to one of the knobs of the drawers. Obviously he was stable since no one was watching him directly. He didn't take time to look at the clipboard. This was one of the few times that he could remember being in a hospital. He never had been... had he? He didn't know. It was just strange, and a little scary...

Taking in the sights and scents, he frowned as he discovered his clothes were missing. It was replaced with a rather revealing gown, or so Shouri soon discovered after a little observation after he had pulled himself to stand. He looked around. Laying across the chair were his clothes and the were clean!

Although he appreciated the hospital, he didn't like the open-back gown, or the fact that he had been bathed by a stranger and his wounds attended to by strangers. He felt violated, but that soon passed.

Shouri rested a hand upon his forehead as he heaved a sigh. Alone again, ne? He shook his head as he recalled the dream. Why had that little boy slapped him? Of course. Suicide was the easy way out, and it was also weak. Even so, he doubted he could bring himself to do it... at least not now.

A light whisper escaped him as he closed his eyes to think. "Sasori-chan..."

Sasori had fought so hard to keep him alive, and for the moment, he would honor that. It had been her last act. As he thought more about it... it had really been Seishirou who had killed her, hadn't it? He was the cause of so much grief and pain... for so many people. Apparently of Subaru, too.

"Su-Subaru-san!" Shouri frowned and bit his lip. "I totally forgot about Sumeragi-san... I wonder if he's okay after all of this?"

_'And what of Seishirou?' _His thoughts echoed.

He frowned as a wave of anger overtook him. Yes. Seishirou. He would have to deal with him. It had been his ofudas that had been the cause of his sister's death... and he had his own score to settle with the man. It would all come to pass in time, sweet time.

For the moment, he would find Subaru. He had no idea how. Perhaps his ki was strong enough to track now. If so, he would have little trouble.

The boy glanced at his clothes and sighed as he put them on again, rather quickly. His body didn't seem to be in half as much pain as before. The scent of the blood really was gone, after all. He paused as sighed. The bandages he couldn't remove. Out of all of his abilities, quick healing was one that he was truly thankful for. That was why the pain wasn't as great and why the wounds had began to close already.

He paused as he finished readjusting his collar so that it folded back into a 'V' with a curve at the ends before it continued around his neck. He was ready to go. Shouri was wearing his usual black-brown t-shirt, along with his baggy white pants and black leather boots. His coat he had not bothered to wear when he had set out. Perhaps he'd stop by home soon and take care of it. After all, his current outfit juts didn't suit him.

Shouri approached the window and stared outwards. His thoughts were a bit distorted, but he knew at the least... what he needed to do.

_'... I'll find Sumeragi-san... and I'll settle the score with Seishirou-san. Not just for Sasori-chan... but for me, too. Seishirou-san will wish that he had killed me when he had the chance. I'll make him pay... for taking her from me.' _No tears came as he stared outwards. Even if he did hurt inside, he wasn't going to show it for the moment... he was not going to jump out of that window, not yet. But... it was best that he start moving...

After all, he couldn't find Sumeragi-san if he stayed in the hospital, could he? He smiled softly, a bitter, yet sad smile. No tears. There would be plenty of time to cry later.

As he turned his back to the window and began to head for the door, he began to hum "Kodomo no Kibou", just as he had so many times before... just as he had when he had been watching Subaru from the hallway of the apartment.

* * *

Just as Kusanagi stepped forward to push him out of the way, Yuuto gripped the bigger man's shoulder and shoved him back roughly. "Don't underestimate me, Kusanagi-san," he said softly with a cool smile.

Energy circulated through his arms and centered at his fingertips, summoning the water from nearby pipes and sewers and readying his power lest Kusanagi should decide to do something foolish.

That was when the girl cried out for them not to fight, quickly dodging behind the table for protection in case debris started to fly. Yuuto glanced at her with a shrug, then turned back to Kusanagi.

"That all depends on Kusanagi-san, and whether or not he decides to obey his orders..."

"I don't hold any real allegiance to you or this group," Kusanagi snapped. "If anything I'm just being dragged along against my will..."

Taking a Tae Kwon Do stance, He glared at Yuuto angrily. "I don't want to hurt you! So this is your last warning! Stand down or I will have to break my way through!"

The pleasant, guileful smile faded from Yuuto's lips, and his expression turned suddenly to ice. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that," he murmured, his voice still mellifluous in its tone, yet with deadly ire lurking just being the surface.

As Kusanagi fell back into his defensive stance, Yuuto stood erect and allowed his hydraulic aura to emanate about his comely form. "If you intend to disobey direct orders from Kamui-sama, then I'll have no choice but to stop you. This is your Fate and mine, Kusanagi-san. So, one way or another, let's get this over with."

There was no getting through to Yuuto no matter how hard Kusanagi pleaded. Did the worlds rebirth mean this much to him?

The small underground base gave Kusanagi a serious disadvantage. Though Yuuto could easily bend and manipulate the water with great accuracy, Kusanagi's powers were of a far wider range, and could easily bring down the entire structure on top of them if he went all out.

"Damn it..." he grumbled as he saw Uo and Aoki in the corner of his eye. He had forgotten about them. There was no way he wanted to get them caught in the cross fire. For now, his options were limited.

Straightening out his gloves, Kusanagi placed his right foot forward and slowly began to etch his way towards Yuuto.

"I really wish it didn't have to come to this. If it were another place and time, I'm sure you and I would be out having a drink or something together."

He stopped in place and firmly held his ground. "But I cant let Kamui hurt Yuzuriha!" Kusanagi cried out and lunged forward with a left kick aimed at Yuuto chest. Regaining his balance, he shot forward with a quick left right punch combination and spun around on heel, twisting his waist as he swung with a right leg round house kick.

Kusanagi was obviously quite skilled in the martial arts; it was probably required for the work that he did in the Japan Special Defense Force. Yuuto was nowhere near as talented in that division, but he did know how to dodge. And dodge he did.

The first blow came for his chest, but he maneuvered backward and to the right, all the while calmly locking his hands behind his back as though this were no serious cause to worry. A right hook came at his jaw, followed instantly by an impressive roundhouse, but Yuuto casually jumped back a foot or so to miss the first, ducking and pushing himself to the side to avoid the bigger man's powerful leg.

"You're very good," Yuuto applauded at last, smiling pleasantly as Kusanagi's blows momentarily receded. "Are we going to do it again? I can dodge all night if I have to, or however long it takes for you to exhaust yourself. I know you're physically stronger than me, but I'm not really too concerned about that." Poising himself out in the open, he beckoned with one hand, his legs positioned together as though in the beginning of a classy dance. "Well, are you going to come at me again? Or is it my turn now?"

Aoki looked over at the battle going on between Yuuto and Kusanagi. He began to scan the room quickly for a way to get himself freed. Not finding much of anything to use on the straps that where holding him down, Aoki decided to try something else. He began to manipulate the air around where the straps where buckled on his hands, trying to unbuckle them from there. Taking a bit of time and a lot of concentrating, Aoki managed to get them freed and began to undo the rest of his bindings.

"Well, have to remember that particular escape route in the future." he said, getting up and pushing his glasses up on his nose some.

Aoki looked over at Kusanagi and Yuuto again.

"Say, I really appreciate the hospitality, but I've got to go. Deadlines to meet and all. Don't worry though. I'll make sure Yuzuriha is safe and fine. You two just duke it out and all. Ja ne." he said.

Smiling, Aoki turned and headed towards the exit quickly, or as quick as he could in his condition.

Aoki quickly turned around.

"Oops, almost forgot someone." he said.

Aoki quickly went and freed Uo. He took her in his arms and started for the exit.

"Bye again!" he said.

Uo blinked. "N-nani?"

It had only been a second after Aoki had gotten up and started running off that she realized that he'd vanished. Having been about to turn around, a build up of confusion in her mind. The confusion from not knowing where Aoki was and the stress from all events that had come to pass mixed together as if in a big urn and combined to create a force that completely struck her senses.

_'Now where'd he go..?' _she blinked a few times, obviously confused still... so confused, in fact, that she didn't really notice the fact that he'd picked her up and was starting to run out.

For a minute, Uo was completely unaware. And then it hit her as plain as day. "Hey.. we're moving... we're moving!? You-!"

She lost her words. She wasn't used to suddenly having a spell-of-stupid hit her flat in the head. She didn't even know this guy's name and she had still come to attempt to get information to save him. It was rather funny how things were working out, at least to her. However, she questioned Kusanagi and Yuuto's response time. If they were quick enough, they'd be easily stopped... and the ground wasn't made of pillows. She blinked a few more times.

"Are you sure this is smart?" she asked, more of her school girl personality coming out by the second. "I mean, what if there's a train out there? We'll be smooched!"

Then again, if they got out... she could find the others, couldn't she? She could find the others, call her parents and tell them WHY she'd been missing all night and morning, find Yuzuriha-chan so that Kusanagi's efforts to reach her weren't wasted.. speaking of Yuzuriha-chan and Kusanagi, hadn't Okita gone with Kusanagi!? Was he okay? She couldn't help but worry... after all, what if something bad had happened to them? She wouldn't forgive herself... and she definitely wouldn't forgive Fuuma. Speaking of which...

"GAH!" she gasped as she realized the very FACT that those two could be facing Fuuma. "Are we going to find Yuzu-chan and Okita-kun?"

She hadn't noticed what she'd tacked to the end of his name.

"Don't worry. If anything happens, I can protect us, and yes, we're going to find Yuzuriha. Hopefully Kusanagi will know what we're trying to do and keep Yuuto there busy while we're escaping." Aoki said with a smile.

He looked back for a bit.

"And so far so good. Maybe I can make those deadlines. I do hope the publishing company isn't trying to contact me. I mean, with this much cement around us and all, my cell signal must be very poor." Aoki said.

Aoki looked around a bit.

"Hmmm... once we get to the exit, keep your eyes opened. Don't want to get run over and all." he said.

"Hai! I don't wanna look like a rolled pizza dough..." she commented, concerning the trains.

For a minute she was quiet, eyes flashing slightly as she glanced here and there. She'd watch for the trains. Maybe she could get this guy to tell her more about the events of the group... and why everyone had vanished earlier? She blinked again and paused.

_'Hang on, Yuzuriha-chan, Okita-kun. We're coming.' _she thought to herself.

She cast a glance back towards the fight. _'Kusanagi-san, please keep him busy... don't let him see us... don't let him see us.' _She pleaded silently...

* * *

Fuuma looked over with a bright smile and caught Seishirou in a friendly embrace, ruffling his hair. "It's been awhile my friend..."

He smiled into the dark man's fake eye, finding it to show more truth then the organic one. He looked back to the battle with the man, eyeing Okita with much interest.

"I see you are disgusted but that boy will join us and I believe I know how to make that possible...After all, our dear Watcher will be the scapegoat to gain the boy's support. As for his whereabouts, could have something to do with the girl I met in the Dreamscape...and if it does, I want to meet this girl." Fuuma eyes the man with a dark smile.

"Everything has been going according to Destiny...Both sides are almost complete and our day is drawing near." Fuuma eyes the sky with a grin...a star was shifting.

Utterly caught off guard by the younger man's friendly embrace, Seishirou forced a chuckle and straightened his jacket when Fuuma finally released him. "A scapegoat, ne?" he mused, glancing back down at the battle. "And what exactly did you have in mind?"

* * *

Magami Tokiko sighed, placing her tea cup down on the table in front of her. Staring at the note where Imonoyama Noroku's telephone number was scribbled, she sighed again, picking it up.

Kamui. He needed to know.

Picking up her telephone, Tokiko dialed Noroku's number. A click was heard and Noroku's voice let out a soft "Hai?" on the other end.

"Imonoyama Noroku? It's Magami Tokiko. Has Kamui been to see you yet?"

* * *

Subaru-kun felt his own life-force grow weaker as organs slowly materialized; first the heart, then the brain, the lungs, and all the others. Soon afterwards, muscle formed over bone, and veins connected. Smooth, pale flesh materialized over his onee-sama's muscle. Hair grew from her head and emerald eyes filled her eye sockets as eyelids formed over them.

Subaru's closed his eyes. The picture was too horrifying for him to bear. His onee-sama...alive.

The picture of his sister alive again was enough to push himself, as he continued chanting...he'd give it all, if only for her...

Hokuto looked down on Yuurei and Subaru, both on the verge of collapsing. They both had wounds and she damned them for not healing before attempting this. If it was to cost them their life, she would rather not be alive.

She was a mere glimmer in the air, hovering above their heads. Her soul was being tugged into the earth, six-foot down and back into her regenerating body.

She could see it under the dirt. Still a corpse, no life. It was almost fully regenerated now, no more rotting flesh. As her soul entered the lifeless body, panic struck her. They hadn't dug up the coffin.

* * *

Noroku sped down the Tokyo streets, answering his cell phone with a free hand. He smiled at Hikari, "Excuse me...Hai, It's a pleasure to hear from you again. Kamui said he wanted to meet you at the Shrine..."

He kept eye on the road, suddenly getting that feeling he got when women were involved, his eye widened as he spun the car recklessly in a U Turn.

"Well this is all I can do for you right Tokiko but if you need again...Feel free to call." He roared toward to where a Damsel was in distress.

Hikari blinked at Noroku as they drove around.

"What's the matter Noroku? Is this your famed ability to sense women in trouble?" she asked him.

* * *

Tokiko put the phone down, getting up as she did so. The Togakushi Shrine, huh? Well, she would just have to go there.

Feeling the changes already starting inside of her, the sword wanting to be freed, she quickened her pace and slammed the door shut behind her. Togakushi shrine wasn't far.

* * *

Her body was complete again. Muscle fiber, bone marrow, skin tissue-- all properly aligned and fit together. Tracing her respiratory system with his mind, Yuurei closed his eyes and breathed his own life force into her body, through the form of the shadows of night.

Now all that remained was to set her free. The spells were complete. Yuurei could feel Subaru's Onmyoujitsu incantations finishing as well. So, letting the shadows separate from the coffin, setting it gently on the ground, Yuurei summoned them to one final task...and slowly opened the lid of the sepulcher...

As Subaru looked up to the reincarnation of his sister, he found himself slowly losing himself. His energy manifested into a green, airy, opaque substance that flew into Hokuto through her various orifices. It took only seconds before Subaru lost touch with the real world completely.

Hokuto found herself jerked to life into the body she had left so many years ago. Her body flapped, then lay dormant. She tried moving her head, moving her finger, opening her eyes, but nothing functioned. Panicking again, her mind screamed for her to concentrate.

_'Open your eyes, open your eyes, open your eyes.'  
_  
She chanted the words over and over again, and slowly, her eyelids fluttered, letting white light fall upon her green orbs. She blinked, then tried to move more of her body. She found it hard. Going for so long without having a body to move around had made her forgotten what it took to actually move an arm.

Slowly, but securely, she sat up, for the first time in years seeing Subaru alive. He looked so much older, so wary, so lost. He collapsed and she sprang foreword, catching him in her yet weak arms. "Subaru!"

"Hokuto...-chan...?" Subaru's voice was raspy and weak; his voice was so low in tone that if it wasn't for the deafening silence that had suddenly overtaken the trio, Hokuto probably wouldn't have heard him at all.

It was nice, finally being able to feel his sister's hands around him, and knowing that it wasn't an illusion of his own making. He smiled up at his onee-san weakly, giving her a weak, coy smile.

"Daijobu?"

At the same time, Subaru wished he wasn't all right. It was his intention to send all of his life force into Hokuto, to allow her to take his place, to gain her powers...but he realized, as if an epiphany, that if he was gone, she would have to suffer the way he did for so many years.

And he wouldn't allow it.

She smiled down at him, her eyes becoming blurry. She almost laughed, feeling the salty tears rolling down her cheeks. God, it felt good to cry again. Cry like she never had.

Hugging him to her, a sob escaping her throat. "Baka, I should be asking you that. You shouldn't use so much of your life force. Combined with Yuurei's, it would be enough with just a little..."

"I'll be fine..." Subaru struggled to sit himself upright, only managing to hurt himself in the process. He winced loudly.

"You won't be fine. We need to get you to a hospital!" Hokuto put a hand behind his back, trying to help him stand, but she was still too weak. Her muscles were not fully regenerated and as she looked over herself, a puzzled expression dawned on her face. "Will I stay in the body of a 16 year old forever?"

Coughing a bit as a slight twinge of pain crept back into his gut, Yuurei still somehow managed to smile at the sight of the twins embracing after all these agonizing years apart. Only now there was a terrible age gap between them, and they did not look like twins at all.

As though reading his thoughts, Hokuto then turned and asked her question.

And Yuurei shook his head with a deep chuckle to mask the wince that shot through his spine as he began to walk toward them. "Your body is still regenerating," he said through clenched teeth, covering up his pain expertly by focusing on his words. "First the decay, then the sense of movement and coordination, and lastly the remerging with your soul. Just give it about a week, and your body will eventually catch up to your spirit's age."

A moment passed in silence, and finally he glanced toward the horizon where the sun was rapidly setting. "Will you head back to Tokyo to fulfill your destiny, Subaru?" he murmured at last, though he failed to meet the young man's emerald gaze. "I'm afraid...I won't be able to take you back the same way we came. I have...business to attend to first."

Yes. Business. Back to the temple in which he had been born, right here in Kyoto. Back to the mountains where he had grown up, by himself, raised only by the thoughts projected into his mind by Hinoto-hime. For one last look at what had brought him to where he now stood...to what he now faced. One last remembrance of why he had submitted to the cruelest Fate possible--that of watching.

And then, as Fate had decreed, he could finally die in peace...having defied the will of his Destiny. That was not so bad.

"Yuurei...-kun..." Subaru lifted an outreached hand towards Yuurei. If he was in this condition, Yuurei certainly was not ready to walk around by himself, either. Instead, Subaru collapsed under his own weight, falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

Aoki and the girl were getting away. How had they slipped by? Yuuto cursed himself. Was he the only one who realized the risk they posed to the Dragons of Earth? If the Seals got word of where the Angels' new headquarters was located, then the Dragons of Earth would be as good as out on the street again. They could not afford that. Yuuto absolutely could NOT let that happen.

Dodging another well-placed blow by his much bigger, brawnier opponent, Yuuto raced toward the exit, slamming the electrically controlled door shut in Kusanagi's face, hoping that it would at least slow the traitor down to some extent. Brow furrowing slightly as the first signs of perspiration began to appear across his brow, he sped after the wind master and the girl.

All around him, he felt the presence of the pipes, filled with life- giving water. Now he could see the two escapees just ahead of him. Lifting one hand before his eyes, he concentrated and summoned the hydraulic energy to him in a jerking, powerful motion. Instantly the pipes ruptured, and he sent the torrents of blasting water toward Aoki and the girl as the ground and walls and ceiling surrounding them began to tremble, as though an earthquake were suddenly overtaking them.

The ceiling, shadowed by the darkness of the pitch subway tunnel, cracked and revealed the snaking pipes as they were pulled down by Yuuto's summons. The ground broke beneath them, and rapids like broken fire hydrants sprayed forceful surges from wall to wall, creating a treacherous obstacle course for Aoki to maneuver through.

With that, Yuuto smirked a bit. "I'm afraid I can't let you leave so soon! We haven't even gotten to know each other yet!"

Aoki got blasted from behind by Yuuto's first water attack. He stumbled forward a bit. He gently put Uo down before turning to Yuuto.

"Well, I know it's not polite to leave before you're introduced, but the service around here hasn't been very good, and I really have a family to return to, so if you don't mind..." he said, summoning up the wind and throwing a fierce blast of it at Yuuto to throw him off his feet and to hopefully throw off his concentration so the water maze that currently lay at his back softened up.

There was truly no way to dodge the wind attack, so blocking his face and chest by crossing his arms in front of himself, Yuuto stood his ground as he was blown back by the attack. However, he refused to stumble or fall, and managed to hold up his water maze, though he was too distracted to add anything to it to stop them more efficiently.

Uo squeaked from the simple fear of being collapsed upon by the man as he stumbled. Luckily, he held his balance and put her down. She scrambled just a little bit, in case Yuuto decided to pull another water works trick. She didn't like being soggy, even if the attack hadn't hit her.

She shook her head wildly for a moment before turning her attention fully back to Aoki and Yuuto. It didn't look like things were going to go well. How could they just joke around like that? Were they used to all of the weird things that happened?

Having observed the tearing pipes, Uo made a mental note of it for the report she'd write in her laboratory whenever she got home. Her mother was more than likely going to kill her for being absent so long from the house.

Staring at the attack launched by Aoki, and Yuuto's defensive response, she forced herself not to get too excited over the event. After all, it wasn't a good thing. Instead, it was placed with a rather childish statement:

"... Wooooooooooooooooow."

Uo stayed in her huddled position and continued to watch. After all, she didn't want to brave that water maze alone, and didn't really think she could.

Yuuto was as swift and nimble as he claimed to be. Just about every attack Kusanagi threw at him was dodged with ease. Kusanagi would have probably have better luck swatting a fly with a pair of chopsticks.

In a last ditch attempt, Kusanagi swung a fist forward, putting all his weight and power into it. Of course, as he should have expected, Yuuto dodged it with ease and Kusanagi fist crashed into the wall, creating a rather large hole into it.

From that point, Kusanagi could only watch helplessly as Yuuto made his was after Uo and the man, shutting the door behind him.

"Damn it!!!!" he cried out, pounding on the door furiously. He began to ram it with his shoulder, but it would even move an inch. He ran back towards the end of the room and darted forward, leaping out with a powerful kick aimed at the center of the door.

A loud clang echoed throughout the room along with a thump. Staring up at the ceiling, Kusanagi slowly rose to his feet, rubbing the back of his head. "Ita..." he mumbled. "All that and I only made a dent. Looks like I have to go all out. I really hate having to do this..."

Moving back towards the end of the room again, Kusanagi cupped his hands to the side of him an began to charge his ki into them. "Fireball!!!!" he cried out and shot forward a powerful beam of energy that collided with the Steel door and blasted it open.

Quickly fixing his gloves, Kusanagi ran out and made his way down the tracks towards the sounds of rushing water.

Aoki heard the explosion that Kusanagi made with his attack.

"Well, sounds like your little playmate is coming for you. Guess I'll just leave you with one last parting gift before we leave you to your friend." he said.

Aoki tossed another blast of fierce wind at Yuuto, preparing himself to grab Uo and make a run for it when he could.


	50. Chapter 48: Destiny Awaits

**Chapter Forty-Eight: Destiny Awaits**

The young man seemed to be in good care of the hospital workers, so there was no need to stay there any longer.

Though a few of the doctors and nurses tried to stop him for interrogation, Kamui easily made his way out of the hospital and made his way back to his apartment for a change of clothes.

Upon entering, he threw down his torn, blood-stained school jacket on the floor and began to rummage through his closet for a clean pair of clothes. Not caring what he looked like really, Kamui tossed on a white buttoned shirt, tucking it neatly into his pants.

Leaping out the window, Kamui jumped onto of the closest roof and gazed out into the distance. He wanted to go to the Kekkai, like he previously intended, but Kamui had suddenly remembered Noroku's promise to get in touch with that woman named Tokiko.

The Shrine wasn't far and Kamui immediately headed over there.

Seems like nothing had changed when he arrived. Despite all that happened here but a day ago. The exception was that there now laid a grave marker where Kyouga now rested. It was probably Sorata's doing...

Walking up to it slowly, Kamui gazed down at it solemnly. "Forgive me. I should have taken responsibility when I had the chance. But don't worry...I'll make everything right once again..."

She could feel his presence. There was no mistaking it. Speeding up, she entered the gates to Togakushi Shrine, the sword hurting inside of her, trying to free itself. She needed to get to Kamui before that. She needed to explain.

Upon spotting her nephew, Tokiko tried calling, but it didn't help. She heard his words to the deceased father of his childhood friends and her heart broke.

Walking up behind him, she lightly touched his shoulder. "Destiny awaits." Her left wrist slit open and she winced. "I will give you your sword."

Whirling around startled, Kamui gazed at the young woman in shock. Her words catching him off guard.

"What Shuriken?" he asked her. "Who are you? How do you know my mother?"

* * *

Kusanagi broke through the door just as Aoki blasted his next attack. As Yuuto glanced back over his shoulder to make certain he was not immediately vulnerable to any attack from the bigger man, the wind attack collided with his chest and abdomen, the gales slices through his suit and into his skin like razors.

Wincing as he suddenly returned his full attention to the Seal before him, casting a wall of water about himself to hold off the rest of the attack. However, in doing so, his power had to be recalled from the maze he had set up for the escapees, and part of it receded so that he could protect himself.

Surrounded. He cursed himself under his breath. A traitorous comrade at his back, and an escaping enemy in front of him. There was no way out. He had been assigned with the task of keeping things under control; he was supposed to be the one in charge. And now all of it was falling apart. He might not die, but neither would he be able to keep these fools contained.

"I'm afraid playtime must now come to an end," he said through clenched teeth, his determined smile still persisting throughout the odds. "There's too much at stake! I'm afraid I won't be able to let you leave here alive."

With that, more torrents of gushing water began to gyrate circuitously about him, and with a sudden and effective drive, he shouted out ardently as he forced the water to shoot out like deadly bullets directly before and behind him, heading straight for both Aoki and Kusanagi.

And as the excess water leaks continued to fill up the darkened tunnel, the sounds of the roaring subway train could just barely be made out above the rush of fluid as the light appeared in the distance...

Aoki brought up a barrier of wind to block the water stream that was coming after him. Hearing the train coming, Aoki sighed a bit.

_This isn't good... I can't use the kekkai with out leaving the girl to fend for herself... and I can't let this barrier down or I'm dead and the girl will surely follow... and if I die then the book will surely miss the deadline then._ Aoki thought.

Aoki glanced over his shoulder at Uo.

"Miss, do you think you can make it through alright?" he asked her.

Uo paused as she looked at Aoki upon being addressed, the amazed looking having turned into a little bit of fear. She stood up almost instantaneously, as if a sudden energy pushed her to. The school girl-attitude didn't fade from her as she stood; rather, a more determined look had been summoned into play upon her face.

"I can... as soon as the train passes by." Her eyes averted to the exit. "B-but..."

What if Yuuto decided to go and just attack her half-way? She'd make it. She had to... but leaving Aoki there...

"Yuzuriha-chan wouldn't forgive me if I left one of her friends behind." she stated, knowing that it really wasn't the time for heroics... but she wasn't THAT selfish...

Aoki smiled a bit.

"Trust me on this. What I've got planned right now, you can't help with. It's best if you just get out of here." he said to her.

No sooner than Kusanagi entered the subway tunnel, he was attacked by a wave of water bullets.

Leaping out of the way, Kusanagi could feel a stray bullet, tear right through his shoulder.

Clenching his fresh wound tightly, Kusanagi glanced around him ,expecting another attack, but Yuuto was no where in sight. And for good reason to...

The sound of an on coming train began to echo down the tunnel. There was no way of telling exactly how close it was, but Kusanagi immediately began to devise a means of escape.

He could easily destroy the rails to prevent the train from coming any closet, but a lot of people would be hurt in the process. They were to deep from the surface for Kusanagi to plow his way through and trying to stop the train bare handed would just be plain stupid. He was strong, but he wasn't Superman.

There seemed to only be one option left...

"RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he cried out to the others. Rushing forward, he scooped up the young girl and tucked her under his arm. He then grabbed Aoki by the coat and dragged him forward. "I hope your a good runner!" he shouted at him.

As Kusanagi darted forward, scooping up the girl and the Seal along the way, Yuuto clenched his teeth and forced himself to recover quickly from the attack, recalling his powers into him. In the next instant, he lunged off of the ground and raced after the traitorous angel, catching up to him and reaching out to grab the bigger man's coat collar.

With a jerk that sent the other two sprawling from the Angel's grasp, Yuuto yanked Kusanagi ardently backward, slinging him down onto the railway, right in the path of the oncoming train.

"Sorry about this, my friend," Yuuto laughed pleasantly, "but I can't let you do that."

Aoki rolled up to his feet. "Miss, get out of here. It's going to get too dangerous for you," he said to Uo. He held his hands out and began to form the kekkai.

Kusanagi could feel himself being yanked backward. Losing his grip on the others, he fell back and landed hard on the rails. "D-damn it...," he grumbled while trying to get back on his feet. "Hurry! Get out of here!" he cried to the others.

But Yuuto was one step ahead of him. Snapping his head in the direction of the remaining two, he held out his hand and lifted the fallen puddles of water into the air to form a wall of hydraulic energy. "But the party's just getting started," he replied with a confident smirk.

Uo glanced back and forth, eyes widening in fear. The ground hadn't felt nice, not at all. Worse was the shoulder she landed on. She remained on the ground, beginning to shake...though not out of fear...

Meanwhile, the train loomed closer and closer...

Aoki quickly stopped the building of his Kekkai. "Let the girl go. She's just an innocent! She has no part in this," he said. He quickly threw a large blast of wind at the water barrier, hoping to break a hole in it.

Yuuto shook his head again. "You still don't understand. She's a threat. As are you. Merely your knowledge of this place is enough incentive for me to kill you both. I was trying to be nice."

"STOP IT!" Uo screeched as she sat up. If one could look directly into her eyes, they would have seen nothing but pure anger combined with the tolerance of a school girl. "WILL YOU DROP THE DEATH-THING!?"

"Damn it, Yuuto! We are all going to die if we stay here!" Kusanagi shouted and rushed at him with a right handed punch.

The girl's shouts rang in the back of his mind as Yuuto's attention was redirected toward the big military man. A bit more tired now, he dodged at the last moment, but the blow still managed to catch him in the side. With a stifled grunt, he stumbled backward against the wall.

"Miss...get out of here...now...," Aoki said. Closing his eyes, Aoki began to form the kekkai again. "What's going to happen...you can't help with...nor is it something you should experience."

"Will everyone stop treating me like a baby!?" was Uo's reply. She couldn't really go anywhere anyway. Her only other option was to run out and get hit by a train.

But noticing an opportunity to be perhaps a little useful, the foolish Uo jumped up to her feet and went charging to the far side, hopefully out of Yuuto's sight. She curved at the last moment to make a dash behind Yuuto and let her fist do the talking. Unfortunately, she tripped and her fingers extended instead. As humans will, she instead attempted to clutch the nearest object, Yuuto's head.

Aoki's Kekkai began to grow and get larger and larger, soon engulfing the area the four inhabited.

Yuuto nearly let out a shriek as then small fist enclosed about a fistful of his beautiful golden hair. Eyes widening, he staggered to the side, back out into the path of the oncoming train, somewhat inadvertently dragging the girl behind him.

Uo let out a terribly long, "EEEEEEEEK!" as she tried to yank her hand back, completely forgetting she was holding onto his hair. "Gomengomengomengomengo-AIYEE! TRAIN!"

Why was she still inside the kekkai? Hadn't she vanished the last time this had happened? She was, after all, only human. This vague notion only flitted through Yuuto's mind as he frantically tried to pry the girl's hand out of his hair.

Aoki quickly dived at Uo and pushed her away from Yuuto and farther from the train. "You okay, miss?" he asked her, getting up and pushing his glasses up. His hair flowed back to his original place.

Uo blinked a few times after being shoved from Yuuto. She had several pieces of rich, golden strands still in her hands. There was something...odd about them. She couldn't quite place it. "H-hai," she stuttered at Aoki.

The train was here. There was no more time to run. Within the kekkai, there would be no more people aboard, but the train itself still ran toward them.

Yuuto turned and lifted his head toward the train just in time to widen his eyes before it hit him. But instead of blood and limbs splattering everywhere, only a splash of water hit the engine and dissipated instantly back to the ground.

Somehow Yuuto had seemed to avoid the onslaught of the oncoming train. There was not enough much time left to act, but Kusanagi stood in front of Uo and Aoki, charging his ki into his fist. Slamming it hard into the ground, the earth began to tear and move apart. A geyser of rocks soon rose from the ground and collided with the train.

With a tumultuous creak and crash, the train derailed and slid along the walls, twisting and contorting until it finally came to an abrupt halt mere inches from Kusanagi's person.

Aoki looked at Uo. "Are you okay, miss?" he asked her.

She slowly nodded, mouth wide open as if she were a turkey in the rain, staring at the sky. No sound came out. She was simply...well, afraid, but AMAZED! NO scientist alive had ever gotten to see what she was seeing... Regaining her composure, she gave a very light nod. "Hai, I'm fine." She tried to sound convincing, but was obviously excited. Suddenly, she paused and said flatly, "You killed him!"

But suddenly a figure emerged from the shadows, smiling and unscratched. "Nah, I'm fine," Yuuto called out, waving cheerfully to the others.

"Well, that's good to know," Aoki said with a smile.

"H-how did you do that!?" said Kusanagi, startled.

Yuuto shrugged and waved off their concerns with a flit of his wrist. "Just a little trick I picked up somewhere." Then his eyes hardened, though his expression remained friendly. "It's a shame we can't call it a night yet. I'm really very tired."

"You know, we could all just forget about this and go out for drinks," Kusanagi joked.

Uo face-faulted at Yuuto. It was weird. All three of these men were capable of controlling an element at will. At Kusanagi's suggestion, she felt her brain nearly explode. What about Yuzuriha!? WHAT about Fuuma!?

"You know, Yuzuriha is most likely at that one ice cream place right now. We could all go there and have ice cream, my treat," Aoki said, smiling.

She drew in a breath and paused, wanting to say something to keep the negatives up, but instead ended up blurting out her subconscious's focus. "Could someone call my mom and tell her I went off and eloped...or died in a fire...or something?"

Yuuto laughed pleasantly. "Well, I suppose that can be arranged. As it seems you won't be going home for a while."

"Oh, on the contrary," said Aoki. "I believe that she will be going home soon. She doesn't belong here. You know that."

"Even after all this, you still want to fight?" asked Kusanagi with a sigh.

"No, but it seems this kind gentleman doesn't want to let us leave, despite the awful service and bad food," Aoki replied to Kusanagi.

"Hey hey hey! I'm not going home until I know Okita-kun and Yuzuriha- chan are all right! And I'm NOT going because Kamui'll think I chickened out! I made several promises to many people." She glared at all three. "The Mitsu family keeps their promises." She nodded in four-count. "Or at least tries to. Besides, how can any scientists- and-engineers-to-be pass up this kind of opportunity!?"

"Then all you have to do is put down your kekkai and we'll be on out way," Kusanagi told Aoki.

"True...but what about her? Say, miss, go grab on to Yuuto over there like you did earlier. That should make you nice and safe," Aoki said, pushing his glasses up.

A sweat drop formed over the back of Yuuto's head. "Eh, no thanks. I've lost enough hair for one day."

Uo blinked and sweat dropped. What had that guy with the glasses meant by that!? She stared and then sweat dropped, shrinking back a little. She almost wondered if the big man WAS Yuzuriha-chan's friend... He was sort of scary...

Seeing Yuuto was distracted, Kusanagi slowly crept his way behind. And with a quick straight-handed chop, he struck him in the back of the neck. "Sorry friend, but we can't be playing around with you anymore."

Yuuto had made the mistake of letting his guard down. He never even sensed Kusanagi's approach. And the bigger man's words barely registered in his mind as his eyes rolled back in his head, and he slumped to the ground unconscious.

"Well, let's hope you pass out of the kekkai here, miss," Aoki said. He shrank the kekkai back down to the point where it disappeared.

Picking Yuuto up from the floor, Kusanagi slung him over his shoulder and looked at Aoki once more. "He wont be waking up for a while," he said with a grin. "How 'bout we head back to the surface?"

Uo blinked a few times. "Err...this is just too weird...," she murmured, seeing the kekkai vanish. "...So...ano..."

Aoki smiled at Uo. "So how about we get some ice cream for Yuzuriha?" he asked, pushing his glasses up again. Just then Aoki's cell phone rang. He quickly got it out and let out an 'eep'. He handed it to Uo. "Answer it for me. Tell them I'm not here or something," he said nervously.

Uo blinked and nodded, clicking the cell phone on and shifting her tone of voice from childish to an incredible simulation of her mother's strict, serious, very agent-like. "Hello?"

"Yes, is a Mr. Seiichirou there?" the person on the other side of the line said.

She glanced to "Mr. Seiichirou" for a moment and then looked ahead again. He was still soaked from Yuuto's attacks before, no doubt. "He's in the shower. May I take a message?"

"Yes. Please tell him that he's late coming into the office and needs to get here pronto!" the voice said.

"Thank you very much. I'll do that," Uo replied, nodding.

The line went dead. Aoki looked at Uo. "Thanks so much for everything," he said to her, bowing.

Uo nodded, hanging up the cell phone and returning the gesture before handing it to him. "No problem! Just finish that book and try not to get captured again, will 'ya?" She smiled cheerily.

Aoki laughed some. "I promise you, I will," he said with a smile. He looked at Kusanagi. "We'll go. Just tell them that your friend there was going crazy and you had to subdue him, but we escaped in the chaos. We'll check on Yuzuriha and give her your best wishes if you want."

Leading the way out of the tunnel, Kusanagi smiled and breathed in the fresh air. "That's much better. Sure beats that musty old base," he said with a smile.  
_  
_Aoki nodded. "I suggest you put in some of those plug in air fresheners, maybe a few disco balls, a couple of mood lights, maybe some nice music, and then you'd have a great base." he said with a smile, combing his hair.  
**_  
_**"I know it would liven the place up a bit!" Kusanagi laughed. "But its better that you get the little one to Yuzuriha as soon as you can. I'll stay behind and handle things here."_  
_  
Uo blinked as she followed the two out. She was very worried. The only two on her mind was Yuzuriha and Okita.

Aoki nodded. "I'll tell her you were worried about her. Next time though... we might be on other ends." he said. Aoki headed out with Uo. "Come, I know where she is." he said, heading out.

Uo paused and nodded, waving back at Kusanagi before proceeding to follow Aoki. "Oh.. hey, um... Seiichirou-san?"  
_  
_Aoki looked at Uo. "Yes Miss?" he asked her.

"Ano... do you think you could explain to me, sometime, the whole... well, the whole Kamui-Kamui thing and stuff?" she asked, feeling rather stupid suddenly.

Aoki stopped. "T... that's something you shouldn't worry so much about." he said to her.  
_  
_Uo crossed her arms. "It's fine if you don't want to tell me." she turned around to face him. "I'll find out eventually. It's better if I know now then later... safer, too, wouldn't you agree?"  
_  
_Aoki sighed a bit. "True... well... Kamui is the name of the one who'll use god's power... either to save the world or destroy it." he said.  
_  
_"I see." She paused. So... Kamui.. and Fuuma... were.. Kamui? She paused. "So.. I take it...there are two of them?"

"Yes... there is. Kamui and Fuuma... they were friends from what I can tell... but now they're fighting each other..." Aoki said._  
_  
"Hai.. I know." she glanced back before turning around. "I've known Fuuma and Kotori since kindergarten.."

"Really now? How were they back then." Aoki asked._  
_**  
**Uo smiled. "Kotori's always been very sweet... and Fuuma's always been a kind big brother to her. Fuuma.. he was very different then... and I still think he should have failed first grade, but that's just me."

Aoki laughed. "Really now? He doesn't seem that stupid to me... just a little worried about his friends."

"Not stupid. I guess 'ya could say we were kind of like rivals." Uo gave a nod. "Really competitive. He's not a bad person at all... so I don't see why he's... acting so weird."  
_  
_"Well... he's been under so much pressure... he's the one fated to protect the world again his best friend Fuuma... something he doesn't want to do." Aoki said.

Uo glanced at him. "Of course, I don't remember that much about Kamui... but I know I must've known him. I was a brat, anyways though so... heh, he was probably much different than I describe him."  
_  
_Aoki nodded. "So I've been told so often." he said, smiling, pushing his glasses up. Soon the two were at Yuzuriha's Kekkai. "Well, this is it." he said, pointing at it.

"... Right.. so... err.. how to we get in?" she blinked. She could SEE it.  
_  
_"Do you actually see it?" Aoki asked her.**_  
_**  
"I see it." Uo nodded slowly.  
_  
_Aoki thought for a bit. "Alright... just walk through it." He said, walking up to it and starting through.

She stared. Walk through it? She frowned at it and poked at it. Her hand went through... but it was weird. After a moment of hesitance, she proceeded through, feeling as though she'd walked through mud or something.

Aoki looked at where Uo would be coming through.

Uo made it through, though she had her eyes closed the entire time while walking. She opened an eye and squinted. "Am I still alive?"  
_  
_"Yep. You are." Aoki said, smiling.

* * *

He took the elevator down to the main floor, being stopped by several nurses who seemed to really be concerned about him. That only made him more disgusted with this place called a 'hospital'. He had never needed to come before and didn't need to come now! The only person Shouri trusted with his wounds were Matsuko, his friends, and himself... of course, he really didn't have any friends, anyways.

"Sir, you can't leave! You need time to recover!" One of the nurses cried, frowning as she tried to contain him.

Shouri twitched. While he wasn't usually so easily annoyed by people, this woman sounded like a chipmunk with respiratory problems.

"Ma'am, I'm quite alright. Please, someone I know may be in danger and I simply can't sit back and lose anyone else." he said, trying to fit his words in between the forceful nurse.

"The doctor said that you can't leave and you won't leave!" The nurse replied.

He sighed slightly as he suddenly forced his way around her. Surely she wouldn't persist, but she did. She grabbed a hold of his wrist so fast that it wasn't funny and simply began to tug.

"You're not leaaaaaviiiiiiiyiyiyiiin-"

Shouri turned to face her fully. Within his eyes was a roaring flame that danced upon a crystal lake. The look upon his face was that of one who was truly concerned for another, one that was willing to risk anything and overcome any obstacle to achieve his goal. A small smile formed upon his lips as he looked down upon her.

"Miss," he began slowly, voice filled with determination and some form of pain, "Gomen, but this is a matter that I must attend to. My well-being is not my concern, and I must admit, it's rare to see anyone, a stranger especially, worry about some foolish boy whom they know nothing about. You're concern touches me... however, I can't allow you to stop me."

The nurse stared with rather wide eyes. Well, that was unexpected. A speech in the lobby/waiting room. Her cheeks were turning red! Apparently the boy could care less. She frowned, not letting go.

"Now... will you please release my arm?" Shouri asked hopefully.

After a minute more of staring and blushing, the nurse finally relented. The young man headed for the door.

Watching him off, the nurse crossed her arms and huffed. "If that boy doesn't do whatever it is that's so important, I'm going to make sure he comes back here." She sniffled and whined. "I'm going to lose my job over THIIII-IIIIIS!"

* * *

Down the sidewalk and to the next corner. Shouri stopped by a bench beneath a dead tree and sighed as he sat down. Where to look! He wasn't sure WHERE to look for Subaru. While he felt something important was happening, he didn't know where to look.

He sat down on the bench after a minute, feeling a light pulse coming from his neck. He was still in pain, even if it would decrease in the next few hours. Because he hadn't taken proper care of himself and eaten when he should have, his healing abilities weren't half as speedy as they could have been and it only prolonged the agony he felt in his middle and at his neck.

The young man sighed as he took in a deep breath. How his neck ached. One spot in particular seemed to 'relive' the memory of a tongue flicking at the flowing blood. He shuddered and sighed as he closed his eyes tightly.

"... Sumeragi-san.." The boy sighed aloud as he felt himself 'falling' into despair. "Where are you? If Sasori-chan was here, I could find you so easily, I bet.. but..."

He shut the thoughts of Sasori out. He wasn't going to cry. But he needed to find Subaru! More than ever, he needed a friend. He needed someone whom he trusted undoubtedly, and Subaru was the only one.  
Plus, he needed to be sure that he was alright... he and that other man hadn't seemed in good condition.

From the shadows, the specter watched in silence. He was always watching everything, everywhere, and everyone. It was his responsibility to protect the boy, Shouri, "Chibi-kun", as he knew him... and perhaps his influence had caused the "Chibi Shouri" to take form in the boy's dreams. They were closely tied, after all..

Staring from his place in the shadow of the tree, the specter's emotionless mask suddenly faded into that of pain. A slender finger had touched the dead tree, making direct contact with it. The thing was... the tree was not completely dead. It was dying, soon to lose its life... and it was screaming, as all nature and all living things were. He could hear it... and as he touched the tree, he heard it scream his name: "SHISA!"

"Shisa" drew his hand from it, quickly regaining his emotionless expression with little trouble. The earth's pain was what he felt. He could hear it... feel it... smell it, even.

Turning slowly towards the boy, the specter propelled an immense force to him.. a force that would penetrate thought. Without another word, Shisa vanished...

Leaving Shouri to face the vision alone. The vision had hit him hard, and it felt like he had been smacked in the face by razor sharp claws. His eyes were blank as he stared out.

.. He saw a temple, a very old temple. From this temple he felt a strong, ancient magic that had become active due to some unusual force. The power that he felt there, though.. it was very familiar. His eyes scanned the place slowly, the surroundings outside of the temple. It was like walking through the doors, as though he were there.

And as he entered a certain area, he froze stiff. There was Sumeragi Subaru... and... dare he say it, Hokuto, too?! Two weak ki's... and one strong. Hokuto was the strongest, and.. wait. Two? The Watcher! He must've been there, too! As the boy tried to twist in the vision to see him, he felt himself leaving it...

And he saw the bright city lights of Tokyo again. He was sitting on the bench, alone.

Shouri gasped, trying to breath from the sudden impact of being yanked back. A stray, black cat was staring up at him with moonlight-yellow eyes that pierced the soul. Despite superstition, he picked up the small kitten and smiled at it.

"Did you send me that vision, koneko-chan?" he asked it in a whisper, holding the cat inches away from his nose with a smile. "... Well, nonetheless, you can come with me... should you choose. I think... I might know where Subaru-san is... an..and Hokuto-chan is alive, too!"

As he put the kitten down, he took a few steps away. It followed. It obviously wasn't planning to leave him alone. He sighed and turned around as he scooped the small thing into his arms. It seemed to adjust to the new position with little protest.

"Well, hopefully you'll make yourself useful." Shouri said as he glance down the street. "We'll be traveling fast. Subaru-san and the Watcher aren't in good condition, and I don't think Hokuto-chan can carry two full-grown man out of there, ne?"

The kitten mewed.

Starting to walk where he believed it to be, he nodded. "If we have to, we'll catch a bus. I won't let Sumeragi-san die... I absolutely won't... besides, I want to see Hokuto-chan. I wonder if she'd recognize me after all of this time..."

He flinched at a certain memory. Maybe she'd forget that?

* * *

The specter faded into darkness, walking at speeds that might have killed a human. It took him only seconds to reconnect to the proper realm and appear at the place which he sought. He was still watching Shouri.. but he could easily watch the Sumeragi twins and the Watcher, also. This was natural to him... though, quite illogical.

He shifted lightly as he stared down. It would take a while for "Chibi-kun" to get there, but that was fine.

Shisa closed his eyes and allowed a portion of his presence to be felt, propelling it to the twins, though more directed at Subaru. He didn't reveal himself, as he was actually there, but not. It was more of a reassurance, or rather a message... a message that Shouri was coming. After all, Subaru had seen Shisa without his mask, probably the only one who ever had really... without the cloak that he wore over himself. Hopefully he would recognize the presence. If not, there was nothing he could do to comfort the man.

* * *

Tokiko smiled through her pain. She still had time. She could still hold the Shuriken inside. Until she had explained. It was important to explain.

She stood up straight and removed her glasses. "Don't you recognize me?"

Kamui didn't believe it at first. It was as if his eyes were betraying him, but the look of her face was unmistakable...

"M..Mother..." Kamui whispered.

She smiled. She knew how much her appearance was like that of Tohru. But she had to disappoint him once again.

"No." She shook her head. "But I am your only blood relative."

"Relative?" Kamui questioned. "Mother never mentioned anyone from her family before..."

Tokiko gave a light smile. "No.. She wouldn't have, would she?" Pausing, a pained expression crossed her face and her hand flew to her abdomen. It was trying to free itself. "Kamui, there's not much time. I need to tell you... about Tohru. About my sister."

There was something wrong with her. Kamui could tell easily by the expression on her face. "What's wrong?" he asked. "What is it that you know about my mother?"

"Kamui, what do you know about your mother's clan?" Tokiko questioned, gritting her teeth together. "What do you know about the Magami's?"

"The Magami's..." said Kamui drifting into thought. "That was my mothers maiden name. I didn't think it had any real significance..."

"The Magami's... is what you might call the Shadow Sacrifice." She coughed and jerked foreword. OK, so they had less time than she had thought. "I'm sure... someone else can tell you about my clan. There is no time for me. But... do you know what happened here seven years ago? Kyouga died, I am perhaps the only one who knows."

Rushing forward Kamui placed a hand on her shoulder, supporting her gently should she collapse. "Seven years ago..." Kamui stared. "Aunt Saya died seven years ago...its why we left...What happened to her? How did she die?"

"Monou Saya died... in place of your mother." She looked at him thankfully for his support. "The Shuriken... Your mother was to die here giving birth to it. But you were still so young. You couldn't live alone. It was up to Saya... She chose to die, instead of your mother. She gave birth to the first Shuriken. It was here for seven years.. Now, seven years later, the second Shuriken will be born. Your sword, Kamui."

"Two Shinkens?" asked Kamui. "I thought there was only the one. It was stolen but..."

He looked at her worriedly for a minute. Something wasn't right. "Where...is the second Shuriken?"

"It's..." Her other wrist slit open, blood pouring from it. "inside of me. I'm..." She could feel more and more skin being torn, blood seeping through her clothes. "I'm giving birth to it."

A spec of her blood flick on Kamui's cheek and slowly began to drip down upon it. "No...no...you cant die!" shouted Kamui.

Tokiko smiled through her pain. "It's alright. It's my destiny. The destiny that I choose." She touched his cheek, wiping away the blood there. "You can not change it. It has already begun. Kamui, just... protect the people you love."

"I'm sorry..." he whispered cupping her hand gently. "I promise I'll make everything right once again..."

She nodded and her neck parted from her head. Blood splashed in all directions, leaving the ground glowing red. _Protect them.  
_

* * *

Subaru's eyes fluttered open to his sister's smiling face. It was true. It wasn't just a dream. His sister was right here, by his side, just as she had always been. "Hoku...to-chan."

Suddenly, he felt a presence envelope him. An unmistaken able presence. He flinched, turning in the direction where he felt it coming from.

It was Shisa.

For the first time in his life, Subaru was irritated with his own power; he wished he had the ability to communicate telepathically, to find out if Shouri was all right, where he was, and tell him that he should get somewhere safe.

But he couldn't.

She smiled down at him through blurry eyes, placing a hand on the left side of his face. "Hai. Subaru-chan, I'm here." Shaking off the feeling of exhaustion, she also felt the presence and jerked away from Subaru slightly. "Do you feel it?"

Subaru nodded. "Daijobu, Hokuto-chan. It's a friend of mine...Shouri- kun." He brushed his hair out of his face, and continued, "You remember him, right? Shouri-kun..."

Her posture relaxed as she remembered the little boy in the warehouse so long ago.

"Yes." She nodded, a smile crossing her face. "I remember him." She frowned, confused. "Is he close..? I... I can't seem to determine the distance."

Shouri turned a corner another corner, the small koneko still tucked beneath his left arm. He frowned as he rushed to the nearest bus stop. "I'm not sure.." he murmured.

The koneko mewed lightly as it looked at him again. It's eyes flickered like yellow gemstones as it looked at him. "Mreow?"

Subaru couldn't tell, either. Even with onmyoujist magic, there was no way to sense the source of this radiating magical energy. He shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't know, Hokuto-chan," he answered simply, pushing himself upwards. He sighed slightly. Old wounds never heal.

As he pushed himself up, he had to resist the urge to hug the sister he hadn't seen in nine years. As much as he wanted to, if this were all an illusion, all a dream, maybe his touch would break the spell. He couldn't stand to lose his sister again.

Hokuto turned back around to face Subaru, smiling slightly at his pained expression as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Reaching out her hand, she touched his shoulder.

"I'm really here, Subaru. It's alright."

A wind began to swirl in a circular motion, perhaps somewhere behind the two twins, away from Yuurei. It made a rather melancholy hum as it went up from the ground, revealing a figure as it stopped.

The figure was shrouded in a hooded cloak, face concealed beneath the black hood. His eyes were like rainbows while the wind swirled, but reverted into darkness as the wind faded.

He was obviously tall and slender. That much could be gathered. The aura that came form him, his ki... it was so low, however, that he might be mistaken for a nonexistent thing...

And suddenly it sky-rocketed. It was a different ki, different from that of a human's.

Subaru grabbed his sister close to him, shielding her from the creature; there was no telling what this inhuman thing was, and if it'd hurt either of them. If anyone was to be hurt, Subaru wished it to be himself.

Hokuto found herself muffled against Subaru's chest. She had some trouble breathing, but forced her head up and then she felt it. The presence was so strong, so overwhelming.

Hokuto barely had time to whisper "Subaru" before passing out.

Yuurei's pain was coming back slowly, creeping into his body and consuming the remainder of his strength. He was about to turn to leave the twins to find their own way back to Tokyo, when he felt it. The presence.

Turning back to face it, his eyes widened and his pain was somewhat forgotten when he saw the specter. A beautiful form of a young man, that instantly sent the twins to cowering before the image.

Before he knew it, Hokuto was unconscious, and Subaru was left to utter weak spells with what little strength he had left. Yuurei furrowed his brow. Pushing his own concerns aside, he forced himself to take long, powerful strides back to the young Sumeragi's side, never taking his eyes off of the specter. "What do you want?"

Shisa turned slowly to look upon the man who had addressed him. His hood had been tossed back by the wind. Lowering his ki a little bit as to not attract too much attention from other Dragons, he said nothing.

The dark eyes did not make contact with any as he 'spoke'. His 'words' came from his emotions, as they always had. Shisa had never spoken aloud, but rather propelled his emotions and allowed words to form for themselves.

A dark strand fell in front of his eyes as he 'spoke', his voice having no particular emotion. "Many things..."

Subaru awkwardly scooped his sister into his arms, and standing on trembling bow-legged legs, turned to the cloaked figure. Subaru exchanged glances with Yuurei, edging slowly closer to him. He wouldn't allow Yuurei to be harmed, especially in his condition. He took a defensive stance, prepared to retaliate if the creature made any sudden movements.

If he had felt any better, Yuurei might have replied with something clever to the effect that he and this mysterious specter had much in common. However, clutching his aching belly, he did little more than force up a sardonic chuckle and shake his head, at last letting his eyes fall from the young man's face. "You're not here to hurt us." It was not a question, but rather a simple statement. He could feel it in the ghost's aura. After all, Yuurei also knew what it was to be nothing but a shadow. If he could not read even that tiny bit of perception, even through his pain, what sort of Watcher would he be?

Shisa's dark eyes glinted in response as he nodded lightly. The wind that remained in a circular motion beside him made a little 'rr' sound as if to confirm. The specter looked to the entrance.

Shouri was near. He could feel it. Chibi-kun was closer than he had expected him to be. He glanced at the wind creature, nodding at it once more before he turned his attention once again back to the group of three.

He looked at them all with his emotionless gaze. These creatures... all of them played some part in in the game of fate. All of they represented the earth... but none of them could hear its cries as he could.

The specter closed his eyes. He could always hear it. Always hear the screams from every small life-filled particle. Opening his eyes again, he seemed almost as if he were dreaming... or so his eyes reflected.

And with that, he stepped back into the shadow, just as footsteps could be heard upon the outer steps. He glanced at Subaru, Yuurei, and Hokuto and said nothing..

Hokuto's eyelids fluttered open, revealing her green orbs, unfocused from unconsciousness. The presence had faded some, it wasn't a constant pressure on her anymore and she groggily sat up straight, untangling herself from Subaru.

The specter was gone. Yuurei needed to go as well. He did not have much time left, and there was still so much more he had to do before he left this world.

Turning to Subaru with a forced look of peace over his grim countenance, Yuurei fumbled for his wallet that was still in his back pocket. Removing the only credit card he possessed, he handed it to the young man.

"Forgive me for not accompanying you back," he muttered in the lowest voice he could manage, wanting to get away before this newcomer made his appearance. "Travel safely. Perhaps...we'll meet again...someday."

With that, even though he knew the terrible risk to himself, he stepped back into the evening shadows, and melded into the essence of night. ...And then he was gone.

After gently letting Hokuto down, Subaru stood up to find Yuurei hovering over him. His words hit Subaru hard, but despite all of this, his face remained emotionless as Yuurei handed him the credit card. It wasn't until Yuurei was gone that it sunk in; Yuurei had left him. For good.

The credit card slipped to his fingers and rode the breeze for a few seconds before falling a few inches in front of him. Subaru's blank gaze followed Yuurei's last footsteps.

"Yuurei-kun..."

Shouri ran directly into the room without hesitance, huffing rather heavily as he came to an abrupt halt. He was out of breath, and had only figured out the location when he had felt the presence.

The kuroi koneko in his arms jumped down to stand by him. The wind beast had guided him most of the way in his search. It had vanished when he had found the place though. His emerald eyes seemed to flicker. He looked up slowly, eyes falling directly upon Subaru and Hokuto. He nearly fell over as he looked at them. Hokuto... Was alive?! What was more, she didn't look a day older than the last time he had seen her! His eyes widened. And... Subaru didn't appear to be in good condition! There had been four ki's before, also, and now two were gone... the powerful one had seemed familiar to him. As he stared at the twins, a smile, a truthful smile, graced his lips for the first time that day. He didn't notice how much he was shaking, or that the pain in his neck was growing worse by the moment. He simply knew that he had found them! That he had managed to do SOMETHING right! His voice was soft as he spoke, partially because of the sudden pain he felt. "Hokuto-san? ... Subaru-san?" He felt almost ashamed, showing up in his condition, but was only worried for them at the moment.

Shouri was truly no longer the small child that he had been, though at the moment, his eyes reflected a pained-yet-joyful look. He barely noticed the small stain of blood forming upon the wrap on his neck.

"Shouri-kun..." Hokuto smiled, springing to her feet and ran to the younger boy, glomping him. "It's been so long!"

* * *

He had gotten away from Subaru before the newcomer had appeared. But he had done so by shadow-walking in a condition that put him at risk of losing himself in oblivion.

Big mistake. He could not concentrate. Instantly all control was yanked away from him in a violent motion as the disintegration of his material particles caused his pain to shift and spread throughout his entire essence. Mind screaming at the agony, he pitched forward, out of his straight path...and into the unknown.

Frantically he tried to regain control of himself, fighting to pull the fragments of his body together. And suddenly his body rematerialized and hit something hard, but pliable. Cold--no, freezing. He sank down...and found that he could no longer breathe. Eyes widening in fervent terror, he reached for the surface...and realized that he could not distinguish which direction was up.

It had to be the ocean. How had he reached it so quickly? Was time losing its meaning in his mind's eye? Feverishly pulled himself into a tight fetal position, letting the depths of the water draw him into the darkness, until he was surrounded by enough shadows to try again.

As he was swept away deeper into nonexistence, his mind traveled back more than twenty years into the past, recalling every detail of the time he had first laid eyes on the Seishindajou shrine. It was more of an estate, really. Surrounded in thick forests in the middle of the breath-taking Kyoto mountain ranges. Pale blue sky, but the leafy shade protected him from the sun's offensive rays.

And the voice. Hinoto, the dream seeing princess. At least that was how her two homogenous drones addressed her. But that voice had been with him since the very beginning, it seemed. He did not even remember his mother and father. But he remembered Hinoto. All too well.

Suddenly his body was back in its physical form, and he fell roughly against a gravel path that had long since been covered in weeds. Blinking away the sweat and water and now the blood that was dripping from his forehead onto the rocky path, he lifted his head. Before him stood the shrine, old and proud. It had been a dead shrine for years, as the name implied; no one had come to pay tribute to whatever religion it had supposedly been part of at some point in the distant past.

A faint smile of relief spread across his exhausted features. His eyes did not water with tears, but his heart ached with a heavy sigh as he struggled to his feet and staggered inside. At least he would be able to spend one last night in this place before he went out to face his final challenge.

He was home.

* * *

Subaru leaned down and picked up the credit card; he couldn't let himself stay like this. He had someone that would worry about him if he let it show, now. He couldn't let her see that he was upset.

While Yuurei was gone, it still made him a bit relieved that Shouri was here, and all right. Placing a cold hand on his shoulder, Subaru ALMOST smiled.

"Good to see you again."

Shouri paused as he felt Subaru's hand on his shoulder. He looked up at him, a light smile upon his face. Subaru AND Hokuto- he had found them both. What was more was that there was nothing that could kill the moment.

"It's good to see you both!" he said, trying to search for words, but apparently had lost them. "Hokuto-sama," He nodded his head, staying true to his tradition of calling her '-sama' as he had when he was little. "It's great to see you again..."

Shouri had been rather childish when he was little, and had referred to Hokuto as 'Hokuto-sama' to show that he did have respect for her, even if he did act like a little brat some times. Subaru had been a -sama or a -san, but he primarily stuck to -san in public as to look formal. Shouri didn't want to seem like a little kid. He wanted to be on equal terms with Subaru...

It was overwhelming! The two people besides Matsuko and his sister whom he cared about were right there! He should not have been uncomfortable in any way... but he was.

Thoughts of what Seishirou had said, "just like him", were beginning to stir. The thoughts were pushed aside easily enough. What he failed to notice, still, was the worsening bleeding that was trying to come through the wrap. It was visible.

The kuroi koneko looked up at the group of three and simply sat there like a puppy.

"Y'know, Sumeragi-san," Shouri added suddenly, looking between the twins, smiling lightly, "You're very hard to find! I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever find you.. getting lost isn't very enjoyable..."

_'Real smooth.' _Shouri thought to himself. _'Very. Lovely. Embarrass yourself, why don't you? Couldn't you come up with anything better than that?'  
_  
The neko scratched behind its left ear childishly.

* * *

Fuuma smiled down at the fight. "That boy, Seishirou, claims to wish something that is common for all humanity...to end this monotonous existence...yet he only claims this. Do you understand?"

A sly smile crossed over Seishirou's countenance. "Ah, yes, he would be a valuable addition to your cause, wouldn't he?" He nodded, almost instantly understanding what Fuuma had been hinting at. "Those important to him. Family, friends, lovers?" He knew the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth could read these details like an open book.

Fuuma's smile widened as he turned away from the battle to face his colleague. "If we cut this last thread, that boy will see what horrors the world will offer... He will destroy it in fury over his loss... Which brings me to our beloved Watcher. Let's accomplish both that boy's awakening and the Watcher's destruction in one decisive moment."

Furrows creased Seishirou's brow as he tried to keep up with his elusive comrade. "To tie them both together... You mean for the boy to destroy the Watcher? I'm not sure..." Absently he rubbed the back of his neck. "He's pretty strong. I've fought him twice in the past two days and still haven't killed him." A pause. "So whom do you want me to take care of?"

"I want you to destroy that boy's only link to the world...and make it seem the watcher committed this. Do you understand now?" Fuuma smiled softly at Seishirou, his cold eyes staring into Seishirou's.

A smirk escaped Seishirou's parted lips. "Perfectly. Consider it done." With one last glance back down at the battle, he prepared to take his leave. "And don't go injuring yourself again," he added with a more cheerful smile. "You had me awfully worried there for a little while."

"You had me worried as well... After all, you are my favorite." He smiled at Seishirou and bowed slightly. "You might also be interested to know that one of the Seven Stars is shifting."

Seishirou cocked an eyebrow at both of these comments. "But it's not Subaru," he concluded, already knowing that much. Finally he shrugged. "Well, then, it would seem the war is already turning in our favor." Nodding once more, he leaped into the air, calling back down over his shoulder. "It will be done before the hour is up!" And then he was out of ear-shot, bounding across the rooftops with agile grace.

* * *

Sorata leaned low to the floor in bathroom, a mirror facing him behind the closed door. He had tried calling Arashi's phone number but there was no answer...Her answering machine turned on and he spoke softly into it:

"Arashi...I can't talk long but...I,I,I can't tell you what's happening to me but I love you...no matter what happens ok? I'm sorry I was such a fool...but I can't go back now and I want you to know that I will always cherish what we had together...I gotta go."

Sorata hung up when his message was finished, tossing the phone into the bathtub. It no longer mattered to him for some reason. He was dressed in all black now...it seemed to fit the mood that flowed through the air around him. Those hot tears that spilled from his eyes seemed to be the only warmed part of him left and it was being lost as they welled up and spilled down his face. It was happening, that moment stargazer warned him about. That moment where all his faith would be dissolved and he would be left with nothing...nothing to show for all that sacrifice. Nothing from the world he fought desperately to save. All he could do was smile. Smile that sick crooked smile that made him seem deranged as he slid closer to the floor.

_How could I ever like a freak like you?! _That of someone he once loved...the wound was open again...

That boy's tears flowed down as the rain poured down...

That hand that struck him across his face. The hand of someone who would tell him the world own his life and destiny would do as it wished with him.

Those childish smiles that leered at him from the darkness.

And Arashi...Her memory was the strongest.

_How can I ever like a freak like you?! _These words were spoken by someone else but Sorata could hear them in Arashi's voice. His mother had given him up for the End of the World...a world which later shunned him for being different...what made Arashi different? HOW COULD SHE EVER LOVE HIM?! How could she ever be different from those who hurt him before...there was no beauty in the world, only Arashi's beauty was left in the dark cold place he wanted to save...yet

_How can I ever like a freak like you?!  
How can I ever like a freak like you?!  
How can I ever like a freak like you?!  
_  
"STOP IT!!!!!" Sorata screamed and struck the mirror as the memories and illusions poured back into his mind. He breathed heavily as he stared down at the pieces...looking into his own eyes which grew cold. Why should he save the world which harmed him and threatened to destroy his heart once more. Arashi, He was so sorry as his tears poured out quicker before they ran out...They were now growing colder.

Sorata's smile died in the freezing cold emanating from his heart. He finally acknowledged the Kekkai in the distance, sensing his answers near it. His face had adopted his beloved's features, that cold look that offered no mercy. He threw on his black trench coat (the patch on the back reads: "Hellion") as he left the bathroom, blood trailing from the cuts on his fist. He left his room for the last time, walking toward his destiny and the man who could answer his questions...The one who could offer him alternate path.


	51. Chapter 49: The Last Thread Breaks

**Chapter Forty-Nine: The Last Thread Breaks**

Subaru brought a hand to Shouri's neck. "You're bleeding." _Thank you, Captain Obvious!_ Tugging a sleeve from his t-shirt, he tore it in half before wrapping it around the young man's neck.

"What happened?" Subaru asked, his voice morose and calm. Still, his thoughts lingered to Yuurei, whose words still serenaded his heart.

_'You can't go, Yuurei...I still haven't bought you a new trench coat...' _Subaru though through clenched fists.

"Ano.. it's nothing." he lied.

He didn't want to tell about Seishirou. He wanted to avoid thinking about Seishirou. Seishirou was not on his list of things to think about. He wanted to think about good things, nice things- ignore all of the horrible things that had taken place.

He looked up at him, frowning. He thought that his facial expression was serious, when it was rather worried... sort of... sad.

Yes. Seishirou... he hadn't forgotten him. He still owed him... And he was planning to repay the favors...

"That's not 'nothing'," Subaru lectured, knotting the temporary bandage tighter. "If it were 'nothing', you wouldn't be hurt so badly. So what was it?"

Subaru's memories lingered to a few minutes before his abduction.

"You didn't become involved...with the battle, did you?" Subaru chose his words cautiously.

"A-ano... not precisely." Shouri's eyes traveled to the ground.

A sigh escaped the young man as he glanced down. He didn't want to tell him. He didn't want to tell Hokuto, either. Unfortunately, he doubted that Subaru would let it pass.

"... I followed Seishirou back to the apartment after he took you after the first battle." he began slowly. "I-I just wanted to be sure that you were okay- that he wasn't going to hurt you... and when I got there, both of you were asleep. Well, then you woke up.. and the Watcher... so... so I hid in the closet. I thought I'd be safe. Even after the battle with the Watcher, and after you were gone, I stayed in the closet... I didn't think he'd find me..." he trailed off, glancing to the side.

Perhaps Subaru wouldn't make him tell anymore? He hoped...

"Did...Did Seishirou-san do anything to you?" Subaru would KILL HIM if he laid a hand on the boy, but the marks on Shouri's body lay the answer right in front of his eyes.

"He didn't...did he?" Subaru hoped that he hadn't. God, he hoped it wasn't Seishirou...

After a moment of silence, the boy looked down. His mind had completely sank back into the horrible memories, but he seemed to become rather... lost, or so his eyes reflected. He looked at the ground still, not daring to cry. After all, it was his fault.

"... It was my fault. I was too loud. He found me, sure enough." Shouri glanced up. "I didn't quite understand it, what he was talking about when he said that I was 'just like him'. I guess the first ten minutes was safe. He offered me pocky.. I was okay with that... but he acted very strange."

He felt himself shiver at the remembrance of the man's first touch. How could he have been so stupid? Well, he would never forget that look.

"I made a sprint for the door with Me-tori (Water bird, roughly translated), but we didn't make it... and what happened after... that..." his voice began to crack.

"It was awful... horrible." he whispered, shaking his head. "He kept saying that I was so much like you," he looked up at Subaru, "but different. A kiss, a touch.." he shook his head wildly as if he were trying to reject something, "He wouldn't stop. He said he wouldn't make the same mistake again..."

His eyes flickered open as he shook his head, turning away from the twins for just a moment. "... But... that wasn't all..." His voice was quavering.

He spoke in a voice so soft, it was almost inaudible. "... He took her.. from me..."

* * *

Even as Yuzuriha's strength slowly depleted, she tried her best to stabilize the kekkai as best she could. She couldn't give up. She couldn't. She couldn't.

But even so, the kekkai hiccupped. Images of the destruction merged with the unaware alternate Tokyo. A man stepped through her side.

Yuzuriha threw up.

The kekkai flickered once more, before it went out.

Completely.

* * *

Teeth bared, the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi Clan could stand no longer. This man, no, this beast, was hurting everyone close to him. No, Hokuto wasn't good enough. He had to hurt Shouri, and then Yuurei, who had done so much for him.

This was it. He wasn't going to stand it any longer. If he had to die, it would be killing the Sakurazukamori assassin.

"We're going," Subaru said, through gritted teeth. "C'mon." His grasp was a bit too firm around Shouri's tiny wrist, but he couldn't help it. He wasn't going to allow any harm to come to the boy again.

Taking his sister with an equally strong grip, he lead them, the best he could, on wobbly legs to the train station.

They'd be going home soon. He'd make sure that Shouri would stay with Hokuto, until he could take care of Seishirou-san.

_'It didn't have to be this way,' _he thought. _'I didn't care if you had hurt me, but hurting others, Seishirou-san...that is unacceptable.'  
_

Hokuto was dragged along by Subaru, the grip on her wrist a bit to tight to her liking, but she wasn't complaining.

She could feel so much anger pouring off of him, so much hurt. He had never been like this before. She wondered if something extremely severe had happened in the nine years she had been gone from him. Something she didn't know about.

Shaking free from his grip, Hokuto found herself at the train station. Subaru didn't stop to wait for her, so she followed him and Shouri into the train, seating herself in a window seat next to Shouri, Subaru opposite from her.

"Ano... Subaru...?"

* * *

Arashi had been standing her place. Keeping Nataku from attacking the badly hurt Yuzuriha. But, Yuzuriha could hardly stand anymore. Actually, she couldn't. And her kekkai was flashing.

The stench, that horrible stench of vomit below her. Arashi herself gagged. This was not going good for their half. The kekkai was gone. Arashi felt that something was wrong. Someone else was approaching. Her eyes scanned frantically. She prayed it was Sorata. She hadn't seen him since the battle before, and...

Her silence still hung. "The party's not over yet." She laughed at herself mentally. That was such a Sora line. She looked over at Yuzuriha. "If need be, leave. Now. But I won't let them get away."

She stretched her hand out in front of her, calling for her own kekkai before anyone could try and escape them. She was angry. And she wasn't going to let them all just waltz away.

There was nothing Yuzuriha could do. Nothing, but even so, she struggled her hardest, trying to put the kekkai back up. She couldn't allow normal people to see...to see this.

Before she could, Arashi pulled her hand out, and another kekkai was called forth.

Yuzuriha forced a smile as she lay on the cold gravel. She couldn't move...

* * *

Okita glared at Nataku, "I SAID STOP IT!!!" and tossed a hand full of change at the ground. The sound had enough force behind it to not only tear through the fabric but knock Nataku through a building.

Okita cringed at the volume of the attack...he needed to invest in some earplugs before he went deaf. He breathed heavily before he coughed out a trickle of blood. "Damn you..."

* * *

Fuuma watched the rage in that boy's eyes against the doll. He couldn't help feel somewhat pleased with it. He truly was willing to die fighting despite his wishes...a true Martyr.

He chuckled and continued to just watch the grand symphony that was unfolding...and waiting for the next musician to arrive...wait he already had. Fuuma looked over to the building across from him...There stood the Kouya boy.

* * *

Sorata stared coldly down at the fight. Such courage, such willingness to fight no matter the cost and it all didn't matter in the end. The world would never truly accept their sacrifice and they would just be worse off than when they started. It didn't need to be this way... something needed to change.

He charged a attack, letting it fly toward the combatants mercilessly...after all they all knew what the cost of the curse was. The lightning flashed toward the one of earth, who would probably end up caught in the cross fire, the two of Heaven, his former colleagues in fate, and the one of neutral ground.

Which side was he on? He didn't know for sure yet but it certainly wasn't Humanity's...He had a feeling though as he looked back at Fuuma.

* * *

Noroku's car flew toward where he had sensed the distress. "Yeah I guess it's a gift but it helps when you run a detective agency." Noroku smiled widely as he sped toward the Kekkai, ready to save the day and then get out of the cross fire.

* * *

"Hai?" Subaru was a man of very few words, and forcing out anything besides some sort of vulgarity was difficult. He was going to kill Seishirou. KILL him.

Settling Shouri next to him, he made sure that both Hokuto and Shouri were close to him. As close as they could be without actually being in his lap.

He wouldn't let Seishirou hurt anyone again.

Shouri was dragged along, being wrenched from his sudden onset of depression and memory. As he listened, he glanced down. Subaru was probably wanting vengeance. Why? Over him? Well, not just over him... but still, why would anyone want to waste time getting vengeance for something done to him? He had never understood it.

"Subaru-san, if you're going after him, understand I'm coming to." He said, forcing his voice to seem strong. "I have a score to settle, too, and I won't take no for an answer."

He hoped his words were not going to turn against him in the future.

"You're not coming," Subaru said, placing a firm hand on Shouri's head. "This is my battle, not yours."

Subaru wanted so badly to tell Shouri that he was like a little brother to him, that he really genuinely cared about the boy, that he just didn't want to risk him getting hurt. If Shouri was hurt...if Shouri was killed, he couldn't live with that on his shoulders, as he had with Hokuto.

"Sumeragi-san, he took Sasori-chan from me! I can't sit by and take that, and I ask that you try to understand. Surely you remember her!" His eyes pleaded, while he spoke quietly so that no others besides Hokuto and the two could hear. "The only member of my family that I know- I had to watch her die in front of me... I couldn't do anything."

He bit his lip before he looked down. "... It's darkness that swims in my mind now. The entire structure that we built as children has collapsed. I can't dream. I can only see nightmares. Without Sasori-chan, I'm completely defenseless... my own subconscious is my enemy. I can't even trust myself... and it hurts... it's trying to suffocate me. What's more is that it's my fault... and sooner or later, I'm going to lose to it. I don't know what will happen then.. but it won't be good.. please Sumeragi-san. Surely you can understand..."

His voice was pained. He was very good at hiding it, but at that moment he had released a bit of his hold on it. He didn't want to lose anyone else- Hokuto, Subaru, or Matsuko. However, he couldn't accept the fact that it was his fault that he had lost Sasori... and that he truly was alone. The void made that clear.

Shouri's dark bangs hung limp over his eyes. Even when awake, it seemed that the darkness was tearing at the barrier of his mind. He had wanted to give in, but refused. He would continue to refuse to accept the darkness and fight it for as long as he could.

The black kitten had followed them all the way and now sat silently and unnoticed.

Subaru suddenly grabbed the boy, a motion that would, at first, be interpreted at hostile. But within a few milliseconds, he was held within Subaru's arms, Subaru's arms wrapped so tightly around the boy's thin frame it probably hurt a bit.

"It's going to hurt. It's going to hurt, a lot. But even so, even if you're afraid of yourself, even if you're not sure what to do, because she's not there to help you...you must live on," he breathed.

"Sasori-chan...she wouldn't want you getting hurt, would she? I'm sure that..." Subaru paused, taking a deep breath, "...knowing Seishirou, she probably died for your sake. Do you want that to be all in vain?"

Slightly relinquishing his embrace, he whispered, "I couldn't bear to lose another..." Subaru pulled away suddenly. Stupid him. Why couldn't he ever say what he intended to say?

He took a seat, as though nothing had happened at all.

It had caught him completely off guard when he had been pulled into the sudden embrace. At first, he had panicked. It was his natural reaction to anything that surprised him. Panic. It never helped, either. His stomach had nearly turned over due to Subaru's grip. The pain halted as he heard Subaru's voice.

It was true. He did need to keep going, and he knew that. Apparently he was still alive for SOME reason... and he had yet to decipher what Sasori had meant by "prophecy" and "fate".

The boy's emerald eyes reflected upon the words as he continued to listen. His heart was beginning to beat faster. He didn't know why, couldn't tell, either. Perhaps it was just that he was never that close to a person, save the children from the orphanage during his volunteer hours, but then, it was only because of sports and activities.

_'No... she wouldn't would she?' _he thought to himself about his sister. He faintly recalled her words towards Seishirou. _'She would not allow him to hurt me... but..'  
_  
And no. It couldn't be in vain. Her sacrifice was a noble one, even if he did try and twist it to his own ideas and say it was selfish. That wasn't true.

The moment that Subaru released him, he forced himself to stand up straight. He looked at him, almost dazed as he heard those words. Was he truly that important to any one person? Even after Subaru sat down, Shouri remained standing, at least for a moment.

The kuroi neko mewed lightly, pawing at him.

Shouri sat down slowly, or rather sank into a seat by the twins. The kitten jumped up onto his lap and laid down.

Then... perhaps he would have to wait for his vengeance against Seishirou. Perhaps he should leave it to Subaru. If he mattered that much to any one person...

He closed his eyes again and shut everything out for a moment. He wasn't frowning, or smiling. He was simply thinking. There were three people left in the world who mattered to him. Subaru, Hokuto, and Matsuko. For their sake, he would have to keep himself from falling into the darkness. For his own sake, he would have to stay strong. For Sasori-chan's sake, he would remain upon the plain of the living... and fulfill whatever it was that he was supposed to, if he ever found out what that was.

He opened his eyes a little and began to pet the kitten's head. It purred, so it was something else to take his mind off of his troubles. Subaru's words still rang through his head though. It wasn't like those words were meant to, but his heart was still beating quite fast. Why? He wasn't really sure.

"Arigato, minna-san..." he whispered, so lightly that one could only hear if they were trying. He didn't realize what he said next.. it was so quiet that even he did not hear it, but he did say it, ".. Subaru-kun..."

As Subaru sat down, his thoughts wandered to Seishirou. He knew that he wasn't strong enough to defeat him with his Onmyouji magic alone; the only way he could possibly take out Seishirou, especially in this condition, was if he had good tactics.

But Seishirou was unpredictable. Coming up with a tactic against him was nearly impossible...

He glanced over at his older sister, who, strangely enough, for the time being, was his little sister. Subaru got a headache, just thinking about it.

Subaru would have to find it. He'd have to find Seishirou's weak point.

If he couldn't find that, then he'd never be able to defeat him.

* * *

It did not take long to learn the location of Okita's residence. Even though his phone number was unlisted in the local directory, which did not surprise Seishirou at all, a bit of online search brought up the answers he needed within minutes. Stopping by the downtown library to use their computers and gain access to the internet, Seishirou browsed the hundreds of fan sites for the infamous Shreek until he found the address of his family on one of the press websites.

With this new information, he took his leave of the place. Along the way, as he raced back across the city by way of rooftop-hopping, he began to mutter a different type of incantation that he rather seldom used. As a master illusionist, he had the power to manipulate his appearance--not physically, but in the eyes of everyone around him. And with the knowledge he now held of the person whom he would become, he could now draw his essence within himself and manipulate that also, so he truly seemed to be someone complete different.

Long ebony strands of hair rushed down over his broad shoulders, handing just past his sinewy chest. Crimson robes formed about his virile body, cascading over his powerful figure and drawing him more deeply into the shadows of the night. His blind right eye shifted and appeared to become new and whole again, the color changing to that of two bloody sunsets. The facial features narrowed slightly into a more acute jaw line, and the form itself thinned to appear just slightly leaner.

Thus he arrived at the doorstep of the modest apartment only a little over fifteen minutes later. Everything about the boy seemed modest. Upon knocking on the front door, he could hear the footsteps inside, and in moments the door opened to reveal a middle-aged woman wearing casual clothes, her neat dark hair pulled back in a low bun. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except for her son's extraordinary profession, this family seemed quite normal.

She stared at him for a moment, taking a small step backward. "Can I help you?" Her voice was tedious and wary. And no wonder. Seishirou's appearance had become much more intimidating through his transformation. He no longer looked so friendly.

But he smiled cordially nevertheless and ventured to step inside without being invited. "I'm a friend of Okita's," he greeted smoothly, his tone amiable and welcoming. "He told me to come by and tell you that he would be late coming home this evening."

"Is that so?" It had been a man's voice who had spoken this time, and Seishirou glanced up to see the father come into the room. "Do you know when he'll be back?"

Seishirou shrugged. "It depends on how soon he can...take care of the business he's attending to at the moment." With a subtle gesture, he shut the door behind him.

The father peered more closely at him, narrowing his eyes. "How exactly do you know Okita, again? And...I don't think I caught your name."

Stepping farther into the living room, Seishirou nodded again with a pleasant smile. "Oh, I'm simply...a shadow roaming the Earth in search of a place to hide," he chuckled, almost dryly. With a casual glance to the side as he felt the waft of a cool breeze, his grin broadened inwardly when he saw the open window and the neighboring condominium. A portly older man sat in the living room of the next house over, watching television, no less. He would have a perfect view.

Seishirou continued speaking, though he did not turn back to look at the father. "Okita, you could say, is something of a missing link." His tone darkened. "And as soon as I'm finished here, all will be in place for the final stage of his destiny."

The mother took another step back, covering her mouth with her hand. Her eyes were wide, but she remained silent.

It was the father who spoke. "Who are you?" he questioned gruffly. "What is the meaning of this?"

A smirk escaped Seishirou's throat as he lowered his head and closed his eyes. "Oh, please, I beg you not to kill the messenger. Or rather..."--he lifted his gaze with a swift jerk as his eyes snapped open again--"the deliverer."

The father's eyes widened in sudden apprehension as he stumbled back. "What?"

Then, the Ofuda hidden in his hand, his enchantment already prepared, Seishirou lifted his arm and pointed his index finger at the man, his thumb sticking straight up, so his hand looked something like a gun. A cruel simper tugged at the corner of his mouth just before he uttered the single word. "Bang."

A blast of black, shadow-like energy erupted from his fingertip and shot through the father's chest like a knife through butter. The man had no time to even scream before his body was lifted and thrown to the opposite end of the room, the attack ripping through his tender human flash and splattering his bloody intestines against the wall.

The woman screamed. The man watching TV from the neighboring apartment complex turned his head abruptly to stare through the window. Seishirou met his horrified gaze with a sick, twisted grin just before he returned his attention to his second victim.

The mother tried to run for the stairs, but in less time than it took to blink, Seishirou was in front of her again, the long raven tresses of his disguise whipping against his ashen face as his eyes widened with his sadistic grin. With one hand, he grabbed her arm. With the other, he lifted it into the air with a quick uttered incantation, then brought it back down against her throat, slitting the delicate skin there and severing the prim head from the shoulders with his bare hand. The method he had used on Hokuto would have been easier and less messy, but Seishirou had sworn to himself never to use that technique again...until the right time.

That was an attack he would save only for Subaru.

Glancing again out the window, he smiled inwardly as he watched the man spring to his feet and grab for the telephone. Contacting the police, no doubt. Perfect. Seishirou turned back to the bloodstained carpet and walls that were before him. There was one last thing he needed to do before he left.

Revealing three Ofudas from his sleeve, he closed his eyes and filled them with living enchantments, then flung them at the various walls, watching as they melded into the whitewashed surface. Within moments, he could sense the Watcher's presence within the room. Or seemingly so. A perfect replica of Kantoku-sama's aura had been laid into the very making of the living room.

But he stopped just as he was about to turn toward the door. Retreating to the remnants of the disemboweled body of the father that stained the wall, Seishirou dipped his hand into the blood and began to smear a pattern across the remaining white patches. In huge, bold letters that spanned across the majority of the wall's length, he wrote: "FATE HAS DECIDED. IT IS DONE."

Then he left. No more glances over his shoulder, no regrets, no emotion at all. He simply walked out the front door, closed it behind him, and vaulted high into the air. And before he had even landed on the rooftop of the next tall building, his disguise had vanished, and he was back in his black suit, with his short stalky hair, and his false right eye. Indeed. It was done.

And he leaped away, smiling subtly and chuckling under his breath as he heard the faint sound of sirens in the distance...

* * *

Uo stared for a few minutes as the kekkai dropped and another came up. She looked to Aoki rather uncertainly before she took a few steps forward. She didn't like it. She could smell blood in the air. Her expression switched from oddly hyper to extremely worried.

"Seiichirou-san, do you think they're okay?" she asked, glancing back at him.

She wasn't planning on being the one to move first to fully locate the others, but she sure did want to.

* * *

Arashi covered her ears. The attack still rattled the ear drums, even long after the attack was finished. This Okita was amazing...his ability at least. She was grateful when Nataku was seemingly gone for the time being. Now she could help Yuzuriha.

What was taking the other Seals so long...? Arashi began to turn slowly. She was still rubbing her ear. It was then, that she saw it. The lightning attack coming for her, and Yuzuriha. She slipped past her bit of the attack, barely losing a few strands of hair. But, Yuzuriha...she was still in the way..

"Yuzuriha-chan!" she called out. Arashi jumped forward, trying to move the other Seal out of harm's way. Instantly, her sword drew from her palm. She knew who was behind this attack, or so she had an idea. And if it was who she thought it was...

"Show yourself!"

* * *

Okita's eyes widened as the Energy struck him in the back, causing him to hit the ground hard...He groaned as he struggled to get up.

Sorata touched down on the ground a reasonable distance from the group, eyeing the seals with the same stone cold look Arashi usually had. He jerked his hands, the knuckles popping as the energy sparked from his finger tips, one of his hands was red with blood...his own obviously.

This was not another seal but of a man who fought the world for revolution...He finally lifted his hand and gestured for the group to attack him.


	52. Chapter 50: Four Pawns Arrive

**Chapter Fifty: Four Pawns Arrive**

Arashi stood slowly. She cautiously looked around her, before standing erect. She held her sword in front of her, her eyes narrow. Perhaps she had been too kind, and not aggressive enough to where now the enemy thought that they could take advantage of her. Well, no more. She rolled her shoulders, cracking her back.

And then she stopped. She mouth dropped open at the figure which stood in front of her in a taunting way. His clothes were different, his eyes cold. And as so, her cold stare softened, and she tilted her head ever so slightly.

This could not be the same man.

"...S...Sorata...?" Her voice was cracking. This was impossible.

"Sora..."

Arashi's eyes glanced around her. Was this some kind of trick? "What are you doing..?"

Sorata stared at the girl with a solemn expression. "Stargazer predicted that on the day I found the woman I would protect...a star would shift and my fate would shift with it...My duty is to protect Kamui...just not YOUR Kamui."

The sparkles around his fingers grew brighter as the energy began to build, staring at the girl with none of the former glee he once expressed.

"I'm sick of the world using me for it's welfare...I'm sick of suffering for a world that doesn't give a fuck about me. This is destiny Arashi-chan...fate was written despite our wishes." He stated bluntly as he prepared for Arashi's strike and his counter.

* * *

The winds shifted again and caused the trees in the parks to shift and sway. The sound of the leaves as they rattled and whispered was 'romantic' to any couple that strolled down the lane, but they couldn't hear the words that the trees exchanged. They didn't hear the wind's continuous wailing or the cries of the earth. They couldn't have heard if they had listen. The world was simply "beautiful" to humanity, even as it screamed.

Of course, if humanity had been able to hear its cries, feel its pain, then they would have thought different.

Shisa stood upon one of the higher buildings of Tokyo, staring out across the city as he usually did. One might have believed the specter to be taking a break from his duty of watching over Shouri, but that was far from true. Even then, he knew what was happening with the boy.  
He always knew.

There were no breaks in his life, if one could even say he had one. He was born to protect Shouri, and nothing more. His curse was to hear and feel the pains of the earth, to know its emotions and how it felt. Both life and death had a profound affect upon him. That was the price for being so close to the planet, for being so close to life AND death. Every day was hell to him, but every day was also heaven. His will was not his own. His own needs were cast aside.

It was good that he was not sensitive. Tears were wasted time for Shisa. Why cry? Why try to understand the human race? He did and he didn't... another part of his two-part curse. Humans were another part of life, and another part of death.

He shifted, the silky cloth of his hood playing upon the top of his head. His dark eyes traced over the buildings again. Why was he contemplating his existence? Had he not promised himself that he would accept it?

... He had, but the fact that he was condemned to the form of a human turned the tables upon him. He was human, but not, so to speak. While he was much different, there was really no other form that he could have been assigned to. He never smiled. He never cried. He never frowned. He simply listened to the earth, waited until he was needed, and thought of a simple existence of nothing...

Until thoughts truly did seem to become apparent. His thoughts themselves were whispers on the wind, never understood by any. He had been thinking of nothing... nothing until he felt an odd and violent death occur. The wind spoke of it, a sharp wind like knives. It cried loudly. Death! Darkness! That was what it yelled... accompanied by the song of Death.

_'Dragon...' _death seemed to whisper to the wind, the scent of blood automatically reaching Shisa. He dared not look into it. Why? ... He knew enough about both subjects. Dragon.. it meant Dragon of Earth. A Dragon of Heaven would never do such a vile thing.

The wind batted slightly as a small creature, made of a strange green light, landed upon the specter's shoulder. What was it? Nothing more than wind beast, a small one at that. Its red eyes sparkled as it began to speak to him.

It screeched lightly, it's voice a strange jumble of sounds that came in a weird pattern that was most likely impossible to understand.

Shisa did not look at the green beast that perched upon his shoulder. He didn't need to see it to know what it was saying. His voice again propelled itself and formed words.

"... A Dragon of Earth." Shisa repeated, still staring outwards as the wind picked up again. "... Which one?"

Another series of screeches followed, small and loud as the beast nudged its beak upon the hood of the specter, finding his cheek. It was affectionate towards its master because it was a lower creature than he, not half as powerful... and certainly not in proper form.

"... Seishirou." Shisa repeated after a long moment. "I don't understand..."

The wind beast tilted its head to the side, jumping down to stand by him as the wind continued to whip his cloak back and forth.

"Why do they wish to restore this planet..? When the time comes, we shall restore ourselves. Humanity... is not our problem." He said after analyzing the situation. His voice was emotionless. "... Perhaps I see only from one point."

The wind beast nuzzled the specter once more before it made a light screeching sound. It felt a deep hopelessness coming from its master. A hopelessness that could eat a person alive if they were not strong enough. The beast, however, knew that its master was more than strong enough... but lately, things had been bothering him. It was his responsibility to protect "their hope".

"I'm fine, Kaze." Shisa glanced down at the beast, his emotions meant to be comforting in the words that were instilled into the creature's mind. "I am not permitted to be... any other way..."

A small nudge from the creature made Shisa 'sigh'. How could he expect any different from his own wind beast? While it sensed his pain, it could not quite comprehend his 'meaningful' existence.

The creature began to screech again in its own tongue.

Shisa suddenly stopped and glanced at it. ".. The Watcher? The End of the World? ... It's fine, Kaze. These matters are not direct concerns to us."

The bird fluffed its green wings. It was a beast that was more or less like a bird, for that was how it traveled around. By flying. It seemed to get an attitude for a moment as it went on rambling.

The specter's expression still did not change. No smile graced him as he looked upon the bird-like creature. His dark eyes once again traveled outwards towards the city. Why should he answer such a question? He did not have to if he did not want to. Why even bother answering such a question... it was ridiculous. Then again...

The Watcher might have been the only other being that actually knew something of the earth, of people, and of time. It disturbed him that he should think of this. After all, the watcher had been the first to understand that he was not there to harm anyone... and the Watcher intrigued him. He was one of the few beings that Shisa liked. Humanity wasn't very high in his list of fond beings, but the Watcher, and a few others, were exceptions. Perhaps he would keep an eye on the Watcher. After all, evil lurked in all corners... and evil liked to find those that could watch the world... for any eye that could see, could most likely tell of the plots that lay ahead.

Besides that, Shisa knew that he was in bad condition. He had seen that for himself. He glanced once more at the wind beast, Kaze, deciding to answer one question at a time.

"The Dragons of Earth are not our concern. Our concern is the boy. He is a threat to any who wish to harm humanity, and provides a light for us." His voice was still emotionless, but clear like a bell instead of down and damp. "We are to protect our hope as best we can. We have no choice in this matter. What the Dragons of Earth choose to do is not our concern unless it should intervene with Fate's plans... or unless we are told to assist."

The bird ruffled its feathers again. "Rr.."

The specter stepped up onto the edge of the building and allowed himself to peer down while he spoke. "The Watcher... I believe it is time that he have someone watch him. He is of significance to this world, and to the End of the World. We shall watch him, for his own good."

Kaze stared and cooed lightly.

"I understand. Yes, the Dragon of Earth... we shall keep an eye upon his cohorts, as well as him." Shisa stated.

Another bright ruffle from the bird.

"... Yes, you will watch them for me. Take Anzu and Taer. You three shall be my eyes... I must rest." he glanced at Kaze momentarily.

Kaze nodded as it flitted twice and suddenly took off. It spun up and then dove down the edge of the building, spreading its wings. As it got to the half-way point, two other bird-like creatures joined it. The three exchanged screeches, all being no bigger than a small dog, and suddenly darted into three different directions.

The cloaked specter turned around so that he faced away from the edge. It was unlike him to pull such stunts, but he wanted to be free, if not momentarily. He would float on the wind... And he fell back.

As he neared the half-way point, his body dematerialized upon the wind. He loved the feeling of being completely light, weightless. It was one of the few things that could have made him smile... but when one has no ascertained form, momentarily, then his smile cannot be seen. The winds, directed by his thought, carried him into an area near the center of the city where it dropped him off.

Upon reaching his destination, his body materialized once again. He was sitting at a very old, abandoned warehouse, upon its roof. This was the place where the Sumeragi twins and Shouri had met. It had also been one of the places that Shisa had placed into Shouri's mind, when he had been a child, to serve as a haven. He still found it to be considerably safe, uncorrupted by death and the rest of the world.

He walked silently to a door that opened to stairs and simply walked down into the office room. Closing the door, he proceeded to the first door on the right and walked in. It was a peculiar room, not like any office one would have seen. That was because it was where Shisa had taken refuge for some time. When his spirit was tired, he would go there to rest... and he was tired again.

Shisa silently sat down upon the poor excuse for a bed and simply closed his eyes. He did not bother taking his hooded cloak off. Why bother. He would only end up putting it on again anyways. After a moment or two, Shisa was overshadowed as a light sphere surrounded him... and he fell into a peaceful rest.

* * *

"Sorata you're being stupid." Arashi spat. She began to lower her sword. This was a dream, all a dream.

"You're hurt..." She took a small step forward, her eyes fixed on the blood running down his hand. She refused to acknowledge the energy charging around him.

"None of what you say is true." This was stupid. He was started to sound like what she once had. The only reason she had even cared to change her ways was for him. She would never have allowed herself to be hurt again...But because of him..

And now he was going to hurt her...?

"He's not MY Kamui. He's OUR Kamui." Arashi said pointedly. What in the world was he getting at?!

"A world that doesn't care? What am I?! Am I nothing? Another one of the toys in this game? You're not the only one that's alone, Sora!" She was becoming angry. Maybe not so much as angry, but hurt...

"I was NEVER using you! NEVER!"

How could he say such mean things about her?

"Your joke isn't funny anymore." she pointed out. Denial? Maybe...

A thought struck her. "You're the one using people, Sorata! If you knew that this would happen, that this was Fate, you wouldn't have pulled us so close to you. You wouldn't have pulled me so close! I know you better than that!"

She bent her head down. This wasn't happening to her... She could feel the salt tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

Yuzuriha, despite in all the pain she was, pushed herself up; her arm trembling under her own weight. "S..Sorata-san..." she fell once more. He had to know how much she cared, how all the Dragons of Heaven cared about him. Not just because he was a Dragon of Heaven, but because he was their friend. Despite her efforts, Yuzuriha couldn't force the words from her lips, her voice consumed by sickness as blood poured from her crimson-stained face.

Sorata just stared at the women. He didn't answer as the energy around his fingers danced. He felt sorrow over Arashi's words...but they were just words...words that he didn't think he could trust anymore...not after so much pain.

Fuuma landed beside Sorata, smiling as his arms wrapped around the new angel. "Ah young love...I gave you your wish Yuzuriha-san...Kusanagi is now on your side but in exchange this one is mine." He grinned coldly at the group. "You have your Seal now...and I have my Angel right here."

"Sorata!" Arashi screamed at him. "You can't stand there and ignore me! We all care for you!" She just couldn't understand...

"Fuuma..." She glanced over her shoulder to make sure that Kotori wasn't around. And then her eyes fixed on Yuzuriha. She did this? No way... "I'm sick of your lies!" Her defensive stance was back.

Yuzuriha cast her eyes guiltily to the ground below her. Because of her wish, people had to suffer. Sorata switched sides because she wished so deeply for Kusanagi to join her cause. Because of her wish, Arashi-san would have to suffer the way she did, knowing that they were on opposite sides.

"Arashi-san...it is my fault..." But knowing it wouldn't change anything. Yuzuriha was unable to change her wish, no matter how much she wanted to. Even if she tried, she couldn't. Because she...

Loved him.

Arashi smiled softly at Yuzuriha. The poor girl. "No, no...it's not your fault at all. I would never put the blame on you."

She turned back to Fuuma and Sorata. Her soft eyes, filled with their crystal tears...she smirked. "Sorata-sama...I don't want to have to fight with you. I love you...you should believe that. I have no reason to lie to you..."

Sorata looked at the ground before his cold eyes shot back up. "How can I believe anyone...After everything in the past...How can I believe you?" He eyed Fuuma's arms around him, he secretly wished they were Arashi's.

"Why...not?" Yuzuriha managed to force out, leaning against her arm for support. "Why not, Sorata-san?"

Fuuma's eyes grew into slits as his insanity filled them. "You cannot fight Destiny...He has made his choice..."

"Because I haven't lied to you yet, and you've seen what that monster has done to you!" Arashi cried out. She flung her hand to her head in anger.

She felt it there...Sorata's cap. She crunched her eyes closed, and took a deep breath. She wouldn't cry. Fuuma would see her weakness.

Instead, she grabbed the brim of the hat, and pulled it off her head. She ran a hand through her hair and stuffed the cap away in her skirt pocket. She couldn't wear it if he hated her...

Sorata just stayed silent for a moment. "All people ever do is lie...it's futile to save a world when it's already being destroyed...It's STUPID TO SAVE A WORLD THAT DOESN'T CARE!!!" He broke Fuuma's embrace and tossed orbs of electricity toward the Dragon's of Heaven.

Okita struggled to get up, his eyes widening when he saw the next attack. "GET DOWN!" He dashed toward the women and attempted to push them out of the way.

Yuzuriha cried out in pain as the electricity vibrated through her body. She...couldn't take much more. Her body was dying, even if her spirit was not.

Arashi jumped back. Or tried to. Instead she was thrown down to the ground by that man again. And Yuzuriha...she needed to get out of here. Arashi's eyes grew cold again. "Bring it..." she muttered Sora's line.

Suddenly a very stylish car roared through the barrier and skidded to a stop in front of the girls. "Get in..." Noroku drew a pistol and pointed it at his former friend and the Dragon of Earth. "Never thought I would have a gun on you of all people."

Arashi looked up at the car. That man...he just broke through her barrier. No matter, she would have to take it down now to get him out of here. She couldn't afford another hurt being. She stood, and bent down to help Yuzuriha up.

No doubt she didn't want to leave. But she didn't have a choice. If she kept this up, looking at him would tear her in a literal half. "I thought I loved you." she said softly.

Granted, she still did, but her mouth wouldn't let her speak it. She had to fight him sooner or later. And she was going to make it later.

Okita helped Yuzuriha into the car, glaring at Sorata and Fuuma. Yuuto- san...this meant he would eventually need to fight Yuuto-san.

Despite Arashi and Okita helping her up, Yuzuriha stumbled; she couldn't handle her own body anymore. Her muscles wouldn't react to the proper commands. All she wanted to do now, was sleep...

Arashi held out her hand, her sword dissipating. Following after, she began to draw in the kekkai. "Come on, Yuzuriha, hang on. We're getting you out of here." Arashi climbed into the car, and waited for Okita before she would completely drawing the kekkai back.

Sorata stared at the gun coldly and almost flinched at Arashi's words...he wouldn't let those words touch him. She was lying, she had to be...after all who served man were nothing but men themselves. He didn't attack Noroku...he simply knew he would win.

Okita jumped into the car just as it sped off.

Noroku slammed on the gas, speeding away from the two men who shrank in the distance.

Having pulled the Kekkai away, Arashi slipped down into her seat. She didn't dare look over her shoulder. "Don't look..." she muttered to herself. A tear. "Don't..." Another tear.

She cast her glance back over her shoulder, taking in the last look of him before her, her tear-stained face. She watched him for a long while, then turned back to tend to Yuzuriha.

* * *

Hokuto placed a hand on Shouri's back, absentmindedly stroking her fingers across his shoulder blades, trying to give support and comfort. She did not speak, however, as Subaru seemed to have said everything she had wanted to say.

Hokuto observed her brother after his gaze drifted from her. He was looking out the window, the train speeding past fields, houses and trees, making a blur out of the landscape.

She could see his determination in the way he furrowed his brows, his posture, she could see it in his very being, his soul. But determination for what? Perhaps because they were twins, perhaps because she knew him so well, but she could sense it had something to do with Seishirou.

Letting her hand fall from Shouri's back, she edged forward in her seat, waiting for Subaru to notice her. When he didn't, she stretched out her hands and placed them on either side of her brother's face, forcing him to look her in the eyes.

She almost recoiled at the hate in them. Hate for Seishirou, she was sure. So much loathing for him, so much hurt. But they softened under her gaze and she stroked a thumb across his cheek. "Subaru-kun..."

She sighed, wanting them to have been nothing more than ordinary teenagers at that time when they still thought Seishirou to be as dangerous as a newborn kitten. And how she had wished for the Sakurazukamori to have been nothing more than the veterinarian he gave himself out to be.

"Subaru-kun..." Trying again, she hugged him to her, enjoying the feeling of having her brother so close again. "Don't... do anything stupid. Don't do anything that will take you from me while seeking revenge or justice. Don't... die for me. I would die again, missing you. I know I'm being selfish, saying this, but don't put me through the hell of life without you, not like I did you."

Shouri felt Hokuto's hand. It was comforting, comforting to know that people cared. It was hard having lived for so long thinking that the world was a good place and that people were generally good, only to realize that such thoughts were only brought about by the thoughts that one desired. It was painful for him to realize that. Perhaps, though, he would make it through... at least with Subaru and Hokuto's help.

The small kitten mewed lightly, pawing at his hand as it rolled over. "Mreow.. mrew... mew.."

He looked down at the kitten again. He had felt Hokuto's hand drop, so he had partially been awakened from his thoughts with that realization. He smiled lightly at the kitten, tickling it just a little. It was childish, he knew, but he (the kitten) was such a cute thing. He smirked at the kitten as it rolled over again. He ran his fingers over its slender little head again.

A thought occurred. What if Matsuko didn't let him keep the kitten? Oh, that was ridiculous! His teacher would surely let him keep the little thing. How could she not? The kitten was so cute!

The kuroi neko looked towards Subaru and Hokuto just as Shouri did. "Mew.."

_'Hai. We won't let Subaru-kun get hurt, ne? Or Hokuto-sama.' _Shouri thought as he stroked the kitten's head again. _'We won't...'_

Subaru's heart skipped a beat as Hokuto hugged him tightly; it was his words that stung his heart.

For a minute, his eyes widened in surprise. How did she...?

Had he forgotten already that they were twins? He nearly smiled.

_'Not to die before someone you care about is the best present that can be given, isn't it?' _Subaru thought, reciting the words he once read in a book.

Why is it that he was always the ones giving out the gifts? Why was it that he never got to get one?

He reclined back in the chair, stroking the kitten rhythmically...

* * *

This was totally not fair. Totally not.

Her cell phone was broken, Okita was NO WHERE to be found, despite tracking throughout the entire city.

Kaori was pissed.

And being Kaori, the most logical place to look was the most obvious.

But as soon as she stepped onto the street where Okita's parent's apartments were, she saw the cop cars.

And call it women's intuition, but she knew something was wrong. Very wrong. Her expression, which had been of restless exasperation and anger mixed quickly turned to worry and concern.

She ran all the way to the apartment complex from the other side of the corner; her heel bent under the pressure of running and broke off. Kaori pulled her shoes off and ran, all the way to the front of the apartment complex.

"You can't go up there!" A policeman grabbed her arm as she made her way through the crowd of people gathering.

She shot him THE look. The man quickly released her from his grasp.

"Tatsuro! Rika!" she cried out, running up the stairs only in her dress and ripped tights. Somewhere along the way, she lost her heeled shoes, but that didn't matter right now...

As she made it to their apartment, she found what was probably the most disturbing image she had ever seen.

The parents of Okita, dead on the floor.

White light lit up the room, as the flash from a camera went off, crimson blood now staining the once-blue carpets a dull brown.

Okita's father, shot in the head. Okita's mother...completely decapitated.

Both faces, permanently stuck in expressions of horror.

Kaori brought her hand to her lips, gagging slightly; she hadn't eaten since yesterday, so luckily, nothing came out.

Despite it all, she felt as though she was going to be sick.

"Miss, you're not supposed to be here."

"Tatsuro...Rika..." Kaori sputtered, her eyes turning for refuge, somewhere away from the bloody murder that lay before her.

_"FATE HAS DECIDED. IT IS DONE."_

It took only a few minutes for her to recover as the detective who comforted her had dealt with such things before.

It took only a few seconds afterwards for her remorse to turn into rage.

"I'm going to find whoever did this..." she said, standing up. "They're going to pay."

He grabbed her arm. "Now's not the time." He paused before adding, "...you know these people, correct? Perhaps it would be best if you told their son the news."

She nodded numbly, her eyes cast at the plush carpet beneath her bare feet.

"Inspector Yamakawa," the blue-haired detective introduced. "Hajimemashite."

* * *

Okita's blast of sound send Nataku flying head over heels in the opposite direction. His head connected with a building, which stopped his momentum instantly. It also left a bloody smear as his body sank to the ground. The source of the blood, a wound along one of his temples, dyed his snowy-white hair a dull red as it dripped down his cheek.

Too much had happened within too short of a time span.

The fabric hovering just above the ground seemed to swirl in comforting patterns, but it subsided as his energy waned and he diverted his attention to maintaining consciousness. The sword-form of the seal's dog clattered as it hit the pavement. One hand reached back to support the slim frame as it attempted to stand. Half-leaning against the building, Nataku managed to climb to his feet. The fabric hung loosely about his body, moving only slowly and at irregular intervals, if at all.

* * *

Landing back beside the towering sakura tree, Seishirou let the essences of the souls of Okita's dead parents exit the place in the endless space of oblivion where he had stored them. Seeping around the thick trunk, the bark absorbed them into its being, and Seishirou could feel it growing stronger with the energy. Not the strongest life forms, but they would do for now.

Seishirou also felt his own life force restored. His muscles became less sore; his wounds began to heal faster. When the task was finally complete, he remained standing under the lovely branches for only a few more moments. So beautiful. Holding up a hand, he caught a soft pink sakura petal in his palm.

It was all coming together.

* * *

Kusanagi watched with worry as the kekkai slowly melted away. Had something happened? Did that mean?...

Kusanagi wasn't sure what to do with at this point. And with his extra "Luggage" he was carrying about, there weren't many options.

He couldn't go back to the Dragons of Earth so easily, not after what he did. But somehow...it seemed like he didn't have to worry about that...

Looking around quickly, Kusanagi ran into a near by ally, trying to avoid any human contact. "I cant keep dragging you across the city like this," he spoke to the still unconscious Yuuto. "Gotta be some place I can put 'ya where you wont cause to much trouble..."

It was then that he spotted a old dumpster. It smelled something awful but it was at least empty. "Sorry pal. I really don't want to do this to 'ya..." Kusanagi said as he lifted up the lid and gently laying him inside.

"But at least trash day was yesterday, so I don't think you have anything to worry about. See 'ya later!"

Closing the lid shut, Kusanagi walked out into the street while straightening out his gloves. He wasn't sure what to do next. He was more worried about Yuzuriha and that kid, Okita, but they could be anywhere by now.

"Yuzuriha...I hope you're alright..." he said and began to walk down the street.

* * *

Kamui slowly fell to his knees as he witnessed Tokiko's gruesome demise. Her blood splattered against his white shirt and face, slowly red leaving trails as they oozed down.

"Damn it..." said Kamui cringing. "Why did this have to happen!? All this for a stupid sword!!?"

He wanted to cry out in angst and pain. But he couldn't. Nothing he could say or do would bring her back. Looking back up he gazed at the newly born Shinken. Somehow, he could hear Tokiko's words run through his head as he grasped the sword in his hands.

"I'll make everything right once again..." whispered Kamui.

With the barrier down, there was no reason for Kamui to head there anymore. But he had the feeling something was wrong.

Clenching the blade tightly, he leapt up to a near by roof and made his way back to Yuzuriha's. he had been worried about Kotori and would have been there sooner it he hadn't got side tracked.

Landing down from the roof and on the balcony, Kamui saw someone laying on the ground. "Kotori!!!" he cried out and immediately rushed to her aid.

Laying down the Shinken on the floor, he cradled the young girl in his arms gently. "Kotori, are you alright?" he asked, worried.

* * *

Aoki looks around some.

"Ok Miss... I think it would be best if we got out of here. Quickly." he said.

Taking Uo up into his arms, he started to run away from the area.

"We've got to get back to the base. It'll be the safest place right now." Aoki said.

Uo frowned. "B-but what about Yuzuriha-chan?"

She couldn't accept it! What about Yuzuriha!? When the hell was she going to get to bust out her fist of death upon Fuuma- well, talk to him anyways! What if Okita and Yuzuriha weren't okay? What if Yuuto woke up and decided to attack them? What if- what if!

She felt herself falling into depression. "What about the others!?" She nearly pouted.

"Where we are headed, we can find out the answers to those questions easily. We're going to head to the DIET Building and see Hinoto." Aoki said.

He smiled at Uo.

"Maybe I can also find out if I'll make my deadline or not with all that's been going on lately." Aoki added.

Uo face faulted momentarily as she glanced down, but nodded again. Perhaps she could find out where the heck Fuuma was, too. Of course, if she mentioned him, she wondered how Seiichirou-san would respond.

Putting it out of her mind for a brief second, she then glanced back at him. Her eyes traveled back to the man.

".. Could we find out where Fuuma-san is, too?" She dared not call him 'Fuuma-kun'. She didn't even do that in front of Kotori. Perhaps in her journal, but it wasn't with her. Where the heck had she left her journal anyways? It was always in her backpack.. but... it wasn't with her anymore. Where had she left it!?

She twitched lightly. She'd have to find Fuuma soon, too... as well as the others. She needed to sort things out. If she ended up attempting to kick Fuuma's butt, so be it... even if it wasn't wise.

Aoki was silent for a bit.

"She might be able to. I am not sure if she can or not really." He said after a while.

They eventually got to the subway where Aoki put Uo down and got tickets for the two of them.

* * *

Hikari looked around at the car full of girls that Noroku was driving around.

"Wow... y... you're really something else... I didn't believe that what was said about your abilities Noroku... but now... just... wow..." She said.

Noroku just smiled at Hikari's response. She was different from the others somehow...He had never taken the time to acknowledge this thought before but he continued to smile.

He would deal with her later, well after he had gotten his passengers to the school. The car sped up and rocketed toward the gates of the Clamp Academy.

* * *

Fuuma waited until the car was well out of view to walk over to where the silver haired boy rested. "You did very well." He spoke with a friendly smile and offered a hand. "Now Lets go home." Suddenly though, Fuuma felt the presence of another nearby...the aura was weak but definitely one of his own. "Sora-kun?" He smiled over to the man in black, who was now staring at the direction the car went.

"Don't call me that." A cold voice shot back as Sorata continued stare off toward where the car had left.

Fuuma smiled darkly and pressed his glasses to his face. "Sora-kun, Could you go find out who is hiding in that alley down there?" He smiled at the boys resistance to his nickname...He wasn't entirely dead inside after all it seemed.

Sorata nodded slowly and with a scoff, he was off taking a leisurely stroll toward this alleyway. He still thought about her and why he couldn't believe what she said.

_HOW COULD I LIKE A FREAK LIKE YOU?!_

Sorata cringed as that memory came back and answered his question. He stopped in front of the dumpster, tossing it open with quickly to get a jump on what was inside...charging a attack. He stopped when he saw the pimp he had fought so long ago...pity his suit would be ruined because of the foul smelling garbage. "If you're alive, move..."

* * *

Fuuma stood tall, waiting for Sorata to return. He turned his attention to the boy with another of his oddly placed smiles. "What would you liked to be called?" 


	53. Chapter 51: Awake, and Ready to Die

**Chapter Fifty-One: Awake, and Ready to Die**

Shouri looked to the twins for a moment. He was really concerned. He didn't know if he could deal with losing either of them if it ever came to it. He bit his lip and sighed. What was he to do?

A feeling of dread passed through him. What if Subaru did try to go up against Seishirou? ... Well, Shouri'd just have to watch him. He wasn't going to lose anyone, including Subaru. Of course... how he'd follow was the only problem. Subaru was very aware and that would make things difficult. Glancing at the kitten again, he heaved a sigh.

Hokuto's attention shifted to Shouri as he sighed. She smiled slightly and placed her hand on his back again, making her fingers draw circles on his left shoulder. "Shouri-chan...?"

When he looked at her, she gave him a slight grin. "You care about Subaru very much, don't you?"

Subaru seemed to be in his own little world; his eyes closed deeply in meditation, his fists painted white from clenching them too hard, to any normal person, he would seem to have been asleep.

The boy's face nearly turned red as he looked up at Hokuto She had said "-chan". He wasn't little! He looked as though he was about to pout when he realized it. Hadn't she done something similar the first time they had met? He smiled lightly as he glanced down. It was a rather nervous smile. He knew what she meant... he thought.

"Hai." he said in a rather quiet voice.

Hokuto grinned widely, some of her mischievousness returning to her. "Awwww, kawaii!" Hugging Shouri to her, she whispered in his ear. "I knew it."

As she released him, she rejoiced in his flushed face. This was just like it had been with Subaru! She needed to tease them more about it. Perhaps later though, because Subaru hadn't seemed to notice.

Making a vow to mention Shouri's infatuation to Subaru later, she settled back into her seat and nudged Shouri's side. "Don't you think my brother is ignoring us a bit much?"

Shouri glanced off to the side. Okay, perhaps he had misunderstood the way she meant it. If that were true, then why were his cheeks burning? It wasn't like it mattered, but still! It wasn't like such things were possible.

After his blush had faded a little, he looked at Hokuto, then to Subaru, and back again. "... Ano... he looks like he's thinking about something. I-it's probably best not to disturb him."

What had he gotten himself into? He glanced off to the side again to avoid eye contact with Hokuto. Why did he have the feeling that this might not end well?

Hokuto glanced at her brother and taking in his concentration, she gathered he was meditating. Sticking her tongue out at him, she turned to Shouri, only to find him avoiding looking at her.

Mock sighing heavily, she stared at him. For a long long long while, waiting for him to look at her again.

Shouri glanced back at Hokuto again. He had noticed the childish little gesture that she had shot at Subaru and had almost laughed, but held his tongue. He looked back at Hokuto again before picking up the kitten and stroking its head again. What to say. What to say. He had never really thought about what to say. He had never been too much of a conversationalist. He paused. "So.." he said, voice still a bit quiet so as to not disturb Subaru.

"So...what?" Hokuto answered, before lowering her face and smiling at the kitten, her nose against it's cool black one. It licked her and she giggled, glancing up at Shouri.

"What are you doing these days?" She said, her head practically in his lap.

Shouri paused as he thought about it, a little smile finding its way to his face. "Ah, well... I work at the orphanage as a volunteer and I take care of the kids in the neighborhood quite a bit for their parents.

"I'm living at a shrine with my mentor, Matsuko. She adopted me a few years back and is really getting up in her years. I suppose I'm her apprentice." He nodded. "Other then that, I play the flute and I'm an artist, or so the visitors say." He wasn't quite sure about 'artist', but he did like to paint and draw. It was a good way of expressing himself.

"Wow." She straightened up, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "You're like Mr. Perfect." She giggled and stroked the kitten again. "Can I hear you play sometime?"

"Sure." He nodded lightly as he noticed the kitten's purring. How could the little koneko be so calm? He envied him for that reason. He looked towards one of the windows. "Hmn..."

Hokuto glanced at her brother, highly annoyed. Sitting forward in her seat, she poked his side. "Subaru...?"

Subaru popped out of his meditative-like state at the calling of his name. "Hai, Hokuto-chan?" He turns his eyes to his sister and Shouri. "Is everything OK?"

His wounds were healing a bit faster than usual while meditating, but not by much. But the calling of his voice was enough to pull him away, especially in the paranoid state he was in.

He was convinced that something would happen to Hokuto and Shouri again. It had gotten to the point where he started to think that just when he would put his guard down, Seishirou'd de-rail the train or abduct them when he wasn't looking. And Subaru wouldn't allow that. Especially now, when everyone was with him now...

Everyone, that is, but Yuurei. Subaru sighed slightly at the though of his name; gazing down at the credit card in his hands, his heart was filled with nostalgia. He wouldn't allow anything to happen to Yuurei. Subaru'd find Yuurei before anything could happen to him.

He would.

Shouri looked at Subaru curiously. He looked like he was worried, at least that was what Shouri was picking up. Perhaps about the Watcher? Who knew. He wasn't half as good as Matsuko at telling precisely how people felt. Either way, it was fine to him. The feeling he got, though, was one that made him uneasy. Perhaps Subaru was close to someone? Why was he thinking about this!? He couldn't figure it out. Why? Why? Why? Taking a deep breath, he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes again. A light pulse from his neck let him know that the healing process was speeding up a little. He'd have to eat soon. That, or get to the shrine. He felt spent. He opened his eyes again, focusing on calming down and getting his thoughts under control After all... to Subaru and Hokuto, he was probably just that same little boy.

* * *

Nataku looked up through snowy bangs, the side of his head throbbing. Fuuma's presence was comforting, as was his approval. He reached up to take the offered hand, the fabric swirling gently and ever so slightly  
about his body. The question, however, was met with confusion in the clone's mind.

_What would you like to be called?_

Images clouded Nataku's thoughts, juxtaposing the face of someone he once knew with that of the young man before him. A voice called out from behind a glass barrier, and a tiny hand that must have been his own at one point reached up towards it.

_Kazuki..._

His head throbbed in time to the images flooding his thoughts. "Someone who was important to me once called me - Kazuki. Fuuma-san... looks like my last memories of that person."

* * *

Uo stood silently as she watched the people going this way and that way. So many people took the subway. She had never really thought about just how many did. Well, too many to count, anyways.

She looked back towards the ticket booth to check to see if Aoki was there or not. She didn't like the idea of being alone, at all. Her concern was also for her journal. Where WAS it? And how was she going to explain all of this to her mother? Her mother was a worldly woman who lost her temper a lot. While she had inherited many things that she absolutely loved, such as dancing, from her, her mother had 'changed' over the years to an extent.

The woman always seemed bitter now, very bitter. It was as if there was something really just plaguing her. What was it? Perhaps her mother just didn't like her because of her laboratory, or because of how she was. It was really rather weird. Well, she didn't doubt she'd get slapped for it.

"Hnn." Uo stood again. Well, whenever she did get home, a bath would be nice- not to mention a change of clothes.

* * *

Kaori left soon thereafter. After such an occurrence, it was almost reflexive to want to go home, but she resisted the urge, turning back to the streets. She didn't want Okita finding out about this before she had the opportunity to tell him.

She followed the streets into the worst part of town; somewhere near the ice cream shop and the hospital, which had been destroyed a few nights ago.

It was then that she almost got hit by a car; the bumper leered at her kneecaps, mere inches away.

"LEARN TO DRIVE, ASSHOLE!" Kaori shook an angry fist.

* * *

Kotori smiled under her pile of hair. She rubbed at her mouth, thankful that the regurgitation had stopped. Vomiting was not one of her favorite pastimes.

_"Kotori, are you alright?" _

She was being cradled in his arms. And she clung tightly to him with her weak fingers. Alright? How could anyone think that? She would never be alright, never ever again.

Her breathing was shallow, and she was hot. Everything that had happened in the past few days made her sick. And sometimes, like now, she felt like she was going to die.

"I'm sorry... I didn't get a chance to clean up my mess, and the cake is probably cold by now...I'm so sorry..." she muttered.

Kamui smiled weakly and held the young girl closer to his body. "It's ok..." he whispered. "Don't worry about it..."

Griping the Shinken tightly in his right hand, Kamui picked her up gently in his arms and walked back inside the apartment. The couch seemed like the best place for now, and he laid her down, resting her head on one of the cushions.

Her face looked rather pale and head was warm. Setting the shinken aside, Kamui went to get a cloth from the linen closet and dampened it with cold water from the kitchen faucet. "Maybe this will bring your temperature down a bit..." Kamui said placing it on her forehead.

He feel to his knees and took a hold of Kotori's hand. "I'm sorry..' he whispered to her. "I'm sorry you had to get involved in all this. I never wanted you to get hurt Kotori."

Placing her hand lightly on his cheek now, he looked up at her with warm caring eyes. "But, I'm here now..." he said. "I promise I wont let anything happen to you again..."

* * *

_"If you're alive, get up."_

The harsh voice was like a murmur against the back of his mind. His lashes fluttered. His head felt like a lead weight. He tried to move his lips--to let whoever was above him to know he was indeed alive--but he choked on his voice and quickly ceased his efforts.

Where was he? The last thing he remembered was Kusanagi's words...an apology of sorts. The traitorous bastard had attacked him. The dull ache was still present in the back of Yuuto's neck. Was it broken? No, he could still feel his arms and legs, despite the fact that they would still not obey his mental commands to move.

His vision was distorted. He found himself staring up torpidly at the blurred form of a young man. That essence was familiar. Blinking several times, his sight finally cleared enough to let him recognize the face. The Kouya boy. And his expression was severely agitated.

He would have choked up a chuckle, had his chest not felt so tight.  
Limply he rested back into whatever he was lying against. What was it? For the first time, he noticed the horrendous odor around him. It smelled like a dumpster. Yuuto cringed, then almost laughed at his on vanity when he realized the first thought that had come into his mind was that he desperately wanted a shower. He should have been worrying about remaining alive.

But that would have been futile. Still staring up into Sorata's cold glare, Yuuto managed a weary smile. So it was finally over. He had been abandoned by his supposed comrades, left to die, and now one of the Dragons of Heaven had come to finish him off for good. He breathed in deeply the pungent smell of refuse, and was surprised to feel the wetness in his eyes. Tears? What reason did he have to cry?

_-Had I hoped to accomplish something more with my life?- _he wondered silently, closing his eyes momentarily. He had tried so hard to get the Angels back on track in Fuuma's absence due to injury. Had all of that been in vain? Had his entire life been in vain?

But, of course, it mattered very little now. Lifting his glassy blue eyes back to the Kouya monk's stone-like face, he smiled again and this time parted his lips. And somehow, he managed to find his voice. "Go ahead," he muttered, finding it surprisingly easier to speak than he had thought. "You look anxious to kill someone. Sorry we couldn't ever have our rematch. I was...really looking forward to it."

And, with a tight chuckle, he closed his eyes again...and waited...

* * *

Hokuto eyed her brother in partial mock horror, partial real horror as he paid for the room at the Love Motel. When the 30-ish woman behind the counter has jokingly asked "Ménage à trios?", Hokuto had recoiled at her sexual undertone and mentally gagged.

Thinking about her brother that way... EW!

She followed her brother and Shouri in disbelief up the stairs and into room 218. When Subaru pulled out a shikigami, Hokuto tilted her head, a look of puzzlement on her face.

Why would he need a shikigami..?

He started chanting and Hokuto plopped down on the very red, very heart-shaped bed with VERY tacky sculptures on the nightstands. They turned out to be lamps upon closer inspection.

Brushing her hair behind her ear, Hokuto started. It had grown. Pulling a few tresses in front of her face, she noted in shock that her hair now reached beyond her shoulders. It had been ear-length when she woke up in Kyoto.

Jumping up from the bed, she made her way to the mirror (with an equally tacky frame) and stared. Her hair wasn't the only thing that had grown. Looking over her black clothes, the ones she'd been buried in, she noted that the chest part was a bit tight and the skirt that had once reached her below the knees now was knee short.

Yuurei had been right. She was growing from the 16 year old she had once been to the 25 year old she was.

How much would her hair have grown in nine years? She giggled, picturing herself with hair reaching down to her feet and trailing behind her. It probably wouldn't be that long, but it would be funny. Almost as funny as a rotting Hokuto-body walking around.

Deciding not to cut her hair before she was fully 25, she sat down on the bed again, next to Shouri, watching her brother chant.

There was very little to say in the matter concerning going with the twins, even with Subaru's absurd choice. It was insane! WHY a Love Motel!? WHY!?

Shouri just couldn't understand it. The entire time at the counter and still continuing as they all entered the room, his face was red, hot red. He didn't like it one bit and it showed on his face. Where had his dignity gone? What would Matsuko say if she found out? She'd box his ears! She was in her mid-eighties and she would still box his ears!!!

So, without saying much, Shouri remained seated on the bed with a look of horror upon his face, if not shock. He had never imagined finding himself in such a place... it was almost too disturbing.

He took a breath, the red fading just a little bit from his face. Then he noticed it. Hokuto was growing awfully quick- wait! She was growing?! After a minute or two.. he decided simply not to ask.

Apparently Subaru was looking for something. Most likely the Watcher, or so Shouri supposed. Ah well, he wouldn't comment... he would simply remain silent and fidget.

_'I hope Matsuko-sama doesn't ever find out about this.' _he thought, still wincing from the mental image of his ear being yanked right off.

Subaru chanted for a long time before his shikigami appeared; its claws dug into his small shoulder, but he didn't mind. Offering his hand for the Shikigami to stand on, he threw his hand upwards, urging the shikigami upwards and into the sky.

"Find Kantoku-sa--no, Yuurei-kun," Subaru corrected himself, before adding, "...and Seishirou."

The shikigami threw its wings upward and flew out of the building and out of sight.

Subaru turned his eyes to Shouri and Hokuto. "Gomen'asi." There he went, apologizing again, like he always had when he was younger.

Hokuto shook her head at her brother. "Don't go apologizing all the time. Though I would have liked to know WHY you choose a Love Motel when there are places called public toilets with locks on the doors."

Winking at Shouri, she turned back to Subaru, standing up, finding it hard. Her body was still tough to move around, but not as much as a few hours earlier in Kyoto.

She steadied herself by grabbing Subaru's shoulder and straightened up. This was the first time she really noticed how much taller than her he had become.

"Subaru... Where do you live?"


	54. Chapter 52: Learning to Cope

**Chapter Fifty-Two: Learning To Cope**

Kotori eased back into the couch. She felt funny for a moment. Her Onii-chan used to take care of her when she was sick. And she used to take care of everyone. But now, it wasn't everyone. And it wasn't Fuuma. It was her. And Kamui.

Granted, event though she had pushed him away, and she still wanted too, she was far too weak to even attempt it. Her hand was on his cheek now, without her own doing.

_"But I'm here now..." he said. "I promise I wont let anything happen to you again..."_

Kotori smiled softly. "Arigato, Kamui-chan." Her fingers stroked his cheek like soft feathers as she studied him. "You're covered in blood...again..." she gagged out.

"Are you okay?" she asked him with her hoarse voice. If he wasn't, she would jump up in a second and take care of him! Like always! Like when they were younger! She would hide her pain and hurt, like she had been doing the past few days, since this junk started, and she wasn't about to show her weakness now. Being tortured by Fuuma had taken something away and given her something. It gave her the courage to be stronger than she was. Even if it was just a little bit, she was stronger.

She thought.

It had donned on him that Tokiko's blood was still stained on his shirt and face. Her death began to play back over and over in his mind. There was nothing he could do, but Kamui still blamed himself.

Honoring her final request, Kamui had planned to protect the ones most dear to him.

"Its...its nothing.." he assured her finally. "Don't worry. Just get some rest now. You need it..."

Kotori nodded. She wasn't in her best form. She didn't even think she could move another inch. Not for a long time anyway.

But...

She took the cold cloth from her head and ran it along Kamui's cheek. She tried to wipe some of the blood away.

"Too bad Yuzuriha doesn't have any brothers. And the only male shirt I have is..." She let her hand drop to her side. She slowly reached up again and took Kamui's own. "Don't leave me..." she whispered.

* * *

Shouri glanced up upon hearing the apology, but said nothing. That mental image was still in his head. His eyes went rather wide upon seeing Hokuto wink. Of course, he didn't notice that he was falling for the floor until he hit it. Yes, indeed, mental images and the wink and Love Motel comment had taken their toll upon Shouri.

He scrambled onto his feet again, brushing himself off casually... And he felt the aftershock of suddenly throwing his stomach off. It hurt badly. That was the problem with healing like that.

Again, he bit his lip and held his tongue. He was not going to whine about it. No.

* * *

Anzu. A large, red bird resembling a falcon to an extent. She was a marvelous creature, flying with a small trail of fire behind her. She repented the heat of the sun with her bright orange tail and glowing yellow eyes. To most humans she appeared invisible...

She could have cared less though. Her mission was to watch The Dragons of Earth and the Dragons of Heaven with her every-so watchful eyes. She flew swiftly, carried by the winds strong arms.

Like the sun, Anzu saw all things... and now, she wished to see the Dragons of Earth and Heaven. So she would watch as best she could...

* * *

Taer. A small, quick male bird with beautiful blue feathers. He represented the falling rain. He was a beautiful creature, resembling an eagle to an extent. With his unusually small body (he as small as a Wren, despite his eagle-like attributes) he was very quick and flitty.

It was his job to stake out the watcher. Once he got there, he could appear larger if he wanted, perhaps at his normal size- about that of a crow. As he rounded downwards into a very deserted away, he slowed. Indeed... he had found the place. Now, all that he was to do was to watch the Watcher.

Not much of a task really..

* * *

Last was the Wind Beast himself, Kaze. Kaze was the size of an oversized crow. He was green, his feathers flowing on their own. His job was to watch over Shouri and protect him should something bad happen. After all, it would take Shisa a minute to get there.

Perching upon a tall post, he remained unseen, staring down at the Love Motel intently...

* * *

Subaru nearly smiled. Nearly. And he wasn't the only one who had changed. Despite Hokuto being his sister, he couldn't help but notice how she had grown, in other places.

"I live near the same apartment complex we used to, in Shinjuku." Subaru sighed nostalgically. "It's really not too far from there. Seishirou's veterinarian practice was taken over by someone." Why did memories cause him so much pain?

Hokuto sighed softly, placing her hands on each side of his face. His cheeks were pale and she knew he was in a lot of pain, not just emotionally. "Subaru.. You should have moved away from there."

Giving him a weak, smile, she hugged him, having difficulty doing so as he was so much taller than her. "There are too many memories there."

"I know, but something...something kept me there." Subaru gazes up at the ceiling, melding his eyes with that of the Shikigami's for a minute to see what he saw. Tokyo was so beautiful, sometimes. It had been a long time since Subaru was able to think that about this city that brought him so much sorrow. "Maybe it was memories, but...I could never move far from Tokyo."

He blinks, returning his vision to normal. "No sign of either one of them, yet."

"Why do you insist upon tracking down Seishirou?" She let him go, placing her hand at her waist, looking importantly at him. Shaking her head, she brushed away the question, not wanting to go there, not while Shouri was listening. "Never mind... I..."

She frowned, looking up at him again. "Subaru... I just don't want you getting hurt in any way." Poking at one of his wounds, he flinched in pain and she added. "Any more than you are, at least."

Subaru placed a hand on Hokuto's head. "You're one to talk, getting yourself killed and hurting your little brother." He looks down at her. "I never understood why you did that; why you dressed up as me, and allowed Seishirou to kill you."

She looked down at her shoes, not really knowing what to reply. Seishirou had obviously never told Subaru what she had told the Sakurazukamori. "I did it because I love you."

Subaru can't help but feel irate. "You love me? You loved me, so you allowed yourself to be killed by him?" Subaru spat out the word him, as if it were filthy and disgusting. But at this point in time, he had lost all respect for Seishirou. He couldn't love him, not for anything in the world. But even so, why did he...

No.

NO.

NO!

There was no way he felt anything for Seishirou anymore. Not after all he had done, there was no way. There was no way!

He wouldn't allow himself to love someone like that. Someone who killed mercilessly, someone who compared him to a mere object. He wouldn't.

"Yes." She kept her head down, hearing the contempt in his voice for the man that had been their friend, the man that Subaru loved. Shaking her head, she felt tears blurring her vision. "You... You don't understand.. You don't know. I.."

Pausing, she looked back up at him, her eyes full of worry and pain for her twin. "He was special to you and I..." She didn't want him to kill Seishirou, there was still love between the too, though contempt and hate mingled with it. "I couldn't bear seeing you like that."

"I know, Hokuto, I know." Subaru sighs and plops back on the bed. They had a good fifty minutes of room left, so why not at least take advantage of it? "But just because of that...that was no reason to let yourself be killed."

His eyes turned to her, "...you're strong, Hokuto. Maybe not in onmyouji, like me, but you were strong enough to get away. Why didn't you try?" Subaru wasn't going to let this go, was he?

She stood in front of him, looking lost. "I... did a curse." The words came out in a murmur, but she knew Subaru heard them.

"A curse?" Subaru's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What sort of curse?"

"So that..." She sighed, kneeling before him. "You remember how he killed me, right? What technique he used?"

Subaru nodded numbly.

"If he ever tried using that technique on you, it would backfire. That is the basic of the spell." She laid her head in his lap and murmured against his leg. "Do you hate me for it?"

Subaru blinked. There wasn't much he could say; it showed the value his sister had for him, but she wouldn't understand what he had to live through because of it. Even so, no matter what, if he were to die, he wanted it to be at the hands of Seishirou.

"No. I don't hate you, Hokuto." He allowed his eyes to become one with the shikigami's once more; he didn't want to see Hokuto's sad face ever again. "How could I ever hate you?"

"Because what I did was selfish. Even if I did it to let you live, it was selfish because I could not bear to live without you." A small sob escaped her and she gulped down air, pulling back from him. Stretching up to touch his face, she saw his glazed eyes and let the hand drop. He didn't want to look at her.

Despite using his vision for other purposes, his mind's eye drew out the image of Hokuto that best suited her voice. And Subaru couldn't stand it. He didn't want to ever see Hokuto's crying face again. He never wanted her to have to weep over something as stupid as her little brother ever again.

"Hokuto-chan, please don't cry..." Subaru said in a soft, monotone voice. His hand groped for Hokuto's, and despite missing several times, finally found its place with Hokuto's.

"I'm not... crying." She looked at their grasped hands and swallowed. "I won't cry.."

"Good," Subaru said firmly, surveying the sky of any sign of Yuurei or Seishirou. "You're strong, Hokuto. So please don't ever cry again. The last time I saw you, I remember you were crying. I don't ever want my last memory of you to be a sad face."

"It won't be. I promise." Her gaze flew to his face, turned upwards, eyes glazed. "But you need to promise me that we will die a long time from now. Like when we're 90 and gray-haired." She tried smiling humorously. "Even if.. it's the End of the World."

Subaru nodded. "Only if you make the same promise." He's not about to lose his beloved older sister again.

"I promise." She once again let her gaze fall, studying the red carpet. "Will you promise me another thing?"

Subaru nodded.

"Don't go looking for Seishirou anymore."

"I can't promise you that."

"Why?" She stood up abruptly and slapped him lightly, making him look at her again. Her face was stern. She didn't want him to look for Seishirou. Subaru still loved him, she could see it. And it would simply be too much for him if he actually killed him.

"Why?" She repeated the question, her voice harsher.

"Because." Not really an answer, but Subaru himself couldn't justify the reason why. It was a feeling that kept him going, that kept him searching for Seishirou.

"No." She shook her head, determination clear. "You need to come up with something better than 'because'. Either justify yourself or give up." She gulped, on the verge of tears again. "It will break you."

Subaru was becoming increasingly frustrated with his sister; while patience had once been his primary virtue nine years ago, he had changed. And Hokuto needed to know that.

"I'm a different person from nine years ago, Hokuto," he said harshly. "I'm not the little sixteen year old boy you remember." Not really relevant, but it was worth a chance reminding her.

"I know that." She stated, her voice as harsh as his had been. "I know that, but you are still the same person. You're still Sumeragi Subaru. And I know Sumeragi Subaru. I have watched over Sumeragi Subaru for nine years, do you not think I have noticed your differences? Do you not think I have seen your suffering and your long search for Seishirou?"

She drew a breath, hurt evident in her eyes. "Do you not think I have seen how it has affected you? How it has changed you? Did you think I didn't care enough to watch over you?"

She backed away from him, not wanting him to see her like this. Accusation and hurt. That was all she had.

Subaru sighed; there was no use arguing with someone as stubborn as his sister. Even now, Hokuto-chan was the same in some ways, but different in others. It was kind of sad; she wasn't nearly as happy as Subaru once remembered.

"What about you? What about your lover?" Subaru's stared down at Tokyo from the eyes of the Shikigami. It'd be best to change the subject.

Lover...? The words echoed in her mind. Kakyou. She needed to see him. Even if he was still in comatose. But... Yuurei. He loved Yuurei.

"He's not... my lover."

"What is he then?" Subaru's cold voice resonates through the room; apparently, he's a bit resentful there was something Hokuto kept from him.

"I don't know." She frowned in confusion at his cold voice and at her own inability to determine what Kakyou was to her. What they were to each other. "I... love him, but he doesn't love me."

Subaru pulled his vision back together, and sat up, staring straight at Hokuto. "What happened to the self-confident Hokuto I used to know? The one who would always push me into doing things that I didn't want to do, the one who had a date every night?"

Subaru pressed a nimble finger against the edge of Hokuto's nose. "Or was that girl not reincarnated?"

"She was revived. She's just been dead for nine years." Hokuto frowned, looking down. She just didn't feel cheerful. She never had since Subaru had gone catatonic.

"I just think I need some time." She lied, wanting it to be true.

* * *

Sorata eyed the man for a few second before becoming somewhat irritated about how low this pimp had sank. He simply grabbed Yuuto hand and pulled him out of the dumpster, managing to smile ever so slightly for the first time since he left that message on Arashi's machine.

"You suck you know that?" Sorata turned away from Yuuto and began to walk back to Fuuma. "Come on...Kamui and the cloth boy are waiting for us."

Sorata didn't bother watching his back, that guy was way to injured to mess with him...He did however keep just enough distance to hear if Yuuto collapsed so he could drag his ass back.

A gasp followed by a sharp wince escaped his throat as he was dragged from the dumpster. At least the putrid smell of refuse was not so strong out in the middle of the dark alley, though it most certainly could not be said that the atmosphere was full of anything akin to fresh air. He blinked rapidly. He was still alive. And in dire need of a shower and a new wardrobe.

He stood surprisingly unshaken, for all his shock. Indeed, he was not as injured as he had first thought. The blow to the head from Kusanagi had knocked him out, and at first when he had awoken, he had found it difficult to move. But now that he was forced to stand, his limbs all seemed to be in perfect working order, and the only pain in his body was the dull ache in the back of his neck.

Quickly but cautiously he trotted up behind Sorata. "What's all this about?" he questioned prudently, though he doubted now that the boy would hurt him. Kamui...cloth boy. An amused chuckle made its way through his lips. "Don't tell me you've come over to the 'dark side'," he said more pleasantly. "What ever could make a bright shining star like you take such drastic measures?"

* * *

Fuuma smiled gently and took the boy's hand, touching his face with it. He smiled even brighter when the boy had chosen his title.

"Then I too shall call you Kazuki." He removed the hand after a long while and then looked toward the sky. "We're nearing the point where the sides shall be clearly drawn...I trust you wish to remain by my side."

* * *

"YAMETE!" A voice finally managed to push through. It was Shouri.

His voice was shaky, very shaky. The sound was very crackly, like he was fighting between frustration, the fear of speaking out, and just general pain.

He had heard everything, listened to it all. He had been right. Seishirou and Subaru HAD something special between them. What was more was that Subaru was still very attached, and apparently had grown attached to the Watcher. His senses had heightened with the growth of the pain in his stomach and neck. His awareness had boosted to the point that it was just a little bit too much for him to handle WITH the conversation.

His heart was racing yet again. Why? Was he angry? No... that wasn't it. He was hurt, wasn't he? Why? ... It struck him hard, but he denied it. He denied it as best he could. He would never admit it. Never.

The boy jumped to his feet, the fearful look replaced with one overly determined and pain-filled.

"Gomen.. but at the least, you two have each other and I won't stand to see you two argue like this!! At least you two will ALWAYS have someone there to count on! Stop pushing at each other! It's stupid! You both know it!" He cried, and then froze stiff. Had.. he said that out loud?

He frowned, stumbling back. His dark bangs shielded his eyes... And his arms fell limp by his sides.

"... Ano... gomen... I-I can't stay here.." he managed, shaking a little as if fighting tears.

.. And Shouri dashed for the door.

It was just too much on his heart. Too much. He needed Sasori. He needed SOMEONE he could embrace. He continued to deny it as he had all his life, but the truth was too strong. The darkness was beating down on his mind far too much. Why..? Why? Why couldn't he have pushed off his denial earlier when he was younger. Perhaps then he wouldn't feel like his heart was bleeding...

* * *

Noroku's car skid to a stop when he saw the other car almost hit a woman. He pulled the car to block off this rude party's vehicle, eyeing the driver coldly. "Get out of the car..." He removed the gun from his sleeve and pointed it at the window. The man complied with a scared look on his face. "Hands in the air..."

The man again complied, scared of the blonde hijacker who merely smiled at him. "What do you want from me?!"

"A apology for the lady over there would be a start..." Noroku leaned the gun closer to the man's neck. " DO IT NOW! AND SHE BETTER BUY IT!" His smile faded into a low growl at the sight of the scum he was forced to be near.

The guy turned to Kaori and whined out. "I-I'm SORRY!!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!! I DON'T WANT TO DIE"

"Now..." He reached into his coat and brought out a wad of yen, smacking the man to the ground. "I own that vehicle you almost ran her over with and everything inside, got it? This is three times it's value and then some...So I trust this is both a blessing and a burden...NOW SCAT!" Noroku stomped his foot and watched the guy run the other direction in hysteria.

Noroku smiled widely and looked at the car beside him, sighing. "At least it's a street racer... otherwise maybe I should've only paid double it's value." He looked to his gun and laughed nervously. "Hmm forgot the clip...guess I couldn't shoot him after all." He looked at Kaori with a half smile. "Are you alright miss?"

Okita watched the whole exchange with wide eyes. Was this guy crazy or something? He proceed to face fault when he heard that he never loaded the gun...Then something else occurred to him.

"Kaori-chan?"

Kaori's eyes lit up at Noroku's heroics! What a sweetie! They didn't make guys like this anymore.

"I-I'm fine." Kaori quickly recovered, trying to hide her slight displeasure that she was "rescued" by a man, and slight pleasure that it was someone as handsome and sweet and charming as him.

"Shinomori--"

"KAORI?"

"OKITA!" Kaori screeched out. It was reflexive for her to want to scream at Okita and thump him on the head, but she repressed it.

He looked like he was hurt.

"Okita!" she cried out, pulling him into her arms. "What happened?"

* * *

He sat in the velvety armchair before the roaring fireplace. He had been surprised that there was still some firewood left to start up the blazing furnace. But now none of that was of concern as he stared listlessly into the flames, meditating to keep the pain under control for as long as possible.

It was becoming increasingly more difficult. With the superior power of his mind manipulation, he was still able to dull the ache from the wound that continued to eat him alive from the inside-out, but his concentration was weighing, and the effects of his power were diminishing as well. But he refused to flinch. He sat perfectly motionless, arms rested on the arms of the chair, eyes fixed in dogged determination on the fire before him.

Then suddenly the essence pricked at the back of his neck. His dangerous crimson eyes flitted to the side--to the window. The aura glistened, and at first he thought he was seeing things. His mind was finally going. But no. It was real. A spirit spell, in the form of a bird. Watching him. Almost...as though it were...a conscious, sentient being. Their eyes met.

A faint smile crossed the Watcher's thin, pale lips as he settled back against the cushioned back of the chair. He closed his eyes. How ironic, that the one who had been assigned to Fate to observe the world's end and those involved, was now the very one being watched.

Though somehow...he found a strange sense of comfort in the notion... that he might not be completely alone in death...

* * *

Kamui's heart began to ache as he watched Kotori wipe his face with the cloth. He hated seeing her like this. Her spirit had seemed to be crushed. And it was all his fault...

He grasped her hand gently intertwining his fingers with hers. He wanted to cry, but desperately held back his tears.

"Get some sleep," he said brushing some of her hair to the side of her face. "And when you wake up...I'll still be here by your side. I'm not going anywhere...not again..."

Kotori grasped Kamui's hand tightly. "It's okay. I don't blame you. I don't blame you at all."

She smiled softly. Just then, with Kamui looking down on her, she reminded of her childhood. They had been in the park, and had climbed a huge tree to bring a small bird back to the nest it had fell from. The branch snapped from under them, and they went tumbling down...But Kamui caught her. And he held her from falling and hurting herself.

"It's okay if you want to cry..." she said. "I won't laugh..." Kotori said, almost as if she could read his mind.

She closed her eyes for a moment. If Kamui would cry when she wasn't looking, that was fine. But, she wouldn't sleep. Not with Fuuma somewhere out there. Even with Kamui here, she was not safe enough in her mind to sleep.

* * *

Subaru ran after the boy; he wasn't going to let him out of his sight again. Grabbing his thin arm, Subaru turned Shouri to face him, "We won't argue anymore. Please stay."

Shouri frowned, shaking his head lightly. Apparently he was simply oblivious that there were a few more reasons why he was so upset. He shook his head lightly, smiling assuredly. "Iie... I.. I really can't..." He managed to stutter.

"Please don't go." Subaru's eyes were pleading; he didn't want Shouri to go, but at the same time, he didn't want to force him to be there. A part of Subaru just wanted to knock the boy unconscious and keep him against his will, but Subaru couldn't bring himself to do that. He'd have to persuade him to stay- of his own free will.

That look. Those eyes. Shouri suddenly glanced down, letting his eyes fall to the ground to avoid Subaru's gaze. It was like trying to say no to... well, he wasn't sure, but still.

"... If you insist." He sighed slightly, not daring to look back up at Subaru.

"Ari--" Subaru's eyes melded with that of the Shikigami's; except this time, he didn't will it to be so. The shikigami had seen something. Something Subaru was looking for.

Subaru didn't finish giving Shouri his thanks. He focused his vision on the target.

There, under the sakura tree Subaru remembered from so long ago. There was only reason why Seishirou'd be there.

He had killed someone.

"Sumeragi-san?" Shouri frowned, sensing that something was wrong with the man. "Sumeragi-san?" His voice grew less shaky, more sure, and concerned.

Subaru blinked, snapping himself out of it. "We've got to go," Subaru said firmly, motioning for Hokuto to hurry. "We've got to go, NOW."

"... I have no complaints." Shouri stated simply, pausing for a moment before he looked at the door.

He was already walking towards it. Perhaps his slight outburst would be noticed by Matsuko? He doubted it.. but still...

* * *

He sat against the trunk of the tree, resting. Not that he was terribly injured, but more just to gather his energy and prepare himself for whatever was to come.

And it came. Faster than he had expected. His eyes shot open, his mind alive and alert with the aura that pricked at his every sense. Single-eyed gaze flitting from side to side, he concentrated on finding its origin. A shikigami, no less. Such creations had a very specific essence. Locating the master was the more difficult task.

Closing his eyes, Seishirou focused on snatching a thread of the power that lingered in the spell's aura, tracing it with his mind as he chanted the words that would allow him to all but travel out of his body to find the source.

At last he arrived...at a...Love Motel? He smirked, but continued up to Room 218. Then his brow furrowed. A new aura, yet familiar. His heart plunged to his stomach in the following instant. Hokuto. Sumeragi Hokuto. Subaru and the Watcher had actually managed to pull it off. She was alive.

News of this could not wait. This new factor had not been expected.  
Fuuma would need to know of it immediately. So, bidding a temporary farewell to his beloved soul-eating sakura tree, Seishirou vaulted back into the air, making his way as quickly as possible back toward where he had last seen the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth...

...And he never even paused with hesitation at the realization that his course would take him straight through the path of the Love Motel...and Sumeragi Subaru...

* * *

Seishirou leaped across successive buildings of various height, heading in a basically straight path toward Fuuma and the place where the kekkai had already disintegrated.

Glancing to his left at the Love Motel, he smirked, but kept going. He had no more time to waste on Subaru...yet. His first priority was letting Fuuma know of this new development.

Shouri froze stiff as he put his hand on the door's handle. His eye suddenly went wide. The presence he was sensing. "Seishirou." He whispered aloud. For a minute he simply stared before flinging the door open without a thought. He began to run as fast as he could for the exit. Why were his wounds hurting so badly? Perhaps the crisis, one out of many, had enhanced his abilities a bit? Probably. He didn't care. His concern, and new obsession for personal vengeance, was with Seishirou. Needless to say, his ki took a boost, quickening his recovery rate to finish the job and add to his strength.

Subaru chased after the boy, leaving Hokuto behind. While he didn't want to leave her, he couldn't allow Shouri to go out alone, especially after his parting words. As he ran, he felt it too.

He felt Seishirou's presence.

He ran faster, his muscles pumping as his longer legs caught up with Shouri's smaller ones. "This isn't your battle," he said, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "This is between Seishirou and me. Because of me, you were hurt. Let me handle this."

Shouri looked at Subaru, emerald eyes flashing as he shook his head. "It was not because of you, Sumeragi-san, and I won't have you blame yourself. Neither of us can do this without help and right now, we've only got each other. Arguing won't help. It would be foolish for just one of us to go after him, and stupid on our parts for thinking it noble. He can't kill me, anyhow, and I won't let anyone else that I love be hurt if I can help it. I'm sick of being useless and, no matter what you may say, Subaru-san, I'm not standing by and letting you commit suicide."

The look upon Shouri's face was overly determined, one that could kill if he should be angered. He glanced back ahead. Besides, Subaru and Hokuto had no clue what the boy was really capable of...

Subaru smiles down at the young boy, his eyes sympathetic. "Shouri- kun, do you not believe in me? Do you not think I can defeat the Sakurazukamori?" He places a cold hand on Shouri's head.

Shouri pauses as he looks back to him, a faint smile appearing. "I believe in you, Sumeragi-san, and I always have... but never in myself... and it's cost me dearly. I need to do this for everyone, and for me."

"You don't need to do this for anyone. Let me handle it," Subaru said smoothly, unaware of the boy's true power.

Shouri paused a moment as he glanced to the sky. His ki was expending again. It was apparent that he was doing something. Suddenly, he made a motion with his right hand that was a bit awkward. Throwing his right hand in front of him, a sudden energy gathered and was released directly from his hand in the form of a water bird that grew bigger. It wasn't small and friendly like the one he had created to follow Seishirou before. It was not a special attack, entirely. It grew to be the size of a human, taking the appearance of an eagle and went right up for the sky. It's color was red. Red like blood.

"Iku." Shouri said before glancing back to see the man's expression.

Subaru blinks. "Shouri," he said, "...you are strong, but even you can't face the Sakurazukamori. I've spent my whole life training in the onmyouji arts, and even I have failed. Rather than both of us dying..." Subaru pauses, "I'd rather it just be me."

"What makes you think either of us are going to die?" Shouri glanced at Subaru. "We won't. Don't doubt my words. If Fate had wanted us to die, we would be dead. This battle- it's not time for us to die. Fate. It doesn't work like that." Glancing at Subaru again, his emerald eyes shifted. "Besides, he's got to be at least a little worn down, still, even if he heals fast." He knew that he (himself) was. "Sasori-chan didn't let him off easy."

"I don't want you to fight," Subaru said firmly.

"And I don't want you to fight." Shouri replied, for once taking up an arguing tone. "We don't always get what we want, do we?"

Subaru smirked. "You're making this hard for me, Shouri...just...how about we make a deal?"

".. what kind of deal?" He asked, the bird still hovering by his head absent-mindedly. His speech had made it stand still.

"I'll go in first. You'll be my backup." Subaru would fight his hardest to make sure that Shouri didn't have to engage in battle at all. "If it ever looks like I need your help, you come help me."

"... Alright." Shouri nodded, lowering his ki a little. "It's a deal. But don't you dare die, Subaru. Hokuto-sama would have my head if anything happened to you."

The water bird didn't flicker, but rather remained ready-to-go should it be needed. It had been formed, so no energy was needed to uphold its form...

Subaru walked in the direction of Seishirou, forming a kekkai as his long footsteps narrowed the space between them. "Seishirou-san..."

* * *

Sorata was silent as he walked to toward Fuuma. "That's my business... Not yours" He didn't want to answer something that close to his heart, it would only get him hurt again. He merely walked silently to the smiling figure, stopping beside him.

He pointed back to Yuuto. "I found your pimp in the garbage."

Fuuma smiled at Yuuto and scratched his head. "Surprised? It seems when we gave up Kusanagi, we got the Kouya boy instead." He laughed nervously and then suddenly stopped. "Truthfully I think him better than Mr. Pacifist but I suppose we should kill him just so he doesn't lead the angels to us."

Sorata leaned against a wall and sighed. "Whatever..." He crossed his arms and looked toward a Kekkai. "Umm, Kamui?"

Fuuma turned and looked, his smile darkening. "I see then we know where another of our comrades are...Well I suppose we should go get them." Fuuma leapt to the top of a building and stood at the top of it. "I'm going to go retrieve our friend over there and I invite you three to follow me."

Sorata sighed and finally stood up straight. He dusted himself off and then looked to Yuuto and Nataku. "You two coming or am I going to back him up solo?" Sorata wouldn't mind either way, it would just determine how much damage and time he took.

Fuuma dashed to the Kekkai, leaping building to building. He felt the presence of something new however...someone he hadn't felt anywhere but the dream world. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned his head to see the lovely figure of the sister of that Seal.

He leapt to the ground and tapped Hokuto on the shoulder before she had much of a chance to react. "Excuse me...I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?" He sent his arms around her and looked toward the battle. "I see my friend is having trouble with your brother...Any idea why?"


	55. Chapter 53: Idle Words

**Chapter Fifty-Three: Idle Words**

Okita blinked at the sudden tenderness of Kaori. He was in her arms, nervously returning the hug while he tried to figure out what she was on. "A lot has happened Kaori...As crazy as it sounds, it all has to do with the end of the world and how I'm somehow a part of it." He ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "You ok?"

Noroku smiled at Kaori and Okita, kicking his newly acquired car's door shut. He walked back to the car O women and handed the keys to Arashi, smiling softly. "Tell her when she wakes up, these are for her new car...after it's detailed." He looked back to Okita and Kaori. "Hey we need to take off...You know how to get to the Clamp Campus?"

Okita blinked and nodded slowly in response. It was kind of hard to miss.

Noroku smirked and jumped into the driver's seat. "See 'ya there then." He shifted the car into gear and sped off, leaving Okita and his lady friend.

Kaori's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Wait, repeat that? End of the world? And you're part of it?" She ruffled his hair slightly, discreetly checking for a knock on the head that may have caused him to say such a weird thing.

She took a deep breath. Oh my God, this was confusing! What was up with the city lately? Tokyo had been crumbling, for no apparent reason.

Kaori dropped the heeled shoes she had been holding. She had no use for broken shoes.

"Okita, there's something I've got to tell you."

* * *

The kekkai raised above the hotel and encompassed the surrounding area, cutting off Seishirou's path. He cursed himself. Maybe he should have taken the long route. Now he would have to fight Subaru. Again. And that other boy, who looked so much like Subaru. This was not turning out to be his day.

"Seishirou-san!"

He glanced down behind him, casting his gaze to the ground. Subaru was already waiting for him. The young Sumeragi was still terribly injured, much more so than Seishirou, anyway.

But before he could even think of how to go about this unexpected encounter, he sensed the all too familiar presence enter the barrier field, racing directly for the motel. Seishirou jerked his head around just in time to see Fuuma slip through one of the windows as casually as if he were taking a daily stroll through the park.

Seishirou smirked. Fuuma must have sensed Hokuto's revived aura and come to investigate for himself. Nevertheless, at least the Angels' Kamui-sama was here now, and Seishirou perhaps would not have to fight so long or so hard. And this saved him time since Fuuma had already discovered Hokuto's resurrection on his own.

Finally, now that he had a bit more time to spare, he leaped down from the rooftop and landed on the pavement below, nearly thirty feet away from where Subaru stood. "You know," he said darkly, "if we keep running into each other like this, one of us is liable to get killed." Then his guileful simper broadened. "Oh, and I hear Hokuto lives again now. What a shame...that you'll lose her so soon again. I'm sure our Kamui-sama has...interesting plans for her...to say the least."

Yes. He knew exactly what buttons to push to get Subaru to react. And he reveled in every moment of it.

Subaru flinched; No. No. NO, this COULDN'T BE HAPPENING. IT COULDN'T.

Either way, Seishirou couldn't leave. And he wasn't about to leave Shouri alone, either. Grabbing the cuff of the young boy's shirt, he pulled him in after the same window as Fuuma.

"What do you think you're doing?!" His voice was loud and demanding as he glared at Fuuma, holding an ofuda between his fingers. He'd kill him if he touched his sister.

Subaru leaped up to confront Fuuma, pulling the smaller boy along with him. But Seishirou was not about to let the young Onmyouji interfere with Fuuma's affairs, so nimbly he followed suit, vaulting high into the air, just enough to reach the window.

The younger boy was already inside, shoved in ahead by Subaru. But just as the young Sumeragi shouted his impudent words, Seishirou caught up to him. Grabbing easily the young man's ankle before he could get all the way inside the room, Seishirou yanked Subaru back outside and slung him downward, casting Subaru's already beaten, bloodied body brutally down, crashing into the pavement far below.

Then, glancing back up and throwing a quick wave and a pleasant grin to Fuuma, Seishirou reversed directions and descended back to Earth. Walking over to Subaru's trembling body, he gave a dark smirk as he stared into the young man's cold, distant eyes. "I was under the impression you wanted to fight me," he mused with a sinister chuckle. "Now don't tell me you went to all that trouble of getting my attention, only to turn your back on me for some other cause." He shook his head. "That's not how we play the game, Subaru-kun."

But in the midst of his cruel treatment, it was as though an iron fist had clutched his heart and was squeezing the life out of his soul. No. No emotion. No love. Not now. Not ever. As if to emphasize his detestation of this uncomfortable sensation that tried to overwhelm him at the sight of Subaru's pain, Seishirou drew back a foot and them promptly swung it forward again, planting it into Subaru's ribs with a low grunt.

"Get up," he spat. "You have my attention. Now fight me."

* * *

He blinked at Sorata as the Kouya monk and the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth exchanged bits of the story that had transpired while Yuuto had been more or less...preoccupied. And then suddenly Fuuma was gone, vaulting across the building tops, and Sorata was ready to follow. And he wanted Yuuto to come along for the fight...looking and smelling like THIS?

He chuckled and held up his hands in front of him, backing away slowly. "I think I'll catch up with you in a few," he said a bit nervously. "Right now, I'm going to go home and indulge in a nice hot shower."

And then, suddenly itching and aching to get out of these vial, putrid, tattered clothes, Yuuto forgot to wait for Sorata's reply before leaping briskly into the air. Racing through the city across the rooftops, the wind in his face was a much needed relief from the pungent odor of the dumpster in which Kusanagi must have abandoned him. The traitor. But that was irrelevant now.

Reaching his apartment, Yuuto fumbled with the key under the mattress, desperate to get inside and into the bathroom. At last the doorknob clicked, and he broke through into the entryway. Not even wasting a moment to remove his shoes, he dashed for the bathroom, stripped himself of the sticky, smelly, sweaty suit and coat, and stepped into the shower.

And as the hot water sprayed in torrents down his grimy skin, scrubbing at every inch of his flesh with a lathery washcloth, the only thought that played across his mind was that of where he might be able to burn those filthy clothes.

* * *

Kamui could already feel his eyes begin to burn and swell with tears, but he simply shook his head and smiled gently. "I'll be ok..." he said softly. But some how, a stray tear fell loose from his eyes and slowly trickled down his cheek.

He didn't care though...

Kamui could already feel himself becoming weaker and weaker. His wounds hadn't fully healed yet and rushing back and forth from the city was taking a toll on him. He rested himself against the bottom of the couch, still holding Kotori's hand. He was to afraid to let go. Afraid that she would suffer more if he lost sight of her again.

"Are you cold?" Kamui asked her. "I can get you a blanket of you need one..."

Kotori opened her eyes slowly. Her hand reached out, and her index finger slipped across Kamui's cheek, catching the tear. She hadn't seen Kamui cry in years. In fact, she was almost sure that he COULDN'T cry anymore.

She looked over at her own body. The dress Yuzuriha had lent her was ruined. She would have to repay her... Where was Yuzuriha anyway? And Uo? And Arashi?

She started at her bruised, cut feet. One day everything was okay, and the next, her world came crashing down on top of her. "I'm fine. But if you are..." her voice trailed off.

Even if she was hurt, Kotori was still kind to everyone before herself. She watched Kamui's back, leaning against the couch in front of her. She grasped his hand tighter. She wouldn't sleep, and she knew it. But Kamui, he looked like he was about to fall over and die. She pushed herself up and placed her legs under her body, sitting on one side of the couch. She was feeling a bit better now, though her head felt heavy for a moment.

"You don't have to stay on the...ground.." she said sheepishly.

Kamui could feel her gentle hand come across his face and wipe away his tear. He was a bit embarrassed that she saw that, but it didn't matter really. He could feel the grip on his hand becoming tighter. His heart felt relieved for a moment.

He looked up at her for a moment. The soft cushions of the couch seemed inviting, and he was so tired. Standing up slowly he sat down on the open space Kotori made for him and rested his head back.

Looking back at Kotori he asked "You feeling any better?"

Kotori nodded. "I am." She left off the 'for now'. No reason to worry Kamui any more.

She glanced at him a few times from the corner of her eye. Here she was, her arm tangled trying to grasp his hand as tightly as she could. With the boy that she loved.

She sighed and leaned against him. She didn't care if anyone saw them, and she didn't care if Kamui didn't like it, she wanted to be near him. And god damn it! She was going to be.

* * *

Kaze's yellow eyes flashed slightly as it stared upon the scene. A dragon of Earth. Great. Wonderful. Just what he NEEDED. He was more likely to get his feathers singed now by some spell. And then it caught his attention. Another one. A stronger one. Many coming, too.

His eyes suddenly flew to the side, towards the window near where Hokuto was. Instead, it stopped on a tree and peered at the window a bit more. He froze. Oh.. this was NOT good..

The bird's eyes flashed again. This time it was just a bit too much. While he was tempted to call to his comrades, Taer and Anzu, he did not. He would be fine on his own. He was capable of making a shift to protect should it be required... of course, the fact that the boy had already summoned one of his attacks in a liquid form bothered him.

It was true. Shouri's abilities had grown in the past few days. His ki's sudden reactions proved that, but the boy still wasn't strong enough. Of course, who knew WHAT to expect out of him... of course, the answer became evident within seconds...

Shouri knew that Hokuto was in danger, and didn't bother to waste his time trying to find her. He had thought that Subaru was behind him after he had been pushed into the motel... but he was not. His thoughts directed the hovering water bird rather suddenly.

Even after being pushed inside, the water bird was ready to go, ready to do what it could. It reacted to Shouri's thoughts, beginning to panic and flail, screeching like a banshee.. which was quite odd, considering it was made of water.

The young boy paused as he turned a corner in the motel. He couldn't go back for Subaru, not yet... but Subaru wasn't strong enough to hold up against Seishirou! His feet seemed to do more than his mind. Another dash another zip. He was heading back to the room where they had been, back to Hokuto.

"Hokuto-sama! Hokuto-sama!" Shouri called frantically.

What if he couldn't find her? He'd have to help Subaru, whether he did or not. He just hoped things would turn out for the better. Hokuto had to be okay! She had to! And he had to get her out of there... and then he would deal with Seishirou.

Great. More trouble brought about by that man! By Seishirou!

"I swear, if anything happens to Hokuto," Shouri said through gritted teeth as he ran, "I'm holding you responsible, Seishirou."

Shouri hadn't noticed the negative energy propelling from him in every direction. It was as if the purity that he usually gave off was being cancelled out by his desire for revenge, his hate, and his anger. He really did just want to protect his friends, but in doing so, he had let his anger get a little bit out of control. His adjusting to the void within him was not going very well, and apparently it was taking advantage of him.

That was fine with him. He would worry about it later. If he had to, he would use it against Seishirou. Even though Matsuko would disapprove of it, he would. He OWED him that much.

Hokuto had to be okay!!! After all, he still had to play the flute for her, right? He had said he would. It was a promise.

Kaze frowned, shaking his head. Too much anger. Too much hate. Too much negativity in Shouri. He didn't like it... and the worst part was that Shisa was still watching through Kaze's eyes.

The bird knew that it was not wise to use negative energy often... And while he knew the boy could handle it, he still worried, but he could only watch, and step in should he be required.

* * *

Sorata watched the blonde man run to be clean. He sighed and slapped a hand over his face. Oh well, if it was just him, the other one in the barrier and Fuuma.

Yes, this would be quite a battle especially if the cloth boy decided to follow. Before he left, Sorata gave Nataku a nod, leaping into the air and flipping onto a building.

He waited one moment to see which direction the Kekkai was and then dashed off to get in on the action.

* * *

Arashi was lost. It had to be obvious. She hadn't paid much attention as to why the car had stopped. She didn't really care why Noroku had pointed the gun at that stranger.

But that girl...knew Okita right? Well, that was his problem, not hers. And as much as she would like to care and help someone who seemed to be friends with Yuzuriha, she couldn't. Not right now.

She took the keys, and shoved them into her skirt pocket with Sorata's hat. All she could do was nod numbly. Whatever. She would do as she was told.

She sank down into the seat, next to Yuzuriha. "She needs medical attention right away." Arashi muttered. But, she wasn't sure if he had heard her, because the car was in gear now, and speeding off.

* * *

Hokuto watched Subaru run after Shouri in shock, frozen from his words. She would never have thought... Seishirou had hurt more people.

Gritting her teeth together, she shook her head for thinking such foolish thoughts. Of course he would have hurt other people even after being done with Subaru. But still.

Hokuto started as something flew through the window and landed next to her, tapping her shoulder. Flipping around, she immediately recognized the one standing before her, grinning jovially.

She knew who he was. She knew he was the Chi no Ryu's Kamui. She could feel it. But she also knew he had been in Kakyou's dream. He could take her to him.

As she had no idea where her yume-mi was, she needed guidance. And she needed to go to see Kakyou.

"Excuse me...I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?" The words reached her just as the last thought had registered. Yes, she would go with him. If he would take her to Kakyou.

She felt his arms around her yet frail shoulders and a sense of peace overwhelmed her. Starting, she widened her eyes and looked at him, barely hearing his next words.

"I see my friend is having trouble with your brother...Any idea why?" She frowned, trying to collect her thoughts, to get free of his grip on her, but she was still too weak. Her muscles were new and unused, the sinew and bone still frail.

"No... I mean, yes... It's Seishirou..." She shook her head, wanting nothing more than to be free of that peaceful feeling. He was evil. He was friends with Seishirou. He wanted Seishirou to kill Subaru.

But the feeling remained.

"How did you know he was my brother...?" Her words were interrupted. Footsteps could be heard outside the door. It was Shouri. She could feel his aura pouring off of him, a mixture of fear, anger and hate.

But still, when she looked at the man holding her, she felt nothing but peace.

Strange. Yet oddly familiar.

Like when she had died.

Her eyes widened even more and she grasped at the man's coat, burying her face in his neckline. "Can you take me to Kakyou?"

Fuuma eyes Subaru with cold eyes and then smiled down at Hokuto, she seemed at peace with him. This fact caused him to pressed her to him much like a lover, leaning to her ear.

"I will take you to him if that is your wish." He breathed on her ear softly, knowing his actions would allow Subaru to lose control. He looked to the new comer with a smile, raising his eyes to the ceiling just as it began to shake violently as if it were being torn off.

He looked back at Shouri with a smirk, and then suddenly leaned down to kiss Hokuto passionately. Her heart wanted the love of the dream seer...while he couldn't change the direction of another heart, he could offer his as consolation.

The roof began to shake more violently as cracks began to form in it's surface.

"Seishirou...Injury the boy called Subaru, he doesn't get to die just yet...I can see you want this as well so you have my permission. Just make sure he doesn't follow. As for you..."

His eyes hadn't left Shouri. "I suggest you leave before you harm the girl...I know I won't but what about you if try to attack us? The same is true if Subaru attacks. I may have total control of my powers but do you have control over yours."

His eyes narrowed as his smile darkened.

Shouri's eyes grew cold, almost as if he were possessed by another force. This force was drawn from within him, completely different from the usual calming energy that he possessed. Was the man bluffing? ... Certainly not. Shouri had never relied upon negative energy, at least not so great, to do his bidding. He was shaking, furious!

"And who is to say that you won't hurt her later on?" he snapped back, eyes narrowing. "The feel about you... it's cold. Dark. Deceiving. You're like a wolf, obsessed with the scent of blood, and hunting for the source. You may not harm Hokuto-sama directly, but you will indirectly- I can feel it."

... And that kiss to Hokuto was all that was needed to set. Him. Off.

The negative energy pulsed, ripping the air around him. He had noticed the ceiling some time ago... and while the pure energy and calm thoughts tried to cancel out the darkness, it seemed to have some difficulty as he grew more angry.

The dark expression upon Shouri's face suddenly shifted. The energies were battling, as were his thoughts. He could feel himself trying to get rid of that dark energy. He was in pain again, gasping for air as he fell to one knee. Too much for him.

"Shimatta." He cursed.  
His stomach shifted again. The pain doubled. He frowned slightly... closing his eyes momentarily. Another flash. He felt as though his wounds were reopening and he was reliving the past few days, the incidents that were shaking him. Why couldn't he let it go?

"... Ho.. ku .. to.. sa.. ma..."

Kaze squirmed, squealing about as loud as the water bird was. He couldn't STAND it! And his orders were... NOT TO INTEREFERE!? NO! The wind beast held back its screeching again, yellow eyes flickering a bit more. Why? WHY couldn't he help! He wanted to help so badly!

Again, Shouri forced himself to stand. It was apparent that he was having trouble harnessing that negative energy. Still, he stood up. He had to try... he couldn't lose her. Subaru wouldn't forgive him if he lost her.

"... Let her go.." Shouri pleaded.

He dare not get too close. The man was right. The negative energy would probably be too much for Hokuto. He didn't want to hurt her, but he didn't want to leave her with that man, either. And for once in his life, he truly felt that he could do absolutely nothing, though he knew he could...

_'I can't lose another person.' _He thought to himself. The darkness was too much for him. He was soon to lose it... lose control...

* * *

Kamui would stare back at Kotori from time to time. His eyes met hers for a second, but he quickly turned away. A slight blush crept across his face.

He started to remember back when they kids, she would give him the same look back then and it would always make him blush.

_"(Some things never change...)" _he thought.

It was just then that Kotori sat up word and fell against him. His eyes widened a bit in shock. It was unexpected, but slowly, Kamui wrapped his arms around her. Pulling Kotori closer to his chest.

He didn't care if anyone saw them, nothing mattered anymore except her. "Kotori..." he whispered softly.

She kept their fingers intertwined together as she leaned into him. She was expecting to be pushed away. She was waiting for him to just reach out and move her back to her side of the couch.

But he didn't. And instead, he pulled her closer. She leaned into him, breathing softly.

"Hai...Kamui-chan?" she asked.

Kamui's heart began to beat faster as he felt Kotori's warm breath against his skin. He pulled her closer, his eyes locked on to hers. "Kotori.." he whispered again, his lips etching closer .

"I love you..." he said softly and pressed his lips upon hers.

_"Kotori, I love you..."  
"Kotori, I love you..." _

She replayed the message over and over in her head. She raised an eyebrow at him, in disbelief. How long she had waited for this...more than half of her life was spent on her saying these words, pretending they would come from Kamui's lips.

Never in a thousand years had she imagined this would be real.

_"Kotori, I love you..." _

_'I love you too, Kamui.' _she told herself. She wanted to say it out loud, but her mouth was busy at the moment. This was her first kiss. Fuuma had never taken the time to kiss her, to make her feel special during that horrid event. She returned the kiss with the up most feeling. She wanted more of Kamui.

He was the only person who could make her heart beat faster and slower at the same time.

The feeling in Kamui's heart was indescribable. It was just pure bliss. In a single kiss, Kamui could fell all of Kotori's love him. It made happy. An emotion that he hadn't felt in ages.

He deepened his kiss and tightened his grip on Kotori's hand. Her lips were soft and delicate like the petals of a rose. He didn't want this moment to end.

A part him wanted more than just a simple kiss. To take a step further and fully express his love for her. But he was afraid at the same time. Afraid that he might hurt her...

Pulling back he stared into Kotori's eyes lovingly and placed hand on her cheek, stroking it gently. "Kotori..." he said softly. "I...I want you..."

* * *

From his place, asleep within the sphere of light in the office of the old warehouse, Shisa could still see and hear and feel what was going on. He could feel the frustration of Kaze, the agitation of Taer and Anzu, and worst of all, the pain that was coming from Shouri.

The boy had over done it. His energies were fighting between negative and positive. His emotions were playing tag. His mind... it was becoming unstable. His body wasn't ready for such negative energy. Shisa knew this. Shouri was just realizing it... and what it would cost him if he continued.

From the eyes of the bird, Kaze, Shisa saw everything. He commanded the wind beast to hold its ground, not to attack or protect. Shouri had to protect himself for the moment. He did not need protection as of yet, even in the face of the Dragon... of Earth.

Shisa's mind shifted uneasily as the sphere sparkled. Indeed. The Dragon of Earth. He did not like Shouri being so close. He was too close. He didn't like it...

And again, he felt the pain of the earth torment his mind. He blocked it out so that it would not reach him- one of the few perks that he got from his special form of 'rejuvenation'. While the guardian wanted to protect the boy, he still needed to restore himself to his full power. He knew that he could count on his guardian beasts to protect Shouri, and to help him see without expending his energies.

While he kept a close eye upon Shouri, he summoned Anzu to stay near Kaze's area, but to keep an eye on the Dragons of Earth. What was he to do...

He could only rest...

* * *

Taer's blue eyes flitted slightly at the Watcher as he tilted his head to the side in a comforting way. It wasn't abnormal for him to show emotions, not for any of them. Really, he wanted to be of more help, but couldn't... of course, through his eyes, Shisa also felt it...

* * *

Aoki walked up to Uo with the tickets.

"Alright, I've got the tickets for the closest station to the DIET Building. Now we just have to wait for the subway train to get here." he said to her with a smile.

Uo paused and nodded. She was still worried. Was Kotori okay? Was Kamui okay? What about Okita? She sighed lightly before smiling again.

"Alright then! So long as it comes soon..." she said with a nod.

* * *

The clone's eyes moved from Sorata's face to Yuuto's fleeing form. He returned the monk's nod before the young man leapt after his new leader, towards the kekkai. Nataku took a step in that direction, his foot kicking a shiny object, which skidded across the pavement and landed several feet in front of him. Several more steps brought him to the object's resting place, revealing it to be the sword that the seal had left behind.

Nataku reached down to retrieve the glinting object, but pulled back before touching the hilt. He recalled the girl's dog and, instead, wrapped the sword in the floating fabric, heaving it into the air to float beside him. He could just make out Sorata's retreating form heading towards the giant star-shaped kekkai. Nataku leapt to the nearest rooftop, intent on following the Kamui of Earth and the young monk. But... His gaze turned in the opposite direction, where Yuuto had fled.

Hadn't Fuuma told them ALL to go to the kekkai?

Nataku turned. If Fuuma wanted all three of them to go with him, then it only made sense for them all to do so. His jump took him to the next rooftop, and he continued in succession, as if internally aware of Yuuto's route. The wind tugged at both his white hair and equally white ribbons of cloth. The city flew past, and he reached Yuuto's apartment quickly.

The door had been left open, the key still in the lock.

Nataku stepped through the doorway and proceeded into the apartment, determined to bring Yuuto with him to the kekkai.

* * *

Subaru wasn't sure he could get up. While he had only fallen a story, the force and velocity with which he was swung to the ground caused him to leave a slight imprint of his small-framed body in the street below him.

His eyes filled with fear for a fraction of a second before furrowing his eyebrows, half in pain, half in determination. Even if Seishirou was stronger, he had no reason to fight.

Subaru did. He would fight for Shouri, he would fight for Hokuto.

He pushed himself up, amidst the pain, and on trembling legs, pulled himself up.

"Namah samanta buddhanam Indraya svaha...!" Subaru chants, sending ofuda flying towards Seishirou.

Subaru was right about one thing. Seishirou did not want to fight. As Subaru got to his trembling legs and began to chant, Seishirou rolled his eyes in aggravation. This routine was getting old.

Before the younger man even had time to finish his incantation, Seishirou let the air around him spark and rise with energy, and a junk of the gravel debris lifted from the earth and settled into his open palm. All of this transpired in a matter of seconds, as Subaru continued chanting doggedly.

He stepped forward, smirking darkly as Subaru refused to budge. Then, with the flick of a wrist, he smashed the chunk of concrete against Subaru's jaw, nodding once in satisfaction when he heard the familiar crunching of bones. The blow was strong enough to render Subaru almost instantaneously unconscious.

Casually he tossed the now bloodstained piece of debris back to the rubble. "Perhaps this will be a lesson that silence is golden," he chuckled sinisterly, turning his back and leaping up the building to enter the window and rejoin Fuuma as the area around began to crumble...

* * *

Hokuto didn't object to the kiss, though she was quite startled. When he broke it and spoke to Shouri, she looked up at him puzzled, touching her lips. There had been something there.

She didn't know quite what it was, but there had been something. She looked to Shouri, watching as he grew more and more agitated. "Shouri- chan... Please.. Don't. It's alright. He will take me to Kakyou."

Fuuma looked down to her with a smile and then to the ceiling which began to collapse above them...a large piece of debris fell toward the two locked in embrace, suddenly shattering. The plaster flakes fell around them like sakura petals, dancing in the new open air. Fuuma stared again at Hokuto, sensing her peace. He softly put his finger to her lips.

Shouri shook his head, still fighting with himself. He looked at Hokuto, frowning heavily. "... Are you sure? Subaru... wouldn't forgive me if.. if anything happened to you.. and I really.. don't trust him.."

He felt the light shaking. Indeed. He did not trust him. He frowned at the light pulse energy again. It was shaking him. He shook his head again.

"... He'll hurt everyone." The boy wasn't happy with any of this. The ceiling was going to collapse, and he needed to calm down so that he could at least protect himself from it.

"He grants wishes." She stated simply. "This is my wish. So it's alright." She smiled at Shouri, more a maternal smile than anything else, trying to make him understand. She needed to see Kakyou.

He was what mattered now. She needed to see him, to let him know. But when gazing up at the man, the man she didn't even knew the name of, the certain part of her heart wavered and she became fearful.

Fearful of letting the yume-mi go.

Seishirou leaped through the window just as the ceiling began to cave. The rocks crumbled with the effect of sakura blossoms around Fuuma and Hokuto. He smirked at Kamui-sama as he folded his arms across his chest. "Stealing my calling card, now, are we?"

Fuuma took a glance at Hokuto and smiled at Seishirou. "It's a good calling card but I learned from the best." He looked down to Hokuto and answered. "Kamui...I am Kamui."

That voice-! Images traveled through his head. Scents traveled through his mind. Voices traveled through his ears. All of it was distant. All of it was enough to create a charge of negative energy that began to shake the boy beyond the point of frightening. He slowly stood up, turning instantly to face Seishirou. "Y-you..."

His voice was filled with anger, something very uncommon in Shouri. The negative energy was thriving now. Memories of all that had happened wouldn't allow him to remain calm. He couldn't.

"... Gomen, Hokuto-sama, but.. if you're going, I suggest you go now." His voice was somewhat shaky. "I'm losing control and I can't stop it... understand.. if you are hurt.. "

If anything happened to Hokuto, he wouldn't forgive himself. He had no doubt that Subaru was going to kill him as it was for letting her go. His fists were clenched tightly as he stared at Seishirou. Blood. He wanted to see blood flow.

Sorata suddenly leapt from his perch and landed beside Fuuma. He glared at Shouri and looked to Fuuma.

Seishirou blinked as his gaze turned from Fuuma to Shouri. "Oh, yes, I remember you," he said with a more pleasant chuckle. "You shouldn't get so worked up over such little things."

Then suddenly his single useful eye shifted to Sorata. "You..." His tone became dangerous. "I also remember you. You nearly killed me..." He took a step closer, now ignoring Shouri.

"I think it's high time I returned the favor..."

Fuuma eyed Seishirou with a smile. "He's with us now."

"Stop it, all of you!" Her voice rang out and freeing herself from Fuuma, with power she didn't know she had in her limp muscles, she glared at them Seishirou. "Don't ignore him."

She pointed to Shouri, her eyes blazing. "But you will not fight him either. For one, he is outnumbered by far. Even if he is Shouri-kun, he will not win against three Chi no Ryu."

She turned to Shouri, her eyes no softer than they had been when she spoke to Seishirou. "Not now." She said simply, turning back to face Fuuma. "Take me away from here. Make them come with." She pointed to Sorata and Seishirou.

Taking the Kamui's hand, she didn't look back, but her next words were directed at Shouri. "Take care of Subaru."

Looking over her shoulder, she watched Shouri through sad eyes. "Please. For me."

For the first time that night, hesitance flickered through Seishirou's left eye. His smirk faltered. And then he frowned. His ears were almost deaf to Hokuto's words as he continued to glare at Sorata.

"I don't like it. I certainly don't believe it," he spat, never looking into Fuuma's face. "One false move and you're dead, kid," he added with contempt in his voice, something rather unusual for one so suave and deceitful.

Fuuma smiled at Hokuto's speech and then shook his head. "You misunderstand, they just have arrived for my safety. No one will die today, after all I'm a revolutionary after I'm a gentleman"

Fuuma took her hand in his and suddenly lifted her off the ground. "It will be easier to travel this way, I apologize if you feel odd like this." His attention turns to Seishirou and chuckled. "You have a right to warn him Seishirou ..after all his predecessor will die a horrible death when I find him." He took one more glance at Shouri and smiled much to bright for the situation. "You better not follow if you want me to stay true to my words..."

Snapping out of his fury temporarily, Seishirou nodded almost obediently to Fuuma, glancing back at Shouri. "I'll make certain he doesn't, Kamui-sama."

The boy fumed. He heard every word said. His eyes narrowed. He knew it. He couldn't trust them. What was more was Seishirou's words. "...L-little?" His voice cracked.

He glared at Fuuma, eyes narrowing. His thoughts were jumbled. He kept seeing things replay in his mind. His eyes fell on Hokuto, a mixture of worry, uncertainty, and obvious sadness within... and then he looked to Seishirou.

For a moment, he stared... and then it came out. "YOU MURDERED MY OLDER SISTER RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME AND YOU CALL THAT LITTLE!?" Shouri's voice was filled with pain.

He stared hard, the ground beneath him beginning to tear slightly from the negative energy. If his wounds hadn't healed, they would have torn, as well. "... Perhaps.. someone should introduce you to this... to this hell that I am now subjected to... sad thing is, I can't share half as much as I want to." The energy was becoming visible. ".. And this.. this isn't even comparable..." Tears were coming, red tears...

Hokuto shook her head at Fuuma, murmuring into the cloth. "I'm not uncomfortable. It's alright."

Fuuma leapt into the air out of the large open roof. "Hold on then."

Sorata shrugged and leapt out after Fuuma.

Seishirou stayed behind now, glaring at Shouri. "Well, then, if you don't want to hurt anyone, maybe I can help you with that." Then his own aura began to emanate a powerful glow, and the debris around him started to lift, much like it had been with Subaru. This time, however, he chuckled darkly and let the chunks of the ceiling and walls fly all directly in Shouri's direction.

"You should learn to control your temper."

Shouri gasped, eyes narrowing suddenly at the sight of the flying debris. He suddenly shifted, throwing himself to the side. A large stream of negative energy was left for the debris to collide with.

Needless to say, when Shouri stood up... he was not happy.

* * *

Settling instead on throwing the clothes into the nearest trash disposal, Yuuto felt only faint bitter memories of what had happened to him not an hour before. Toweling himself dry, he tossed the soppy rag in with the clothes and opened the bathroom door to make his way to his bedroom in nothing but his birthday suit. Not that it was so unnatural. After all, there was no one else in the apartment...

That was when he stopped. And stared. Before him stood the genetic doll--one of the angels. As emotionless as ever. But that was beside the point. Behind Nataku, Yuuto's front door was still open.

Instantly--instinctively, rather--Yuuto's hands flew to cover himself as he shouted out in a furious flush of embarrassment, "YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST SHUT THE DOOR! AND STOP STARING AT ME!!!"

Nataku blinked, partially due to the sudden appearance of his fellow angel, but mostly due to the sudden appearance of his fellow angel sans clothes. The other's sudden shift from his normal mood was puzzling, but Nataku humored him and turned to shut the door. "Kamui said for us to join him at the kekkai," the clone said, as if that explained the entire situation.

Yuuto, face still flaming, gave the clone a dangerous glare. "I know perfectly well what 'Kamui-sama' said," he replied, his voice still sounding somewhat strained. "However, it was in my better interest to come here first to clean up. I was planning to return to the kekkai site as soon as I was done here."

Nataku answered with an impassive stare. "You're wasting time being here. There is at least one seal in the area of the kekkai, and Kamui only has the former seal with him for support. He told us to follow, so we should follow." The fabric whipped about his body, revealing the wrapped sword among its white folds. "I will drag you there, if it seems necessary."

A sweat drop formed along the back of Yuuto's head. "That's fine, that's fine... Would you mind if...I got dressed first?" Secretively he began to gather his aura about him, in case the clone should advance menacingly any further.

"Such things are unnecessary," Nataku replied, his voice even. He stepped towards the man, the fabric slashing figure-eights with the sword held in its grasp. "Come now." He reached out to grab Yuuto by the shoulder and make good on his threat to drag the angel to the battlefield.

Flinching at the hand that came down on his shoulder, Yuuto finally rolled his eyes and shrugged, standing up almost shamelessly before the sound of a burst pipe shattered the momentary silence and sprayed in a direct line toward Nataku.

Nataku stumbled to one side, pushed away from Yuuto by the sheer force of the water. Struggling against the water that shoved at him from the right, he continued to reach out and managed to grab onto Yuuto's shoulder. It seemed if one of them was to be plastered against the wall by the blast of water, they both were.

In his efforts to bend the water as Nataku stumbled around off- balance, Yuuto miscalculated and was momentarily blasted by the stream of water himself, knocking him nearly off of his feet and into the genetic doll, throwing them both against the wall. Already embarrassed by having the clone discover him in such a...vulnerable...state...Yuuto's face boiled with humiliation as he found his abdomen pressed against Nataku's back. And that was not the only part of him pressed against the soft...velvety...body of the living doll...

As soon as his mind was clear enough, he instantly called off the attack and jumped backward, his entire body now flushed. It really should have been no big deal, he figured quietly to himself. After all, Kanoe saw him naked all the time. But...still...this was quite different. And before Nataku had the chance to fully recover, Yuuto turned abruptly and made a mad dash for his room, slamming the door behind him.

Nataku pulled himself to his feet, stunned once again by the sudden shift in the other's emotions. The bedroom door slammed, drawing the clone's attention. He proceeded over to the door and knocked. There was no answer.

Calmly, he raised the sword trapped in the floating ribbons, dashing it through the door. He punched through the gash created by the weapon and stepped through the resulting hole. "I said I would drag you from this building, if need be. You'll come with me. Now." He crossed the doorway to where Yuuto stood.

Yuuto stood at the opposite end of the room, just having succeeded in pulling on his boxers, with his tan-colored slacks pulled halfway up to his knees. He frowned at Nataku and proceeded to pull his pants the rest of the way up. Finally, with a little dignity restored to his stature, he managed to smirk. "You're very rude, you know that?"

Nataku refrained from replying, the comment lost on him. The hovering sword moved between them, the point close to Yuuto's neck. "We're leaving now." The clone watched Yuuto with some disinterest. "Kamui is waiting." He motioned towards the wreckage of the door.

Yuuto grimaced. He was still not wholly recovered. Nataku would overpower him eventually. Finally, sacrificing his will to pull on the rest of his suit, he stepped toward the window compliantly, keeping both eyes on Nataku at all times. "Fine. We're going. I'll not fight you anymore." But that did not mean he did not plan to get even with the clone eventually...

Nataku nodded, the ribbons swirling about his body in soothing patterns. He followed Yuuto out the window and directed him towards the still-standing kekkai. "Let's go, then."

* * *

In the inky darkness of the night, a figure could be seen walking along the streets of Tokyo. Yatouji Satsuki strolled idly through the mostly empty streets, casually observing the items in the windows of the shops lining the streets. After Yuuto had left with the captive Dragon of Heaven and the participants of that afternoon's fight had dispersed, Satsuki had remained behind. She felt confident that Yuuto would be able to take the hostage back to the headquarters of the Dragons of Earth without problems, and she felt no need to follow.

And so she had wandered the streets of Tokyo until nightfall, window- shopping and casually observing the people who passed her by. It had been a while since she had gone out, and much longer since she had been out by herself; she took advantage of her situation to enjoy her solitude to its full extent.

As the girl walked slowly along the street, the crowd flowed and merged around her, like the waters of a river flowing around a boulder in its path. Though she was dressed rather conspicuously in her bright yellow jacket, the people who passed her hardly seemed to notice her presence, caught up in their own affairs. Satsuki watched the people pass her by with a mixture of amusement and contempt. Humans were so self-absorbed, so egotistical, caring about nothing except themselves… probably the only thing that could drag them out of their little hole would be the end of the world as they knew it.

Of course, that was what Satsuki was destined to bring about.

As night fell upon the city and the streets grew silent, the girl finally stopped in her wanderings, satisfied with her day. Satsuki leaned against the wall of a nearby store and stretched her arms above her head, sighing lightly. As enjoyable as her break had been, it was about time for her to return back to her duties. Namely, destroying the world. She smiled sardonically to herself. Not that her duties were any less enjoyable than her free time. It was about time that someone rid the Earth of those that so polluted and damaged it.

The young Dragon of Earth lifted her eyes and idly scanned the horizon for the telltale green glow that would tell her the direction in which she should now go. Sure enough, her eyes found what she was looking for: the Kekkai of a Dragon of Heaven, not far off in the distance. The barrier was already crumbling; her assistance would most likely not be needed. But even so, she supposed that she should meet up with her comrades. She had been away from them long enough.

The girl nimbly leaped from her spot on the sidewalk, landing atop the building that she had been leaning on. She swiftly sprang from rooftop to rooftop until she had reached her destination, the immediate area surrounding the crumbling Kekkai. As she glanced around the area for a familiar face, Satsuki's eyes fell upon a small group of people not far away. She recognized two faces immediately: Fuuma, the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth, and the young man called Arisugawa Sorata, a Dragon of Heaven who she had often observed from her supercomputer in the old headquarters of the Dragons of Earth. The girl raised an eyebrow. Why was a Dragon of Heaven in the company of the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth? He was obviously not a hostage; Sorata seemed to be following Fuuma of his own free will.

And there was another person there, a young woman cradled in Fuuma's arms. She had long black hair and startlingly green eyes… eyes that looked oddly familiar. Satsuki suddenly felt distinctly uncomfortable. Perhaps she was only imagining it, but there seemed to be something wrong in the aura of that green-eyed girl… as if she shouldn't be here, didn't belong to world…

The girl sternly shook off her thoughts. It was useless to be wondering such things; she was sure that Fuuma would know the answers. She would just have to ask him about them later. For now, she would simply join them without asking any questions. She was sure that the situation would be explained to her in time.

Having collected her thoughts, Satsuki leaped over towards the group, landing on the rooftop on which they were. She put her hands in the pockets of her jacket and idly strolled over to them, walking over to stand next to her comrade. "Seishirou." The girl nodded her head towards him in respectful greeting. "Good evening."

* * *

It wasn't long before the subway train arrived. Smiling, Aoki took Uo to it and walked on.

"So why don't you tell me more about yourself miss, seeing as how we're in this trip together for the time being." Aoki said to her.

He carefully pushed his glasses up on his face.

* * *

Shouri's eyes narrowed lightly as he glanced to the window. He would have to get out if he hoped to have enough room to move. Trading attacks could cause the building to collapse. and neither were superman. Giving him a glare, he suddenly dodged back to the open window. He jumped up, kicking off and easily going right through. He turned himself right-side-up and landed, breaking into a quick run to get away from the building, though not out of the kekkai. He stopped just a bit outside of the motel and turned, raising a hand to summon the water bird from earlier to his side. It's screeching stopped as he turned to wait for the man. He had grown a bit more used to the negative energy... but he had no doubt that he would feel better after it was expelled... but not before he got even with Seishirou.

Seishirou instantly followed Shouri's movements out the window, leaping down the building to land on the ground about twenty paces away. He performed no fancy tricks in midair and only shoved his hands in his pockets when he landed. For a moment he closed his eyes and smiled guilefully. "You have a lot of outside forces protecting you," he noted observatively. "You must be important to the End of the World. But...don't overestimate yourself. I don't tend to die easily."

"Who said I was trying to kill you?" Shouri suddenly paused, the angry look dying down a little. "...Your life isn't mine to take, no matter what you've done to me..." A bit of the negative energy faded, but not enough to change the aches and pains that he felt. He kept his eyes focused on Seishirou ad he patted the watery neck of the bird that he had created. He was still unaware of Kaze, if that was who Seishirou was talking about. Glancing off for the moment, he looked at him again. "I'm tired of not knowing who I am. Sasori-chan is all that I have ever had...and now that she's gone, I don't have anyone. It's too much for me to handle. I'm not like you. I can't hold my own. I have to have support or I crumble. But you...could honestly care less, so long as you know who you are, have what is yours, and have your cards in line." His eyes narrowed. "Sasori-chan didn't deserve to die. I want you to know just how much pain she felt, and the hell that I'm going through."

Seishirou chuckled deeply. "You're so weak when left on your own, Shouri. You can't even fend for yourself. It's your fault your sister died. She had to stand up for you because you weren't strong enough." He left it at that. No more needed to be said. A dark smile covered his lips as he lowered his eyes to stare into Shouri's face.

The softness left him completely and was replaced with a hard, almost accusing stare in response. He stared back, forcing himself not to look away. He was shaking with anger. "You..." Shouri's eyes narrowed. His promise to Subaru was not forgotten...but where was Subaru? "...You dirty piece of filth..." The red water bird began to hiss.

With a smirk, Seishirou revealed three Ofudas from nowhere, held between his fingers. "Enough idle chat," he said dryly. "I'm tired of all your talking." With that, he flung his arm forward, casting the pieces of paper at Shouri. Instantly they transformed into the shikigami of screeching hawks, headed directly at Shouri and his little water spirit protector.

Shouri gasped, taking a step back and then stopped. Determination was written all over his face. It was too bad that he wasn't at his strongest. He glanced at the bird and suddenly paused, summoning a red wave of water using negative energy, and forced the bird to combine, creating a larger bird that flew ahead for the hawks, ready to consume. Shouri stepped back, pausing as he began to charge again.

Seishirou chuckled. Perfect. Lifting his hand like the conductor of a hellish orchestra, he summoned the energy to mentally command his shikigami to form the crimson lines of blazing laser-like beams between them, creating a shield in the shape of an inverted pentagram that could sear almost any weaker enchantment back to the dust.

His eyes widened slightly. Well.. there went Nami no Kioku. He should have summoned a dragon, not a phoenix. He shrank back, frowning. He couldn't let Seishirou beat him without giving him some trouble. He wasn't weak. Shouri paused, seeing the shikigami still coming. Only one thing to do. He paused a moment and suddenly went to one knee, placing both hands on the ground. The ground beneath shook violently...until a wave of red flew up from the ground, destroying the concrete as it shot upwards, obviously causing a few pipe problems. It was like a geyser... and all of the energy was pure negativity.

Staggering back as the energy erupted the ground, Seishirou watched in hesitating aggravation as the negative energy consumed and destroyed his Ofuda curse creatures. Brow furrowing into creases, he leaped back to regain his balance, then instantly retaliated by uttering a steady stream of enchantments under his breath.

Suddenly the landscape melted--or seemed to--into a void of gray nothingness, with only sharp protrusions of rock and cliffs emerging out of the bleak abyss, as if originating nowhere, drifting aimlessly through the distorted continuum of space. Illusions. Seishirou's forte. In a shower of sakura blossoms, the entire interior of the psychic barrier had become his playing field. And, with one more enchanted breath, he veiled himself in the stark oblivion, disappearing from Shouri's sight...though Seishirou could still see the boy perfectly...

Shouri frowned, stumbling backwards. Where was he? He couldn't tell. It certainly wasn't Tokyo, or was it? He glanced around in frustration. "...I should've paid more attention...," he murmured to himself. "Matsuko should've taught me more on ofudas...like how to use them," he muttered. He was rather in shock from just being in such a place. He didn't like it one bit. He suddenly shifted back to one knee, placing a hand upon the ground. Was this real or not? The ground could tell him, or rather the water running through. It didn't matter. He didn't need to bring water from the earth, but simply summon it as he chose. Water beneath the ground could tell him where he was though. Shouri furrowed his brows. He should've listened to Subaru...and so what if he was weak? He needed to get used to it. No one would wrap their arms around him in that sweet embrace that he secretly longed for. Closing his eyes, he listened. He had to focus on everything around him if he was to find Seishirou. _'...For onee-chan...'_

Seishirou watched as the boy concentrated. Such futile efforts. With his power over the territory now, Seishirou could make the sounds he made come from anywhere in the vicinity. Like some sort of warped ventriloquist. Dashing back and forth at the speed at which a human blinks, he cast the noise of his footsteps off into some far corner of the territory as he approached Shouri from behind. With movements as swift and clean as his illusory skills, he lifted his knee and chuckled huskily as he directed the blow squarely toward Shouri's spine.

Shouri felt the air leave him, and rather felt himself fly right towards the ground. Something had hit him in his spine. Why hadn't he heard anything near him? He coughed a little. Something was wrong with all of this. He suddenly scrambled forward a few feet, turning over so that he could face up. Instantly he flipped back up. His body ached. He really was tired and hungry and his powers were out of balance. _'Where did it come from?'_ he thought, glancing this way and that as he took a defensive position. _'Where? ...I didn't see anyone...and I didn't hear...so...?'  
_  
Pleased that his attack had left the boy stunned, Seishirou came at him again, this time from the front, throwing the sounds of his breathing and his sprinting and his very heartbeat into a montage of noise that had the effect of a surround-sound system. Powered by a rush of adrenaline at the thought of his superiority over the child, he lunged past Shouri, maneuvering his arm closest to the boy back as he passed as time itself seemed to slow for a moment. He aimed his straight-edged hand for the back of the boy's neck...and projected it outward to perfect the blow.

Again, the boy hit the ground hard, though this time he was becoming a bit more aware of these sudden attacks. The sounds... they were real, but not precisely.. true in a way. He felt almost paralyzed from the last attack, and almost didn't want to get up. The pain was catching up to him. While negative energy might feel good, it was like certain drugs. A person feels good, but the after affects catch up quickly. His eyes flashed. That blow.. it should have knocked him out. He HAD become stronger, hadn't he? He allowed himself to stay still for a moment. It would cost a headache, but his next move would surely be unexpected...

Shouri was on the ground. At last Seishirou slowed his movements to a halt. Standing at the boy's side, he chuckled as he looked down at him, folding his arms across his chest. "Is that all you have left in you, for all that energy?" he spat, his voice echoing all around from every direction. Then his expression turned cold. "Get up!" he commanded with a swift kick to Shouri's ribs. "I said, get up! You're as pathetic as Subaru."

And Shouri suddenly released the mental blast, allowing it to flow in every direction. The kick had prompted the telekinetic blast, and the addition of the negative energy, it was twice as powerful as usual. The boy pulled himself up from the ground, allowing the blast to continue. He knew his limits. His voice was harsh. "Subaru is NOT pathetic. He just doesn't want to hurt YOU!" He snapped.

Shouri frowned as he released his telekinetic attack. He glared at Seishirou. "Don't call me that." At least he wasn't doing that tone and that look from when he had first been discovered in the closet. He shuddered. Bad memory.

"I'm just getting warmed up." Shouri stated, pausing as he drew his hands together. Aka Submerge, or Kanashimi no Ame? Hard choice. As long as the shield was up, he couldn't do anything. He had to get closer. His attack had to be direct or he'd never get at him and he'd end up tiring himself out. He suddenly shifted back into a defensive stance. "Don't underestimate me, Seishirou." He stated simply. He really didn't have much, save his normal attacks. How the hell was he supposed to get closer?

* * *

Subaru cried out in pain; the slab of concrete smashed in his jaw, dislocating it. He spat up crimson blood through wind-chapped lips.

He stumbled, struggling to maintain both his life-force and the quivering kekkai.  
It was time to make a choice.

While he was almost useless in this state, he couldn't afford to keep the Chi no Ryu captured within the kekkai. It would only put Shouri and Hokuto in danger.

Subaru's heart stopped; Shouri and Hokuto! What had happened to them?!

Subaru sputtered blood as he raised his hand to the heavens, pulling the kekkai inside his frail body before leaping into the window after Seishirou.

Subaru attempted to cry out upon seeing his sister within the clutches of the leader of the Chi no Ryu; his dislocated jaw prevented him from saying as much.

His eyes flickered to Shouri, who was encased in battle with Seishirou; Subaru brought his hand to his forehead, his head was aching with indecision.

Subaru knew that in this condition, he was utterly useless, but he would not allow that to stop him from protecting his beloved sama-sama.

Screaming as he did so, he lurched toward Seishirou, in a desperate attempt to head-butt the fiend in the stomach.

* * *

Mayouko awoke with a splitting headache, her heart pounding in her chest. Forcing her eyes to open to mere slivers, the light harsh against her lids. _ So much for that idea... _She noted that she was lying flat out on the floor, a few feet away from the bed, which she was grateful to see still occupied by Kakyou. Forcing herself to her knees, she took a few deep breaths trying to get air into her lungs.

Fuuma leapt from building to building, nearing the apartment of that girl he had met awhile ago. He looked to Hokuto in the corner of his eyes. "You don't feel afraid around me...Why?"

She looked up at him and frowned. Yes, why was that...? She wasn't afraid of him. Not really. She knew she should be afraid but she wasn't. "I... don't know." She stated simply, shrugging. "I just feel safe."

"I see...You realize I can see all your wishes and desires." Fuuma smiled in a very friendly way. "It makes my job all the more easy...I can grant the wishes of the ones who shall be removed from the planet."

"Yes, I know." She couldn't help but smile back at him. She was so unguarded, she realized, but she didn't care.

Fuuma smiled even brighter and suddenly stopped. He looked back and noticed Sorata was gone. He smiled and shook his head.

"What is it?" She inquired, trying to look over his shoulder, but she was still way to short.

"It seems we are alone." Fuuma shook his head and laughed.

"Oh." She looked down, avoiding his eyes. It took a few seconds before she had composed herself, the faint blush disappearing and she looked ahead. "How far is it?"

"Not that far...You don't have to hide your blush you know." Fuuma started off again.

Fuuma landed softly on the balcony. He let Hokuto down, smiling at her.

She blushed even deeper, realizing how unlike herself she was acting. She thanked Fuuma as he put her down, still keeping her eyes low. Turning around, her eyes fell upon dark windows. Knocking slightly on the glass door, she saw a light being lit.

Fuuma looked down to his clothing. It was his white robes, bloody from his fight with Kamui. He groaned since he would need some new clothes soon.

Mayouko blinked as she heard a knock. _ A knock? _Her hand paused in midair the match still lit. Keeping as still as possible she listened to see if it would come again. It didn't. She yelped as the match burned her finger. Cursing she lurched forward, and started to head for the kitchen. Her throat was on fire and it didn't help that her fingers were now a bit singed. And that's when she saw it…movement on her balcony. Squinting she stepped closer and then recognizing at least one of the figures standing there, she smirked. Undoing the lock with a flick of her wrist she opened the glass door. "I see you found it here just fine..."

Fuuma stood in the dim light, smiling as he dusted off his clothes. "Yes but I'm a little under dressed for the occasion." He stretched and waited for Hokuto to enter so he could follow.

Hokuto looked upon the dark-haired woman, smiling uncertainly at her. She stepped inside the door, at once spotting Kakyou in the large bed. Fleeing to him, not caring about introductions, she flung herself on top of him, wrapping her arms around his unconscious body.

Fuuma watched the display of affection with a slight grin. "She said she had to see him so I apologize for coming without a call or anything."

Mayouko raises an eyebrow as the young woman flew by her and flung herself on to Kakyou. Observing her for a few moments she turned to Fuuma, her eyes glowing with amusement. "Not a problem I assure...just one question. Is that who I think it is?"

"Hokuto Sumeragi?"

Mayouko smirked and murmured to herself. "So he did actually do it. What an idiot."

"Kakyou...?" Hokuto asked uncertainly, brushing a few strands of hair away from his face. "Can you hear me?"

The real world started to fade as her words echoed around her... To be replaced by almost total and utter darkness...

Fuuma moved toward the bed casually. He stared down at the dream seer as he approached.

At first it seemed to be nothing but a breeze...but as Kakyou listened closer he could hear words...some one was...calling out…for him...  
He looked up his eyes puffy and red to see two people walking toward him...

The room flickered and Hokuto found herself not on Kakyou's bed, but in a black dreamscape. Scrambling to her feet, she saw Fuuma next to her, smiling at her. Letting her eyes wander, she spotted the one she was searching for. Taking a step towards the figure sitting against the frail paper-wall, she let in a breath before running towards him. She stopped in front of him and fell to her knees, embracing him, nothing but joy in her heart.

Fuuma watched the couple with a smile. He walked a little close but kept his distance.

Kakyou bowed his head again, not wanting to see anyone...and was thoroughly surprised when a pair of arms wrapped around him... He looked up and blinking away his tears, and found himself staring into a pair of soft green eyes. "Hokuto.."

She nodded, smiling at him, trying not to cry. "I'm... alive, Kakyou."

Fuuma continued to lurk in the background, sitting down and enjoying the sweet dream air...assuming that was air.

Kakyou blinked and then shook his head. "No you're not...how could you be...I watched you die..."

"She was resurrected." Fuuma announced from his place.

"Yuurei." She said simply, a stab in her heart when he looked at her in shock.

Kakyou started at their words. "Yuurei resurrected you..." His voice was soft and quavering. "I..I don't understand..."

She drew away from him, nodding, keeping her head down, the tears finally coming. "He did..." She gulped, trying to make the tears go away. Because they weren't of happiness.


	56. Chapter 54: Resolving a Difference

**Chapter Fifty-Four: Resolving A Difference**

Uo nodded cheerily. It was probably best. After all, if anything, it was better to make more friends before making enemies. He had been rather kind and had tried to get her out of that place.

After situating herself as best she could, seeing as the subway wasn't really too crowded.. well, at least not at that particular moment. She smiled again as she nodded.

"Well, there's nothing really to know about me. My name is Mitsu Houou, but everyone calls me 'Uo' for short." She said, deciding not to explain the rather lame origins of her nickname. "I don't know why everyone likes to call me 'Pisces', but they do. I live in a rather casual little house here in Tokyo. I've not moved once in my life, so yeah, I was born here, too. Um.. well, I go to a local high school. I have a mom and a dad and a cousin that I live with.. though Dad's always away. He's a businessman. Mom.. she gets stressed easily... and.. my cousin... is a junky."

She paused as she thought it over. "Well, I guess I'm just sort of a local kid. I like arcades, malls, and almost anything involving music... but, the thing is, I'm a bit odd for a girl. I work at a mechanic's shop and I have a laboratory in my basement that I run on my own. I like to invent things.. and my passion, besides inventing, would be for dance. Need I say I'm overprotective of my friends? I guess I'm kind of weird, huh?"

She smiled again. What more could she say? Perhaps her life as an artist could stay hidden... at least momentarily.

"You're not weird at all. Most people would say that you are, but only because they don't see things like you do. You're unique, one of a kind. You won't find anyone just like you out there, just like you won't find another one of me out there. Good thing too, otherwise I might be out of a job." Aoki said with a laugh.

"Arigato, Seiichirou-san!" Uo smiled lightly.

It was nice to have some company, and it took her mind off of her friends momentarily, away from worry. She paused for a second.

"You said you were working on a book, ne? A book on what, precisely, if you don't mind my asking?" She tilted her head curiously.

"Well... truthfully, I can't tell you what it is. Top secret and all that stuff." Aoki said with a smile.

Truthfully though, he wasn't sure himself, as the book seemed to keep changing what it was in the middle of writing.

"Aaah, I see! Well, you'll have to tell me whenever it comes out!" She said with a nod and a bright smile. "I might just wanna read it!"

It didn't really matter to her what kind of book it was, she would read anything if she just wanted to read. A dictionary, even. She was okay with reading, and usually did when it came to school events that she had to go to. Even homecoming was often hiding beneath the bleachers and reading until it was over, then picking up the spare change and walking off.

She paused. _'Hm.. I wonder how soon until our stop...' _

Soon the subway train got to their destination.

"Here we are. Come on Miss Uo. It shouldn't be that much further to go." Aoki said, walking off the train with her.

* * *

Just as he stood away from Shouri, Seishirou suddenly glanced up just in time to see Subaru penetrate the workings of his illusory world, colliding with him and shoving him to the ground on his. He landed with a grunt, and instantly the illusion shattered, raining sakura petals all across the vicinity.

Unable to say anything with his jaw in this condition, Sumeragi Subaru pushed Seishirou down as forcefully as he could with his dwindling strength. His eyes were angry; if he could speak, most certainly his words would have been "Where is Hokuto?"

Shouri now took the time to recover. His eyes flew quickly to Subaru, just as the illusion vanished. He did not relent from his defensive position, nor did he say anything as he watched the two. He felt the anger radiating from Subaru, however, and took a step back. In his mind, he heard himself swearing. 'If he hurts Subaru...' He wouldn't stand for it. He would soon have to release the negative energy...

Stunned by the force with which Subaru shoved him against the ground, Seishirou glared up at his counterpart with a smirk in his usable eye. Without a word, he lifted a foot and shoved it into Subaru's middle, with the intent of sending the younger man flying off of him, so he could at least stand.

Subaru _oof_-_ed_ as he was pushed off of Seishirou, and a few feet away; despite this, he tried once again to reach for Seishirou, to stop him from hurting Shouri. Even now, he was desperate for a compromise; all he wanted was to have his sister and Shouri again. He didn't want this to all end this way. Because of his stupidity, he put two of his special people in harm's way. And he'd do anything to secure their safety. Anything.

Shouri paused a moment, lowering his guard for a split second. He didn't like how close Subaru was to Seishirou. It made him very antsy. He couldn't attack, either... hopefully Seishirou hadn't noticed. Why had he let Hokuto go? Why had he hesitated not to try to get her to stay? He faltered, trying to calm himself. His frustration nearly built the growing pain within.

Seishirou sensed Shouri's hesitation; he also sensed Subaru's desperation. As he got to his feet and brushed himself off, it was clear to him that he had the advantage here, despite the odds of two against one. He paused then, glanced from one to the other, then finally resting his eyes on Subaru. The young man was beaten to a bloody pulp, and yet still he longed only to help others. And still he appeared to Seishirou so beautiful...despite his cruel injuries. He frowned slightly. Only slightly. He had not wanted to fight in the first place. He could easily kill Subaru and get the kekkai to fall. But what was the point in that? How would he ever get his last wish if he did that? So, slowly, he approached the fallen young Sumeragi, removing his jacket as he advanced. His eyes never left Subaru's. Kneeling down beside him, he draped the coat over Subaru's shoulders and gently ran his fingers through the man's hair. "I can do nothing about your sister. Kamui-sama has her now." His voice was almost...sorrowful.

"I...ie," Subaru managed to breathe out. He tossed a clenching fist at the ground, so hard that he opened a new wound in his hand; all motivation of avenging Seishirou was wiped out. This was the whole reason why she was gone, right? Because he was stupid...

Shouri said nothing, moved not an inch. There seemed to be a drop to nothing in the hostility level. All of that negative energy built up and he could do nothing with it? He paused and finally allowed himself to drop to one knee, to subdue the force within him momentarily. If Seishirou wanted to fight, then he would be ready. If this turned out to be nothing more than a skirmish, he would calculate the distance to the shrine and either unleash the energy into the ground, or get Subaru to Matsuko's and ask for her assistance in the dispelling. He closed his eyes for a moment. _'...Shimatta...,' _he cursed to himself.

Softly Seishirou stroked Subaru's bloodstained cheek with his thumb. "I'm truly sorry, Subaru-kun," he added with a soft smile. "It's out of my hands now. I don't even know where he took her." Glancing up at the peak of the barrier, he tapped his chin thoughtfully with his free hand. "Something about...someone named 'Kakyou'." Then he shrugged. "Though I have no idea who that is." And this much was true.

Unable to ask any questions, he simply nodded. Kakyou, Yuurei's lover, right? And Hokuto's...too. But why had she chosen Kakyou over him? Was he not important to her?

Seishirou smiled sympathetically. "I know you must be hurting. But neither of us can do anything about it as long as this barrier of yours is standing. Now I know you don't trust me, but there's really no other way..."

Upon hearing those words, Shouri stood up without hesitation. He didn't plan to attack, but he didn't trust Seishirou, either. Both Subaru and himself were injured badly and could easily be taken advantage of.

Suspicious, Shouri allowed the energy to recharge a bit more. His thoughts were more towards protecting Subaru should something crazy happen, and had to force himself to ignore thoughts of revenge...at least momentarily. He grunted, ignoring the physical discomfort as his emerald orbs locked onto Seishirou, warning him of the consequences of any foolish plots that might be put into play should Subaru submit to the man's wishes.

Subaru nodded; he was willing to compromise, if the stakes were high enough. However, communication would prove incredibly difficult in this negotiation, considering Subaru's state.

Understanding Subaru's predicament, Seishirou gently lifted the younger man's upper body into his arms, cradling Subaru's shoulders against his stalwart chest. Lifting a hand to the man's jaw, he stroked the broken bone delicately. "You should really get this examined," he murmured almost playfully. "I'm very sorry I had to be so rough with you.

"Now...I can take you anywhere you need to go, but I suggest you tend to your wounds before you go out searching for Hokuto..."

The boy eased up a little, slowly approaching the two and allowing some of the negative energy to disperse as he walked, enough so that it wouldn't leave a trail behind him. "... My home isn't far from here. Matsuko-sama could tend to all needs... more than likely, she already knows." His voice was much more calm than it had been, but still revealed his inner struggle. He glanced at Subaru. "The Priestess could certainly fix that and restore a considerable amount of energy... and I'm afraid I'll have to go there.. this negative energy... is far too much for me to handle."

Subaru nodded at Shouri's suggestion, unable to say much himself. That was probably the best, and safest place to go. But why was Seishirou acting like this? It left him mystified.

"Break it and I'll give you one hell of a time." Shouri warned. "Besides, you'd be a fool to do so when so close to the shrine."

The boy nodded slightly. Again, he felt that secret pull in his heart. He almost wondered what it was that kept him in the dark at all times. Ignoring it again, he nodded and simply waited for the kekkai to fall, still cautious.

Seishirou shrugged. I don't think you're in any position to make threats," he replied, tenderly lifting Subaru from the ground, "but if you feel you need to boost your ego, then go right ahead." He turned to face Shouri for the first time, a pleasant smile on his face. "Now...as soon as the kekkai is lowered, you can lead the way."

Subaru slowly, albeit reluctantly let down the kekkai; while Seishirou was suddenly being so gentle, he didn't expect the same reaction in a few seconds. He didn't trust Seishirou as far as he could throw him...

Shouri kept his eyes on Seishirou, even as he nodded and motioned for him to follow. He began to walk, unaware of Kaze's movements still. His senses were focused on making sure that Seishirou didn't attempt to double-cross them. He walked more at Seishirou's side and a little bit ahead than right in front of him. He knew better than to fully turn his back on Seishirou..

Seishirou followed, still never laying a harmful hand on either of the young men. Warm blood drenched his hands and sleeves from Subaru's wounds.

Seishirou held him a little closer, applying a bit of pressure to those injuries. It occurred to him once that it should not have mattered, that he cared nothing for whether Subaru lived or died, but it was getting harder and harder to deny it to himself. Still, he did keep his guard up, aware that any moment Shouri might betray the truce as well, for Subaru's safety.

Not that Seishirou had anything better to do, of course. Now the Fuuma was gone, and Yuuto and the genetic doll had disappeared somewhere, Seishirou truly had little more to do than either fight or play. If he fought, he knew he would win. But...playing was so much more interesting...

Subaru felt his eyes flutter in the dim light; it was easier for him to hold on to consciousness now that the kekkai was gone, but even so, the pain was overwhelming. As much as he tried to move his jaw to speak, he could barely get out unintelligible syllables. Instead, he lay there, like a limp rag doll, waiting for Seishirou to take him to his final destination, wherever that may be.

The closer they came to the shrine, the more pained Shouri felt. Matsuko would surely box his ears and give him a good lecture before another boxing would occur. It had to be done, though. The pain from nearing the temple was caused by the obvious pure energy radiating from it. Matsuko knew. Shouri shuddered as hugged himself while they walked, shivering as though in a blizzard.

He cast a glance back at Subaru and Seishirou, but looked ahead again quickly. If he looked at that man, he would only think of more hateful thoughts.. and he didn't want to gain any more negative energy.

Shouri kept walking, despite himself. Soon, very soon, he would be home... and things would be fine.

The cold spirit energy bit into Seishirou's body like an ice pick. Silently he uttered a few words, placing a protective shield around both himself and Subaru, keeping them from the frigidity.

This shrine was indeed dangerous to those such as himself. And Subaru was not pure either--not like he used to be. Stifling a sigh, he glanced down at the younger man. He used to be so innocent...so sweet... And now... Seishirou had done this to him; he knew very well what he had done. "Subaru-kun..." Was he speaking out loud? What was he doing? "I... Go-...gomen..."

Subaru's eyes widened in surprise, the only response he could give to Seishirou's apology; he didn't know what to think! Was this all some sort of facade, some ploy by Seishirou to get Subaru to trust him? As suspicious as he was, more than anything, he wanted to believe that this was Seishirou speaking, and not merely a voice.

The chill slowly faded. It had acted like a warning to an unwanted guest, but Shouri proceeded to walk up the tall stairs of the shrine. He knew who would greet him... and as he stepped closer, he felt his stomach bounce as he came to a halt at the top. The shrine had nearly tried to repel him, but had recognized him immediately as an inhabitant and stopped. This area that it was built on was ancient, and very well preserved, causing the shrine to react as one might have centuries ago.

The boy looked up and sighed as he took in the air. Fresh. Clean. He loved it. His anger died down to a degree as he opened his emerald orbs, lost in memories. For a moment, he almost thought he saw a small boy standing by him, covered in dirt with ripped clothes, greeting a kindly old woman. As the image faded, he saw that same woman standing in front of the large double doors on the porch of the shrine. "Matsuko-sama..."

Glancing up at the woman who stood on the porch step, Seishirou took a step closer and offered a charming smile. "Konban wa," he greeted. "My...friend here is quite injured, and Shouri-kun mentioned that you might be able to help him. I'd be most appreciative if you would take care of him for a while."

* * *

Kakyou's brow furrowed. "But why..." And then like the stab of a knife he understood. Yuurei wanted her to protect him, to watch over him...to love him.. And Kakyou found that that wasn't at all what he wanted. Lowering his head again, the tresses on his shoulders fell forward to cover his face, as the tears continued rolling down his cheeks...

Hokuto didn't want to be selfish. She didn't want to claim Kakyou. All she wanted was for him to be happy. "I'm sorry." That was all she said. She smiled slightly and placed her hands on both sides of his face, forcing him to face her. "It's alright."

Fuuma moved toward the reunited couple, smiling down at Kakyou. "What's the matter you two?"

Kakyou looked at Hokuto and then his eyes flashed toward Fuuma as the man sauntered over. Moving his tear stained face back to Hokuto he whispered, "Is it?" his voice quivery, his eyes boring into hers...

She nodded, still smiling. "It is." She realized all she really wanted had always been for the people she loved to be happy. Subaru, Kakyou. It didn't matter if she couldn't have everything. Because seeing them happy made her happy. "If he brings you out into the light, then it's alright." She turned her head and smiled at Fuuma. "It's nothing."

Fuuma nodded and stood silently in the background. He eyed Kakyou with a smile, a hand touching Hokuto's shoulder.

Kakyou continued to watch her. "..but he doesn't anymore...he doesn't want to.."

She shook her head, the cheerful side of her surfacing. "He does so. You don't know how much he wants to. But he feels he can't." She felt better now. Seeing Kakyou like this was torture, but knowing Yuurei could take it away was all she needed to know. "Because he's the Ten no Ryu's Watcher."

"Oh you're seeing Yuurei still?" Fuuma's smile grew darker, his shadow loomed over Kakyou.

Hokuto panicked as Fuuma grew menacing. He couldn't hurt Kakyou. She stood up, shielding the yume-mi. "Don't."

Kakyou shook his head at Fuuma, tears still streaming down his pale cheeks and said softly, "No... he broke it off himself.. "

Fuuma looked at Hokuto, his smile brightening. "I'm not going to hurt Kakyou...after all...I'm going to get his revenge for him. For the pain he caused Kakyou by getting involved."

She shook her head slightly, turning back to the dream gazer. "How long... has it been since you met him?" She didn't know why she asked. But she'd wondered since the first time she'd met Yuurei.

Kakyou shook his head at Fuuma. "Please don't... Just because he..." he stopped not wanting to say anymore. Turning his gaze back to Hokuto, he grabbed his knees and pulled them to his chest. "It's been so long I don't remember... I met him in my dreams..."

Fuuma smiled evilly and turned away from Kakyou. He eyes Hokuto out of the corner of his eye.

"And how long have you loved him?" She needed to be blunt. She needed to make a final decision. And to do that, she needed to know every detail. Smiling up at Fuuma, she reassured him. _I need to do this_

Fuuma nodded and he looked into the black abyss. He wasn't apart of this...He smiled however, because despite all the snags everything was happening according to plan.

Kakyou watched Fuuma go before answering in a whisper, "...He was there for me through everything...I think...I think my heart was his before I ever realized it..."

Fuuma turned back to Hokuto. "There isn't much time left."

"I won't be long." She looked into Kakyou's eyes and found reassurance. "I'll bring him back to you. He brought me back because he wanted you to be happy. Having him will make you happy." She stood up and took Fuuma's hand again. "Don't worry. He will come. I'll make sure of it."

Fuuma turned back to Kakyou, smiling darkly.

Kakyou watched them still, silent now... the tears ever so slowly slowing... he gazed at Hokuto his eyes like golden pools if you stared into them you would be sucked in... "Please don't leave me... I.. I don't want to be alone..."

"Mayouko is here. In the physical sense at least." She smiled. "I'll come back." She let Fuuma's hand go and bent down to look at Kakyou once again. "I love you. Remember that." Straightening up, she grasped for the hand she had just let go again and waved at Kakyou. "I'll see you soon!"

"If you wish to remain here...then you may..." Fuuma looked off to the distance.

Kakyou shuddered... Mayouko wasn't someone he really wanted to be left with... "You don't know her do you..."

Hokuto followed Fuuma, out of Kakyou's dreamscape. She didn't hear Kakyou's last words, not the fear and contempt in his voice or his shudder.

Fuuma eyed Kakyou's sleeping form in the real world. He looked to Hokuto, smiling darkly. "You could've remained."

"No." She shook her head. "Then I would have never been able to leave."

Mayouko smirked as they both awoke. "Welcome back to reality. Would either of you care for some tea?"

Fuuma nodded slowly. "I suppose you wish to part ways now? After all your brother might not approve of me as your company." He turned to Mayouko with a grin. "Yes please!"

Hokuto shook her head slightly, not wanting to part with Fuuma just yet. "But I have to return to him soon." Smiling at Mayouko, she nodded. "Thank you, yes."

Mayouko chuckled, "Knowing Subaru...he would indeed be very unhappy..." she glanced at Kakyou's sleeping body and gave a sly smile. "It still amazes me what makes people love him.." Shaking her head, she smiled at the two and beckoned. "Right this way..." she said, leading them into the kitchen and putting on the teakettle.

Fuuma smiled at Hokuto and put a hand on her shoulder. "How about we get that Ice Cream later."

She nodded, smiling cheerfully. "Yes!" Following Mayouko into the kitchen, she pointed to the cups. "Want some help?"

"Ice cream hmm..?" Mayouko grinned and said in a teasing voice, "Do you propose getting ice cream to every girl you meet?"

Fuuma laughs and help up his hands in mock defense. "No no...I just like Ice Cream...and every time I try to get Seishirou to go someone shows up and we have to fight."

Mayouko shook her head at both of them, as she got three cups down and places them on the table. "Thank you but I'm fine Hokuto. Take a seat and that way we can talk..." she continued, gesturing to the pillows the surrounded the low table.

* * *

The old woman casually glanced to Shouri for a moment before she looked back. She sensed odd powers or energies in all three of them, but surprisingly Shouri, too. An ominous presence seemed to hover around Seishirou and Shouri, both- something that she wasn't too comfortable with. Upon seeing a light smile and pleading eyes from Shouri, however, she nodded at the others.

"I will gladly attend to any friend of Tokuichi-san." Matsuko smiled lightly.

In truth, Matsuko looked as though she were only in her late thirties, with the exception of her white hair. Wrinkles were almost zip... But one could tell that her body was tired, despite her youthful appearance. It must have had something to do with the shrine itself, and its natural purity. She had been born and raised there, and so she was far stronger than a normal human as its priestess and protector.. not to mention the fact that she aged slower.

"Matsuko-sama..." Shouri trailed off, lips opening, but no words came. He wanted to tell her that he was sorry about losing control, but the sudden frown made him stop.

"We will speak of it later, Shouri. Right now, your friend needs attention." Matsuko turned back to face the other two. "Please, follow me."

Shouri watched her turn and walk back into the shrine, her sandals barely making a sound upon the wooden floor of the shrine. He didn't follow. He simply stared. Apparently the energies that protected the shrine were calming... of course, the fact that the boy remained in his negative state still put it on edge.. not to mention the two Ryu...


	57. Chapter 55: The Truth Revealed

**Chapter Fifty-Five: The Truth Revealed**

_"I...I want you..."  
_  
Kotori pulled back a bit farther than the space Kamui had left between them. "Oro?" she asked him. She looked at her lap, and placed her hand there. She wrung her dress end in her hands. "Kamui..."

Kamui leaned forward and placed his hands on top of hers. "I...I want to make love to you..." he said.

"I..." She knelt her head lower, and looked at Kamui's hands on top of hers. "Kamui-chan...I love you, I do...and..." She sighed deeply, taking the deepest breath possible.

"I want you, I won't deny I've thought about that. But...I don't want to be hurt! I don't want..." She looked up suddenly, staring at Kamui with deep eyes. "I don't know if it'll be the same. I don't want it to be like with Fuuma!"

He took a hold of her hands, placing one upon his cheek and the other on his heart and moved closer to her. "It wont.." he said softly. "I love you...I would never hurt you. You know that..."

"I..I know that.." She smiled weakly at Kamui. "I'm just scared. I know you would never ever hurt me." She smiled, and leaned forward, kissing him softly. "I trust you, Shiro Kamui."

Pulling Kotori closer, his lips locked on to her. And with trembling hands, slowly unbuttoned her dress, letting his slide of her delicate shoulders.

Kotori continued to kiss Kamui, still unsure, even though she knew that she could trust his word. He played with her buttons, and she wasn't sure what she was doing. Last time, it was by force. Now, it was...

She slowly reached out, and her thin fingers latched to Kamui's blood stained shirt. She tried to work away at the buttons, but her fingers sometimes slipped. She kept kissing him to keep him occupied. She couldn't do anything if he saw how stupid she was!

Still pressed against Kotori's tender lips, Kamui took a hold of her hands and guided her, helping unbutton his shirt. He slipped it of his frail body and tossed it aside.

Kotori allows him to guide her fingers, while letting her fingers caress his silky skin as she removes the shirt.

Her very touch against his bare skin caused Kamui to shudder. Placing her hands against his chest and pulled her closer as he began to slip his right hand up her thigh, slowly leaving a tail of warm kisses down her neck.

A small sound escapes her throat. "Mmn." She felt his rough hand slide up her silky skin. It was so warm, and comfortable against her thigh. Carefully, she pressed her bosom against his hard chest, as her hands slowly and sensually slipped around to his back. The feel of his lips on her throat made her picture his lips elsewhere on her body, making her blush.

A slight blush crept across Kamui's face as he felt Kotori's soft warm breasts upon his chest. Reaching behind her with trembling hands, he unhooked her bra, kissing her shoulders as the straps fell loose.

He felt so warm.. Kotori arched her back towards Kamui. She felt him unhook her bra as it slowly fell off to the ground. So, now they stood skin to skin, and she could feel his texture. Oh, how she wanted those lips to go down her neck, to her chest, to feel them there! Just the thought of it almost made her moan. This was not like Fuuma...she enjoyed it...

Kamui's hands slipped up Kotori's trim waist and cupped her soft breasts. The very feel of them caused him to tremble lightly. Trying his best to contain himself, Kamui massaged them gently as his lips made down her chest and against her nipple.

Kotori's nipple hardened from the touch of his lips. Her fingers run through his silky hair as her lip part in a soft moan. Her breathing becomes more heavy, making her chest heave up and down.

Kamui could feel her hot breath against the back of his neck as he leaned against her, using his weight to rest her down against couch. His lips locked on to hers passionately for a moment till he parted away and hovered over her. Reaching down, he began to unbuckle his pants.

Kotori shook her head carefully at Kamui. "No." she murmured, as she reached down and took hold of his hand. She pulled it back and placed it on her cheek. Then, she went back, guiding her hands to unbuckle his pants herself.

Kamui sat back with his face reddened as Kotori began to undo the buckle on his pants. Helping her, he slipped off his pants revealing a pair of dragon print boxers. He was almost embarrassed to be seen like this, but his mind was put to ease as Kotori placed his hand on her cheek. Discarding his pants to the side, he leaned forward and locked his lips with her once more as his right hand slowly made its down side and into her panties.

Kotori smiled at the dragon print. Interesting. Somehow, she always imagined him like that. He was so cute. She could just eat him up. She leaned back a little to look at him in the eyes. She gave him a wink, and then,... She felt his hand slip into her panties, and her mouth opened in awe. They were so rough against her tender paradise, and so warm. For a moment, she was left in shock. She leaned forward and kissed his chest gently, bringing him closer to her as she did so.

A soft moan escaped Kamui's mouth as he felt Kotori's tender lips against his chest. His hands slipped closer and his fingers slowly entered inside her.

"Eh.." Kotori moans. She closes her eyes shut as she pushes herself against the arm of the couch. She was afraid, and she would not lie about it, if she was asked. She gritted her teeth, and... But it wasn't horrible. Not yet anyway. It wasn't like with Fuuma...

Kamui quickly slipped out his upon seeing Kotori's reaction. "Kotori-chan, am I hurting you?" he asked worried.

Kotori shakes her head furiously. She sometimes actually wondered if she would ever feel after the time before. She didn't know. It didn't hurt. She opened her eyes slowly and smiled. "No, No..." She laughed. How foolish she was being! "I was just a bit scared."

Kamui stared lovingly into Kotori's eyes as he took upon her hand, letting her feel the rapid beat of his heart. "I'm scared to..." he said. "But...everything will be fine. I promise I wont hurt you..."

She felt his heart under her palm, beating rapidly. She looked at him, and her hand, and him again. "I know." She smiles and pushes forward, kissing Kamui's fingers. "I trust you."

Smiled gently and kissed the back of her hand. releasing his grip, he slowly slip his hands down her waist and took a hold of the elastic bands of her panties. He slowly slipped them off her delicate thighs and tossed them aside. A gentle smile crept across his face as he stared at her naked body. "Your so beautiful..." he said.

Kotori felt a huge blush rise to her cheeks. She moved a hand over her chest, obvious to the fact that he's already seen them, and attempts to hide. "No…No I'm not..." she whispered.

He stared down at her with a mixture of love, confusion, and wonder embedded in his dark eyes. "I...I don't really know what to do," he  
stammered nervously, momentarily looking away. "But...I do know that...I want to be with you. I want you...to be with me." Again he looked at her, this time more distinctly, with a stronger hint of determination in his eyes. "I want to fill your emptiness, Kotori-chan. Both in your heart and...and..." But the word could not quite make it past his lips...

Kotori listened intently. She stared at him, her brown eyes wide. What was he trying to say...? She loved Kamui. She had loved him for a very long time. She refused to look down at him, to admire him. If Kotori would, she knew right away that she would die. "I want to be with you, Kamui." She looked away. He didn't know what to do? Neither did she, so there was no way she could tell him anything. She knew that last time was hell, and...well...

"I trust you."

"I..I trust you too Kotori.." he whispered softly. "More than anyone. I feel so safe when I'm around you, like I can be myself and not have to worry." He turned away for a moment, staring away solemnly. "That's why...I want to make you happy. To make you feel like your the most important person in the world. Because you are..."

She breathed softly. This was coming from his heart, she could tell. Everything she ever wanted to hear coming from him, he was now saying. She grasped his face in her hands, cupping his cheeks. "I will be with you always." She hated waiting now... God, where did such an innocent girl get so many new emotions?!

"As I will always be with you..." he said and presses his lips upon hers. Slowly, he began to inch his way inside of her, grasping her left thigh as he did so.

She doesn't have time to answer. Kotori moans. He slowly slipped into her, and she hardly noticed. Strange, she thought. She wrapped her arms delicately around Kamui's waist...

A soft moan escaped Kamui slips as he began to slip in deeper into Kotori's sweet paradise. Slowly, he began pleasure her, breathing heavily as he did so.

Kotori's breath was heavy. She pushed against him, her choppy nails raking against his back.

Kamui flinched as he felt Kotori's nails against his skin. He began to pleasure her faster now, sweat glistening chest. He pick Kotori up gently and set her down on his lap, kissing her soft tender lips.

Her nails dragged across his skin sensually. Her moans increased, her voice rising higher...louder. She leaned against him, skin to skin. Her lips connected against his own; her breath hot and heavy as she murmured his name against them, slipping her tongue into his mouth.

The feeling was incredible, like nothing Kamui had ever experienced before. It was as if his very soul began to connect with hers. His love became hers, her pain became his, their very emotions began to intertwine.

Intertwining...she was mangled in his arms, almost a captive. His thrusts eating away at her, her emotions flaming. She wanted to keep at it, every moment, another part of them connected. Something in her finally gave way. With a very... inviting scream, she collapsed against Kamui's naked torso; her breath ragged.

Something began to give way. An incredible feeling deep within him. As if he began to lose control of his self. He cried out her name as Kamui could feel himself reaching his peak. Warmth escaped him. An incredible surge ran through his body as Kamui cling on to Kotori tightly for support.

Kotori sighed, catching her breath, as Kamui grabbed her. She fell back, and pulled him with her as she began to topple off the edge of the couch. "Iie!"

There didn't seem like much he could do at the moment as Kamui began to topple over along with her. Holding her tightly, he flipped her over taken the blunt of the fall and cushioning hers. He laid there for a moment in silence, confused at what just happened. But a slight laugh soon escaped his lips as he stared up at Kotori.

She rubbed the back of her head. Even in the most romantic of moments, she was falling over. Some things never changed. She looked confused, as she stared at Kamui, wondering what he was laughing at.

He placed a hand gently on her cheek and brushed back her hair, staring into her eyes for a moment. You haven't changed..." he said with a gentle smile.

She let her hand drop to side. She blushed, and Kotori bent her head down, letting the sweat-dripped, blonde locks cover her face again. "I haven't changed...? "

Kamui shook his head as he sat up. He reached out and gently tilted up her chin. "Hai. Your still that same, beautiful, wonderful, caring girl I left seven years ago..."

Her heart skipped a beat, and her stomach lurched. This was the Kamui she knew and loved. Not the boy she had run into the other day that was so cold to everyone. Not the boy she had invited to dinner with Yuzuriha and Arashi. She smiled softly.

"Kamui..."

His arms slowly wrapped around her, pulling her close. He didn't want to let her go. He wanted to stay forever in her arms and keep her safe. "I...love you Kotori..." he said softly in her ear.

Kotori kissed his cheek softly. "I love you too, Kamui." She leaned against him, lying on top of him. She just wanted to stay like this forever.

* * *

Uo paused for a minute, but quickly picked up the pace, following Aoki out. She was more than eager to get to their destination. She still needed to phone her mother.

Ever since her mother had began to hang out with those weird people, she had acted very differently. It made Uo worry. Her mother was... well, much more... violent than usual. Her mother was NEVER violent. She just didn't like it... and she had come to fear upsetting her mother.

"How much farther?" she asked, similar to a child who kept asking 'are we there yet?'.

Aoki laughed a bit.

"It should just be around the next corner." he told Uo.

He ran a hand through his hair, which just fell back into it's original position.

"Yay!" Uo exclaimed with the excitement of a typical school girl.

She seemed to skip rather than walk. Really, she was just happy to be out-and-about, and almost to a place where she could find out what was going on with her friends! Her smile seemed to fail a little as she thought about a few things.

_'... I almost left for ice cream rather than to go and find Yuzuriha-chan and Kotori-chan...I wonder if Kamui-san's alright, too? And what about Fuuma? Where is he anyways? He had better not have hurt any more people... just wait until I find him! I'll give him a piece of my mind and be sure that he chokes on it! Grr... what's UP with him anyways!?'  
_  
Her thoughts seemed to race. _'And where's my journal?! Stupid thing.. it had better not have gotten into the wrong hands...'  
_  
Wiping her thoughts clean, she focused on the matter at hand! Finding her friends! She blinked at Aoki before noting, rather off-topic:  
"You sure do take good care of your hair..."

_'... Almost like Yuuto-san...'_

And at that point, Uo tripped and fell flat on her face.

* * *

Subaru closed his eyes. He didn't want any of this. Not even Seishirou holding him. Seishirou wasn't even supposed to be holding him! What was Seishirou doing here, anyway?!

Subaru's head started to ache, and he tried to calm his thoughts, unsuccessfully. He sighed loudly.

Did Kakyou mean more to Hokuto than he did? He never once felt that way; if Subaru ever had to choose between Seishirou or Hokuto (back in the old days), it would have been Hokuto. Surely.

But she left him. Subaru's heart was filled with a sense of betrayal. He wished Seishirou wasn't here, he wished he had never met Shouri again, and he wished he could just end this stupid battle with his own hands. He shouldn't have to suffer any longer. After everything he had been put through, the least he deserved was a hasty ending to a seemingly never-ending battle, and a peaceful life (or afterlife) afterwards.

His jaw ached. How Subaru wished for once that he had the ability to heal...

* * *

Yuzuriha faded in and out of consciousness, her hand clutching her chest wound, tightly. The more pressure she applied, the less it hurt, and thankfully, Arashi's aid helped significantly to ease the pain slightly.

Stupid. She was stupid. There was no way that someone as weak as she was could take on a Chi no Ryu.

Suddenly, Yuzuriha bolted up. "INUKI!" She finally realized that her dog was still in sword-form, with the Chi no Ryu.

* * *

Kaori slowly relinquished her grasp around the young boy's slightly- beaten frame, and lay two strong hands on his shoulders.

"Okita...-kun," Kaori uttered, before managing to get the rest out in a whispered breath, "Your parents are dead."

Before he could ask any questions, she answered immediately. "They were murdered, Okita. I...I went to your house, to see if you were there," Kaori smiled lightly, although her eyes were crying. "You were late for your photo shoot you know," she lectured playfully, trying to keep his spirits up, rather unsuccessfully, at that. "But when I got there, I was too late. They were already dead."

"I overheard...that they're looking for a man with long, dark hair. Wearing a trench coat. The neighbor, he got a good look at him, so they'll find 'em soon, Okita. He'll be brought to justice," she said, trying to sound optimistic. She knew it wasn't helping...

"I'm so sorry, Okita." She grabbed him tightly, holding him close, mostly for her own sake. She didn't want to cry in front of him. She'd have to be strong, if only for him.

"You can stay with me, Okita? I'll pull out the sofa bed, and..."

Okita's eyes widened, he smiled nervously. "That's not very funny Kaori-chan...That's a horrible thing to say to me...it's not funny at all." The shock was filling his mind as he nervously laughed. He felt his eyes get moist. "You can't be serious, Kaori-chan."

Kaori shook her head. "I only wish I was joking...Okita-kun." Kaori hiccupped; her eyes were burning. She knew that she'd start crying in a few minutes if she didn't calm down. Swallowing back a deep breath, she echoed, "I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry."

Okita pulled back and fell to his knees. His eyes were growing wide like a small child, watering up as the fear overtook him. She had to be kidding but she was Kaori... Kaori barely ever joked and something this cruel was beyond her. He shook his head not wanting to accept this outcome. "No...This can't be true...THIS CAN'T BE POSSIBLE!!!!" The shriek went over like a high pitched siren, shattering the glass around them. He didn't want this to be true.

Kaori fell to her knees, covering her ears with her small hands. She squeezed her eyes tightly, before prying a clamped hand away from her ear long enough to grab Okita's pant cuff. "O...Okita, you have to stop this..." A nearby window shattered, showering her with crystal rain, slightly cutting up her tanned face. "...STOP THIS NOW!" she demanded, after it seemed that her first effort wasn't getting through to him.

Okita's burned with tears, he was defenseless...He didn't want this. He would never see them again and this was something he would never accept...Why did they have to be taken from him. He shrieked again, setting off a car alarm, shaking with the fear and loathing that went through him.

"STOP THIS!" Kaori screamed louder, slowly dragging herself to her feet, in a feeble attempt to resist the sound waves pressing against her forcefully. "O-KITA!" With a sudden jerk of her arm, she sent her hand barreling into Okita's face.

She immediately regretted it a second later. She was...so stupid.

Okita flew back, silently staring at the ground. It was so hot on his face...yet the rest of his body was cold. He silently sniffed as time passed.

"I'm sorry, Okita." Kaori offered the boy her hand. "Let's go home and get you cleaned up." Kaori was doing what she could do best; she was ignoring all those thoughts, all those people, all those things she didn't want to think about. She acted like nothing was wrong at all. But she ached inside. And it was a pain that wouldn't stop hurting you.

"I really can't believe you, sometimes," she lectured, arm still extended. "You really need to learn not to get yourself into so much trouble. I'm going to have to reschedule your photo shoot for next week or something! Really, Okita! You need to learn to be more responsible," she huffed.

Okita sniffed once more and finally looked up with a forced smile...so weak it felt like it was his last. "Gomen...I shouldn't have been so careless Kaori...I don't know why you put up with me." He took her hand.

"Really! You should learn to appreciate your manager a lot more," Kaori said, giving Okita a playful poke on the nose. Even after she helped Okita up, she never let go of his hand, clasping it tightly; although she was genuinely worried about Okita, she wasn't going to let him know.

She grasped his hand tightly, closing her eyes in silent contemplation, her footsteps following Okita's lead; she allowed her energy to flow into Okita, and his wounds slowly began to materialize on her voluptuous body, making sure to take only the wounds that wouldn't be visible on her, at least in this suit.

When she opened her eyes again, she felt much better. Well, physically, she felt EXHAUSTED. And roughed up. But inside, knowing that she could still do something useful for Okita...

She felt better already.

Okita blinked, suddenly feeling a lot better physically. He was still emotionally weak, his smile finally dying...It would be a rare sight from now on. "Kaori-chan...I.."

"Hmmmm?" Kaori turned to Okita, smiling. "What? Is there something that you can't tell your beloved manager?" For a minute, Kaori feigned surprise, with a exaggerated _-GASPU!- _"It's a girl, isn't it!" She shook her finger at Okita, and began her lecture, "I already told you, girls are big trouble; if anything you should go for a man!"

Okita blushed and looked away. "You are such fan girl sometimes Kaori..." His joy fell once more and he looked kind of dark for a moment. " I'm going to find who killed them...and return his gesture."

Kaori nearly beamed Okita upside the head, but resisted. "Mou! Okita- kunnnn! Don't be stupid!" She sent her lecturing finger back in Okita's face again, "This isn't shoujo manga. If you get yourself into trouble, you might not live!" She gave him an encouraging smile, before adding, "But who could kill a cute face like this?" She squeezed Okita's cheeks, stretching them out hugely. Kaori smiled seriously, this time.

"If anyone kills Okita-kun, I'll have to kill them. And that'd mean I'd probably have to break a nail! And we couldn't have that!" Kaori quickly slipped back into her goofy facade.

Kaori had always been a talented actress; in fact, if it weren't for her successful career as Okita's manager, she probably would have pursued an acting career in the United States; but even before Okita was famous, from the second she first met, she saw the boy had talent beyond comprehension; she vowed that she'd push all her motivations into making Shreek number one in Japan. Even if it killed her!

Her own wish didn't matter.

Her wish was for whatever Okita wished.

Okita sighed and tried to smile but he couldn't. "I have seen a lot over the past few days...I've seen both sides of a war and now destiny has taken my world from me...You're all I have left Kaori-chan...yet I can't help feeling hatred for people in general...the way they took my parents from me is unforgivable." He looked into her eyes and then to the floor. He wasn't aware of Kaori's dream but he had always wanted her to be happy...secretly he had found a love for this woman who put up so much effort for him.

"A war?" Kaori's ear twitched. "What are you talking about?" Her eyes widened. "YOU DIDN'T JOIN A GANG, DID YOU?!" she screeched, loud enough to draw some attention from some nearby fellow pedestrians.

"No no...a war for the world...other people who have powers like mine are battling to save or destroy the world." He looked into Kaori's eyes, there was a new found coldness in his.

Kaori blinked in confusion before taking the time that what she stubbed her toe against was the steps leading up to her condo. With a slight sweat drop, she pushed open the door, her arm palpitating from the pain; she showed no hint of hidden troubles as she smiled at Okita and lead him to the elevator. Kaori daintily poked the button "8", before turning back to Okita, arms folded.

"Okay, now explain this to me in REALLY-SIMPLE-TERMS. What in the world are you talking about?"

"There are people with powers like mine...and there is a secret war to decide the fate of the world...I kind of got caught up with this without really trying. And right now the war is only beginning." Okita laid his head on her weakly, he snuggled close to her looking for comfort.

Kaori seized this opportunity to bring her hand to Okita's forehead. "I think you bumped your head harder than you think," she sighed, the doors chiming as they reached the eighth floor. Still barefooted, she patted to her home, and fumbled over the keys for a few seconds before she made her way in, and plopped on the couch, exhausted.

Okita kept on his feet, staring into space. She didn't believe him...who would? He looked down at her with sad eyes.

"You hungry?" Kaori yawned, forcing herself off the sofa and into the kitchen. "I'll make us some pizza, if you want..." She peeked a head into the living room to check out Okita's expression.

Okita was silent, he kept staring at the floor.

"Are you going to answer me, or am I going to have to shove pizza down your little throat? You know I'll do it!" Kaori said menacingly.

Okita nodded slowly and sat down. He still couldn't believe it.

"You can turn on the TV, if you like!" Kaori yawned. The familiar sound of the freezer opening, a box being ripped open, and the usual crumpling of plastic packaging would lead anyone to presume Kaori's love for frozen food. And that included the cheese pizza she was preparing now.

Okita turned on the television and was horrified to find a report about his parents...revealing a sketch of the person suspected of committing  
the tragedy. He's eyes narrowed when he saw that face. He would never forget that face...That man was on the Dragons of Heaven. The protectors of humanity had wronged him and now he would destroy them or at least the man who took his parents from him.

Kaori peeked a curious head in the living room before running to the TV and turning it off.

"Okay, so maybe not the best idea?" Of course, the murder of the famous Shreek's parents was likely to be covered on every news channel throughout Japan. "The pizza's going to be done in a few, until then, sit tight. No, no, go to my room and grab a t-shirt or something. You've got to get changed out of those filthy clothes-" Kaori's nose scrunched up slightly, "-and into some decent for sleeping!"

Okita looked up to Kaori and gestured for her to come to him.

Kaori approached Okita, giving him a weird look as he did so. "What?" she yawned.

Okita kissed her softly on the cheek. He looked into her eyes. "Never leave me ok? You're the only family I have left."

Kaori flushed immediately, but quickly recovered. "OKITA-KUN, DON'T BE SO SILLY!" she said, giving the boy a too-hard pat on the back. "You're always acting so serious! Lighten up, and we'll settle down with a nice slice of three-cheese pizza and a beer!" Once again, another one of Kaori's facades.

* * *

Yuzuriha was up now. When she bolted up, Arashi slipped back, knocking her head against the side of the car.

"Yuzuriha..." she started.

_"INUKI!" _

Arashi cocked an eyebrow at her friend in thought. "Inuki? What about him...?" And then it hit her.

Damn. How in hell had they forgotten the spirit-dog? Arashi looked at Yuzuriha with sad eyes. She had no idea what to say on the matter...

Noroku sped through the Clamp academy's gate, suddenly hearing Yuzuriha's outcry. He stopped in front of his office.

"What is it?" He looked back at the girl with every concern.

"My dog!" Yuzuriha cried out; apparently, she was pushing herself, as she felt a pain shoot up her spine, and immediately winced.

"I left him there! The Chi no Ryu, they have Inuki!"

* * *

The screams of the Earth were not falling upon deaf ears. Shisa had heard it, even in his 'sleeping' state. The recovery and absorption of energy to strengthen him was going very well, and his body was well rested from the little time he had been within the silver orb. While he could sleep, he could still feel, hear, and watch all that took place...

Including the murder of Okita's parents. The Watcher, hidden in his home in the abandoned area. The Dragons of Heaven. The Dragons of Earth. All of them. Not one thing escaped him. Specific battles were watched carefully... and in honesty, he rather wished that he could intercept. Such thoughts, though, were reprimanded by a brutal force-pull in his mind- a very painful pull.

The Guardian paused as he focused in again after careful analysis of those that his spirit birds were not watching. Kamui and Kotori were safe for the moment, and perhaps even stronger after their intimate bonding. Yuzuriha would need to get stronger. Arashi would have many difficulties in the future with the man that she cared about against them. How could he forget Sumeragi Hokuto and Fuuma? Okita... well, the boy was actually the only one that he was uncertain about. Humans tended to play tricks upon decisions- such as who to fight for. Sorata was a good example, but he had reasons. Okita did, too. The question was what decision they would make? Would the boy fall to darkness and hatred, eventually becoming no better than a murderer? Who knew... only Destiny could decide, not Fate, as it was written in blood by Seishirou.

Something else caught his ever-watchful eye. Seiichirou and Uo were almost at their destination. At least they hadn't encountered anymore Chi no Ryu. It was probably best for Seiichirou at the least, with such a foolish little girl who would walk into any fight, whether it be against Death itself or a small butterfly. Who was he to judge?

His emotionless expression slipped momentarily to a small frown. Who was he to judge? Humans always proved themselves more valuable than expected. That was the beauty of them. Still, those that were not Dragons of Heaven and Dragons of Earth, he thought, should not have been involved in the End of the World, including Shouri! If he could have intercepted, he certainly would have... but what could a Guardian do when a part of him defies his wishes?

Perhaps those children would prove useful in the future, useful to the Earth. Shisa grimaced and allowed his eyes to open momentarily so that he could stare through the crystal orb. No one was there. Good. It was a good sign. The Earth tended to send little tricks to him to see how he was doing. Quite a peculiar planet.

Shisa closed his eyes again, still 'sleeping' as he had been. He put his thoughts of the children aside. They would be fine. Aoki was with Uo and was in pretty good condition, and Okita... well, that child could certainly take care of himself, even if he was with his manager, Kaori. He slowly allowed such visions to fade and allowed the other two focuses to come in. After all, pressuring Anzu to look after all of the Dragons of Earth and Dragons of Heaven, as well as a few kids, would set the spirit bird of fire in rage if he did so for too long.

He allowed his conscious to open to Taer and Kaze once more, his expression becoming neutral once more. Yes, the Guardian must focus on his task... and on nothing else.

* * *

Kaze had to move quickly. While the spirit beast of wind was always accurate, his movements had to work with the wind in order for him to remain unnoticed. He had watched the entire battle sequence, and watched even as Seishirou seemed to... 'change' into a more cheerful and agreeable person. He didn't like him. He didn't like the act, either.

As the wind beast circled the shrine once more, he shifted into a smaller version of himself, no larger than a squirrel, and dived downwards so that he could observe easily. He perched upon one of the statues in silence, unnoticed as he flapped his wings and folded them at his sides.

There was Shouri! The priestess had just gone inside...

The wind beast held back a screech. The negative energy was visible on him?! That wasn't right! That was too much! That could affect a sensitive person very easily and Shouri was VERY sensitive, considering the fact that vengeance was still a primary desire, but he held it off for Subaru's sake... and for his own.

Kaze wished that he could use a healing wind to calm some of it, but Shisa reprimanded him with a smaller push-pull force... and he was forced to remain silent.

* * *

Taer tilted his head from his position, watching the Watcher still through the window. He ruffled his blue feathers once or twice, preening a little as to not look suspicious. His eyes were very concerned, but one could almost not tell with the blue beast. His yellow eyes could display emotion, but not too well.

_'... How long must we watch such things? It saddens me..' _He thought.

Shisa shuddered. So much going on.. so very much. What was worse was that the wailing and moaning of the Earth was very loud in these areas where the people were. It hurt. It hurt worse than hell, yet never did it affect his physical form. Never.

_'... For as long as this world continues to be a playing ground for the Three Fates.'_ Shisa replied poetically into the mind of all three birds.

He would have cried, had he ever figured out the point in doing so. If one was sad, tears were not necessary. Tears could make one weak, so Shisa had never cried. Not once in his life. He had merely suffered in silence because of the pain of the Earth, a great burden that he would never be rid of...

Not even after he was gone from this plain...

With a silent nod, he kept his thoughts open. He would have to watch the Sumeragi twins, and both Kamui's... perhaps even those children, he thought, he might end up protecting. Maybe. Time would tell what his decision would be. After all, certain creatures of his were more than capable of interfering...

But for now, he would watch through the eyes of the Three Elemental Spirit Beasts and suffer in silence while he slept.

_ Beware of the eye that watches you in the dark...  
_

* * *

Arashi blinked. That's right...Yuzuriha was never without Inuki.

Before she could say something else, the car door opened, and Arashi tumbled out. She stood and brushed off the hand of the stranger. She wasn't in the mood.

"Yuzuriha, you rest, and get better. I'll get Inuki back for you." she promised the girl, glancing back into the car. Of course, she wasn't going to leave this very moment, her heart could hardly keep her standing. But, she would.

Her stomach lurched. Going to get Inuki left her the possibility of running into Sorata again. She sighed, and went to help Yuzuriha.

* * *

"No-Noroku! Just WHAT are you doing to this poor girl?" A dark-haired man appeared at the side of the car, shoving his head in the driver's side window so that the head of the CLAMP Campus knew his sentiments.

"Somehow I had a feeling he would be doing something terrible, the way he keeps rushing off like that!" The man turned as an equally dark-haired woman clucked her tongue behind him. She took one glance at the passengers, her eyes resting almost immediately on Yuzuriha. "San-san, you've outdone yourself this time!" She reached for the door handle, calling out orders to her husband as she did so.

Akira shot a questioning look at his blonde-haired friend before dashing off in search of a stretcher of some sort. Utako pulled open the car door with a quick yank, offering her hand to those closest to Yuzuriha.

"Help me get her out of there. We have excellent health facilities on campus, and she looks like she is in desperate need of care." She turned slightly to address the driver. "Noroku-san, I'd recommend helping my husband and leave this girl's care to me. Honestly, the things you get yourself and the rest of us into!"

Noroku smiled nervously and nodded, turning to the ladies. "I'll be back to check on you with Akira-san...Until then enjoy yourselves on campus." He opened the door to his car and looked to Utako, smiling. It was kind of true that Noroku was afraid of the woman Akira married. She was probably the only woman he would do stuff for out of fear rather than duty. He walked after Akira and suddenly seized him by the neck in a headlock. "You've been gone for a long while! Where have you been?!"

Noroku smiled at his long time friend. "I suppose you know what's going on."

Akira nodded grimly. "Certainly a far cry from our days as 'campus detectives', wouldn't you say?" A tight smile graced his lips. "As for me... well, I don't think I should bore you with details. I've been around, is all I guess I'll be saying."

"If you two take any longer, I'll have to find that stretcher myself! And if THAT happens, there will be two more people winding up in the sick bay, and they will look remarkably like YOU!"

Akira laughed, probably the only one of their small group who could ever love Utako enough to withstand her quick temper and frightening personality. "We should get moving. I've known her long enough that I believe her when she threatens something like that." He motioned towards the nearest building. "There should be something in there we can use. If we don't return soon, I believe she may get worse." He smiled at Noroku as he quickened his pace.

Hikari walked out of the car and giggled some at Akira.

"He one of your partners?" she asked Noroku, already knowing the answer to the question, but just amusing herself.

* * *

Nodding his thanks wordlessly to the seemingly middle-aged woman, Seishirou accepted her invitation and carried Subaru's trembling body inside the shrine. He could feel the power radiating through and around his body. Almost as though...the ground itself was nervous with his presence.

Turning back to the woman and Shouri, Seishirou gave his best smile that he could muster. "Where can I lay him? I'd offer to stay and help...but something tells me I'd only be in the way..."

"Here." The woman spoke as she slid one of two slide doors open to reveal a rather peculiar room.

It was obviously a room of importance, for it was located directly by the room where the 'pillar' was, or rather the large fire that never went out. It was decorated splendidly and very detailed with the symbol of Ryuji, the water dragon, decorating the walls. The bed was not low, though the table was. If anything, it was a special room.

Matsuko pointed to the bed before she nodded to Shouri.

The boy ran out the slide doors again, calling down the hallway to a few other residents for what was needed. The fact that they shuddered at the negative energy deployed made him uneasy. The tail of darkness following him was weakening in the pure atmosphere, but it still hurt on the inside. He didn't like seeing his 'family' flinch. He wished that they felt safe and trusted him fully, but he had abuse it by letting himself fall into a rut.

"You do not have to leave if you do not wish to, Sakurazuka-san."  
Matsuko said, her tone gentle yet stern.

She didn't to tell him precisely how she knew his last name. Wouldn't that be a foolish question? She knew more than most people would wager. Her eyes told on her as she gave a slight nod.

"I can only thank you for not killing the boy, at least not yet." She spoke with a purely serious tone. "He is all that I have in my old age. Funny... it seems that he eludes death at every corner. Peculiar for it to happen repeatedly, ne? I believe he might become a nuisance to you after some time."

With a smile, the old woman shook her head. "I will watch over the Sumeragi boy as I have said. You have my word."

She was an odd woman, the way she spoke with such confidence and sincerity, yet with laughter in her voice. She wasn't purely positive, but absolutely not purely negative. Perhaps it was this odd mix that allowed her such a cheery disposition before one capable of ripping her head off in under a second.

Subaru closed his eyes, listening to the woman's voice. Was she a healer? Or perhaps a proficient medic? A doctor? He allowed his thoughts to swallow him whole, trying to ignore the pain of his bleeding flesh.

Why was Seishirou concerned with him? Hadn't he been the one to injure him this badly? This wasn't making any sense...

* * *

Satsuki watched as Fuuma and his two companions leapt away just as she arrived. Apparently, they hadn't noticed her arrival. She shrugged to herself. It was no matter. She doubted she would have enjoyed herself in their company, anyways.

The girl glanced over her shoulder; it seemed that Seishirou had left as well, along with the Sumeragi and his companion. The Sakurazukamori didn't seem to need her help, so there was no need to follow them.

There was only one more person she could think of who might need her assistance: Kigai Yuuto. She doubted that he would need her help, but at least she would have something to do. And, the girl reflected, now that she thought about it, they had missed their afternoon tea today. Perhaps they would be able to make up for it with a dinner tonight. Satsuki smiled to herself, pleased at the possibility of spending more time with Yuuto. She took out her cell phone and dialed, then patiently waited for Yuuto to answer his cell phone.

* * *

Being prodded along rooftop to rooftop by Nataku's new Inuki-sword, Yuuto nearly shed his skin when his cell phone went off in his back pocket. He still had his cell phone with him? Yes, he must have subconsciously transferred it from his dirty trousers to his nice, clean pair of slacks. Pausing to get it out, risking Nataku's emotionless wrath, he held it to his ear.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Good evening, Yuuto-san," Satsuki said as she idly hopped from rooftop to rooftop. She didn't bother to identify herself; she knew that Yuuto would recognize her voice. "Anything new happen?"

"Satsuki-san!" Yuuto practically cried into the receiver, overwhelmed with relief. "You wouldn't believe the night I've had! First getting dumped in a dumpster and left for dead, then going home for a shower and being kidnapped by a psycho clone who's supposed to be on our side!" He tried to keep himself from wailing, sensing Nataku's presence still just behind him. "God, you have no idea how glad I am to hear your voice!"

Satsuki blinked, pausing for a few seconds in her idle wandering to allow Yuuto's words to fully sink in. "You got dumped in a dumpster and are currently being kidnapped by a psycho clone...?" she repeated, at  
first unsure whether she had heard correctly. Then it clicked. "Is Nataku with you right now?" She could hear the panic in Yuuto's voice when he spoke. It seemed that Yuuto was in some sort of trouble, and Nataku was the cause of it. How did Yuuto get himself trapped in a dumpster? And what exactly did Nataku want from Yuuto?

Nodding frantically, temporarily forgetting that his gesture could not be seen from wherever Satsuki was at this particular moment, Yuuto answered in a slightly calmer tone, "Hai. He...she...it...whatever. Nataku's with me."

Satsuki paused again. What was Nataku doing with Yuuto? The last time she saw her comrades, the clone was with Fuuma. Unless... Nataku was sent by Fuuma to do something? "Is everything all right?" she asked hesitantly. Of course, Satsuki knew that everything was not all right. But it was the most comfort she could offer at the moment without knowing what was going on.

"Who are you talking to?" Nataku paused, glancing around Yuuto to catch sight of the cell phone. He waved the Inuki-sword idly. "You can talk as long as you keep moving."

Yuuto sweat dropped. "NO, everything is NOT okay," he answered a bit brashly as he quickly started roof-hopping again. Swatting at Nataku with his free hand he hissed away from the receiver, "I'm moving, I'm moving!"

Satsuki could hear a muted murmuring in the background, evidently from Nataku. Apparently, Yuuto was not having a pleasant time in the company of the clone; he sounded rather nervous. But Satsuki still didn't know what was going on. She decided to get to the root of the problem. "Can I talk to Nataku for a minute, Yuuto-san?" she asked.

Yuuto rolled his eyes sardonically, not at all in the best of moods. "If the androgynous drone knows how to use a phone without breaking it." He turned and eyed Nataku skeptically, then held out the phone to him. "You talk into it. You don't throw it down, you don't crush it, and you don't eat it. Got that?"

Nataku took the phone from Yuuto's outstretched hand and held it to his ear, not reacting to Yuuto's 'instructions'. "Yes. Who's there?"

"Nataku-san? This is Satsuki. I'm one of your fellow Dragons of Earth. You might remember me from earlier today," Satsuki said, quite pleasantly for her. "I just wanted to ask you exactly what you're doing right now," she continued. Hopefully, the clone would tell her what was going on.

"The girl with the captive seal," Nataku replied calmly. He glanced up at Yuuto to be certain the man wasn't intending to flee while he was distracted with the phone. "Right now, I am heading to where the Kamui is, with Yuuto."

Satsuki frowned, puzzled. It all sounded innocent enough. So why did Yuuto say he had been kidnapped? "Do you know why Yuuto is upset right now, Nataku-san?" the girl said, choosing her words carefully. She didn't want to unnecessarily upset the clone and cause further problems.

"I left the door of his apartment open earlier when I went to find him. He wasn't wearing any clothes, and I think he may not have appreciated my entrance." Nataku shrugged. "Kamui requested our presence at the  
kekkai."

Yuuto's eyes widened as he continued to stare at Nataku. "What are you saying to her?!" he shrieked, jumping for the phone and trying to snatch it away from the living doll.

Nataku's ribbons darted about, leveling the sword to prevent Yuuto from actually retrieving the phone. "She asked a question," Nataku replied simply, unfazed by Yuuto's sudden interest in getting back his phone.

Satsuki blinked, eyes wide. She wasn't quite sure if she had heard correctly.

"... You walked in on him... when he wasn't wearing any clothes?" she repeated weakly. "Why wouldn't he be wearing any clothes?" She suddenly wasn't sure if she wanted to hear any more.

"Why weren't you wearing any clothes earlier?" Nataku asked, turning his full attention to Yuuto. "I don't know why, and Satsuki-san would like to know."

Yuuto blinked, backing away as Nataku pointed the sword at him again. "Why...?" Suddenly he fumed. "BECAUSE I WAS TAKING A SHOWER AND DIDN'T THINK ANYONE HAD BROKEN INTO MY HOUSE!"

Nataku blinked slowly. "You had left the door open." He returned his attention to the phone. "I assume you heard that, Satsuki-san?"

Yuuto frowned. "I didn't leave it open--I left it unlocked. I was in a hurry. Haven't you ever heard of knocking before entering?"

Nataku blinked again, uncomprehending.

Satsuki held the receiver away from her ear as she listened to Yuuto's loud screeching. "Yes, I heard that, Nataku-san," she said, quite calmly considering the situation. "Thank you, that answers my question nicely."

"So both of you are going to find Kamui-san now, correct?" the girl asked. She paused again as another thought occurred to her. "...Yuuto does have his clothes on right now, doesn't he?"

"He's wearing enough clothes that no one will be concerned for decency," Nataku answered, "are you heading towards Kamui as well?"

"No, I just missed him," Satsuki replied, shrugging. "But I might as well go with you, since I have nothing better to do at the moment. Where are you two right now?"

Nataku glanced around. "On a rooftop. I don't recognize anything in this area." He looked up. "Yuuto, where are we? Satsuki-san is going to join us."

For the first time, Yuuto glanced around. "Looks like we're heading for the outer edge of Tokyo," he answered more calmly. "Heading in Satsuki's direction, I assume. If Fuuma's not there, though..." He glanced hesitantly at Nataku.

Nataku nodded. "Yuuto says we're heading for the outer edge of Tokyo. Do you know where Kamui went?"

"I'm not sure," Satsuki replied. "I only saw him for a few seconds before he left." She leaped in the direction towards where the cell phone connection was getting clearer.

"Nataku-san, why don't you and Yuuto stay put for a little while?" she said as she bounded across the rooftops. "I'll be there in a minute."

"Alright." He offered the phone to Yuuto calmly. "She'll be here soon."

Taking back his cell, he glanced hesitantly from it to Nataku. "Oh...okay...," he answered, somewhat in a daze from the day's events.

"Yuuto?" Satsuki spoke into the phone. "Hang on, I'm coming. Just take a deep breath. It'll be okay," she said, in what she hoped was a soothing tone.

Yuuto nodded, keeping the cell on, not having the will to hang up. Just hearing Satsuki's voice was soothing.

* * *

Okita silently nodded. He could see right through her act due to experience with her. He didn't let on that he knew but he didn't smile either...something typical of a response to these kinds of acts. All he felt was numbness as the flames of revenge were just catching.

Kaori skipped into the kitchen, opened the fridge and tossed a beer to Okita before flopping on the sofa. She set her watch, opened her bear, and with a long "Ahhhhh!", took a huge gulp. "Good!"

"What's the matter?" Kaori knew damn well what was the matter, but she just needed confirmation of it. She swallowed another long gulp before staring back at Okita.

Okita continued to stare at the can of beer. He finally answered, "nothing Kaori-chan...don't worry about it." He faked a smile to set her at ease. He didn't need to make her on edge as well.

Kaori gave Okita a playful knock on the head. "You can't fool me," she reminds him. "You should know that, after all these years."

Okita smiled for real. "Yeah I know Kaori-chan...don't worry about it though. I don't need to drag you down with me." Down to hell, that was where Okita was headed.

"Don't be stupid!" She took another long sip of her beer. "You going to drink, or you just gonna waste it?"

Okita popped the top and downed it. He let out a gasp for air when he was finished...despite his desire to leave this world...he found himself gripping to life a little too hard.

"If something's bothering you," Kaori finished off her beer just as the alarm on her watch sounded, "...you should talk about it. Don't hold it inside." She crumpled the can and strutted to the kitchen. She opened the stove, pulled the pizza out the oven, tossed the can in the trash, before grabbing another can out of the fridge. She returned with half a pizza for each of them.

"Here. Eat." She offered the plate of three-cheese pizza to Okita, fully expecting him to chow down. Or else!

Okita ate slowly...he didn't want to hurt Kaori anymore than he was...damn it, wasn't there a way to keep her from being hurt? If she only knew the things that are going on behind her back...Okita's mind came to the picture of the man. There was no doubt about it, that man was a Dragon of Heaven. "Yuzuriha...how could you..." He mumbled to himself.

"Hmmmm?!" Kaori blinks in surprise, hiccupping. "Who's Yuzuriha? Your GIRLFRIEND?" she asks, in a sing-song voice.

"No...A friend of mine. She was one of the ones in the car." He blushed and looked at the empty can of beer.

Kaori nudges Okita in the stomach with her elbow. "You can tell meeeee," she says in that same high-pitched sing-song voice. "I won't get jealous! Promise!"

"She isn't my girlfriend...Besides she likes someone else. But I think she's connected to the man they think killed my parents."

Kaori pouted. "Really, you'd think that someone as cute as you would have a girlfriend by now!" She's trying TOO HARD to change the subject.

"No girls like me for me..." Okita accepted the new route of conversation.

"Not even me?" Kaori hiccupped, before adding, "Or am I not a girl?"

Okita blushed and laughed nervously. "I never knew you felt that way Kaori-chan."

"What, I can't LIKE you?"

Okita shook his head. "That's not what I meant...I just never knew." This was certainly getting uncomfortable.

Kaori blinked at the awkwardness of the situation. "WHAT? I JUST SAID I LIKED YOU! YOU'RE A VERY LIKEABLE PERSON!" Kaori was being loud, and even worse, confusing.

Okita smiled nervously. "Oh I'm sorry...Then I misunderstood."

Kaori pulls Okita's cheeks out. "It's WAY past your bedtime young man! You should go to sleep and get some rest!" Kaori strutted over to her closet, pulled out some covers, and threw it over Okita. "I'm gonna go cancel your appointments, and you'd BETTER go to sleep!" she said threateningly. Strange how Kaori went from acting like his friend to his mother in a few seconds.

Okita blinked and stared at the covers. "You know I have my own house...Won't people get the wrong idea?"

"Who cares?!" Kaori ejaculated. "I could care less what people have to say right now." How very untrue.

Okita hugged her softly before starting to make his bed. "Then I guess I'll stay if it'll give you a piece of mind...I should go to my garden tomorrow if it's still there...haven't watered in a day...oh and my bike is by where the hospital was..." Hospital...His eyes began to water. "Hospital..."

"Okita..." Kaori pulled Okita into her arms. Even trying to change the subject wouldn't help now. She tried her hardest, but it wasn't good enough. She'd just...comfort him now. She'd be there for him. That was all she could do.

Okita began to sob into Kaori's shoulder, clutching her close. He would never be in his mother's embrace again. He would never laugh with his father. No more disagreements with things his mom did for his own good. Never again...that was where it all had gone. The tears were drenching her shoulder. "Why did it have to be them?! Why couldn't it have been me? They didn't deserve this..."

Kaori didn't know what to say. She couldn't say she understood, because she didn't. And anything she tried to say, it just wouldn't come out. Instead, she held him, rubbing his back rhythmically.

Okita only met her with more tears. He could never be truly happy again...A part of him was gone. That time his mom surprised him with his first instrument...and the fight that ensued over it's volume.

Kaori held him until Okita finally fell asleep, never relenting her grasp on him, even after he fell asleep. She didn't want to leave Okita alone. But the more that Kaori's lethargic thoughts wandered to it, she realized that she was being selfish. More than anything, there was nothing she didn't want more than to be alone. She needed to be with someone.

Perhaps she was simply using that as an excuse. Justifying her need to be with Okita with his own "need" to be with someone in his own time of need.

She sighed, holding Okita closer to her as she closed her eyes and succumbed to sleep.


	58. Chapter 56: Sweet Goodbye’s…

**Chapter Fifty-Six: Sweet Good-bye's…**

Matsuko walked to Seishirou, gently taking Subaru from him and placing him on the bed. She wasted no time in preparations, for apparently the shrine was very run.

From her pocket, she pulled a small bit of powder, and threw it above Subaru, letting it come down in a gentle mist over the man's body. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She had no doubt that Shouri was already running back with all necessary items- bandages, the proper remedies, not to mention a few other things that would be needed. The other boy and a few other apprentices would do the same. They were a team, but a family, at the same time. They relied on each other.

"Sumeragi Subaru, I presume you can hear me." Matsuko stated, opening her eyes again. "You are currently within the Ryu no Shinsei Unmei Shrine. I am Makamura Matsuko, the keeper of this shrine. You are currently under my care. I will do what I can to ensure you a quick recovery. While you cannot speak, your thoughts will be picked up by our own."

She cast a glance back at Seishirou momentarily before turning her attention back to Subaru. Closing her eyes, she began to chant, no louder than a whisper. If she was going to help the boy, she would have to relieve him of some of the negative energy for anything to work. Otherwise, the temple's purifying energy, which worked similarly to a system, would dispel anything she performed on him.

* * *

Shouri sighed as he made his way back. Indeed, most of the supplies were on their way to the room, thanks to a few of the others who helped around the temple. Now the only thing he had to do was to collect a few necessary items from the special room and a few ashes- the part that he hated most.

* * *

Satsuki hastily leaped in the direction where Yuuto and Nataku were, muttering soothing phrases into her phone as she went. Yuuto sounded as if he was on the edge of a mental breakdown, completely opposite of his usual suave and cool demeanor. Understandably, Satsuki was quite alarmed by this, and was consequently making haste to reach her comrade quickly before he went completely insane.

After a few minutes of bounding from rooftop to rooftop, the girl finally spotted two figures on a rooftop not far off in the distance. She instantly recognized them as her fellow Dragons of Earth, Yuuto and Nataku. Yuuto looked haggard and overcome, with a slightly glazed look in his eyes; he obviously had been having a rough time in Nataku's company. Satsuki could see the reason for Yuuto's anxiety; the clone wielded a rather sharp and dangerous-looking sword, with was pointed directly at the water caster.

The computer girl shoved her cell phone back into her pocket and hastily made her way over to her comrades, finally landing directly in front of them. "I'm here," she announced, more for Yuuto's benefit than for Nataku's. She briefly flashed one of her rare smiles at Yuuto, as if to let him know that everything would be okay now that she was here. The poor man looked as if he desperately needed reassurance.

True to her word, Satsuki set about remedying Yuuto's discomfort. The girl calmly turned to Nataku, casually putting her hands in her pockets. Her gaze settled on the weapon in Nataku's hands. "Is that thing really necessary?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the sword. "I didn't see any Dragons of Heaven on the way here, so there's no need for you to have it out."

Her eyes wandered over the sword, inspecting it more closely. Satsuki didn't know much about weapons, but she could tell that the sword was a fine work of craftsmanship. She couldn't recall ever having seen Nataku with it, though. "That's a very nice sword, by the way," Satsuki commented idly. "Where did you get it from?"

Nataku shrugged, recalling the battle earlier with the young seal. "From one of the Dragons of Heaven. She left it after our fight, so I've been carrying it around." The fabric swirling about him slashed the air idly with the weapon.

"Are we going to find Kamui, now?" The tone seemed akin to begging, or a child asking for something desperately desired.

* * *

Eventually, Aoki and Uo reached the DIET Building and walked in. Aoki led her to the elevator and got in, pressing the appropriate button. The elevator then started on it's way down.

"Oh, Miss Uo. Before we get there, I should tell you that Hinoto can't walk, see, or hear, but you should just talk to her like you normally would to anyone else. She'll understand you just fine." He told her.

Aoki carefully pushed his glassed back up his nose.

"The good thing about being down this far is that my cell phone gets lousy connections, so I don't have to worry about getting yelled at for being late and all." he said with a chuckle.

Uo blinked a few times. Wait a second. If Hinoto couldn't hear... then how in the world could she..? Well, she wouldn't put it past anyone in Tokyo, any more anyways. At least not people that Kotori, Kamui, or Yuzuriha knew. She couldn't put anything past them. Her new acquaintances simply defied all logic, well... at least concerning most laws of logic.

"Ano.. well, I did tell them you'd get there when you could, so maybe we'll just say that you got caught up in a traffic jam, grew frustrated, turned a wrong corner, and was nearly mugged by a strange group of people."

She was half-joking, half-serious. It was believable, if you were in the right part of Tokyo. "Are we there yet?" she asked again, still as childish as ever.

* * *

Hikari walked after Noroku, trying to keep up with him.

"Mr. Noroku, do you have any idea as to where my cousin could be? I really need to know." she said to him.

Hikari looked away a bit.

"You see... his father... is very ill right now and might pass away soon... we've tried to contact him, but haven't had any luck... So I'm trying to find him so he can know and see his father..." She said, starting to cry a bit.

Noroku turned around an sighed. "I have no idea yet but right now I have to help get that girl stable otherwise I'd never forgive myself. We'll look in a little while ok? Don't Lose heart!"

He looked at Akira. "Lets get back before she kills us."

* * *

He let Matsuko take the wounded Sumeragi from his arms and lay him down on a bed. He watched with feigned interest as the woman spoke and started conducting the treatment. He was not needed here. He would only cause more tension. But if he did say so himself, he had avoided unnecessary battle very nicely. He would wait for that fight until Subaru was stronger.

While the old woman's back was turned, Seishirou did not even speak a word of good-bye before turning and heading for the exit. He paid Shouri no heed at all as he walked out the door, down the steps, and back out into the evening air.

Hands in his pocket, he smirked as he returned to the sidewalk and began walking down the street as though nothing had happened. Perhaps they had not even noticed his departure. Or perhaps they had sensed it, and had merely chosen not to acknowledge it. Yes, that was more likely. Whatever the cause, the effect was the same.

Indeed, Seishirou was very good at being invisible.

* * *

Matsuko felt Seishirou's presence vanish from the shrine. She knew that he was gone. She didn't feel any easier, either. The war was just beginning and neither side seemed to have damaged each other... at least to the extent of telling a possible outcome. It made the priestess uneasy, but she kept to her task. She had to remove enough of the negative energy to make a clear connection.

At that moment, a boy entered. It wasn't Shouri, though. Two more children followed him. They were all children of the shrine, loyal to the shrine, Shouri, and to Matsuko.

The oldest, a boy with hair that would make the red fireworks look pale, stood behind the woman in silence, not permitting either children to place any ingredients down. He kept both hands on horizontally to keep them from doing so. Neither said a word. They really didn't quite act like children, but more like drones. Silent. Obedient.

At last, the woman turned to face them. Her white bangs fell in her eyes momentarily as she let her posture relax. She had removed enough of the negative energy to perform the tasks that would be needed.

"Bouygo," Matsuko said as she caught her breath, "Where is Shouri?"

'Bouygo' bowed slightly, flaming red bangs dropping lightly into his eyes. "Shouri-sama seemed to be tired. I told him that I would see to it that you received the necessary supplies in order to allow him time to bathe and make himself decent..."

For a moment, it seemed as though the woman was cross. Her eyes narrowed momentarily before she released a sigh and smiled softly. "Very well then... Mikari, Soujo, I would like you to stay with me and help attend to Sumeragi-sama's wounds. Bouyo, please wait on Shouri-san. I would like to know when he is done."

Bouygo nodded slightly before he placed the large bowl of hot water upon the table beside the bed. He bowed once more and quickly retreated from the room.

"Well then... we have much work to do..." Matsuko stated.

The two children nodded and quickly complied.

It didn't take long for Matsuko to make the concoction that she was working on. It took under ten minutes.

The rest of the time, the little girl was working on a spell to take care of minor scratches and such. While her spell couldn't relieve pain, it could close small wounds. After all, the small girl was aspiring to be much like Matsuko and Shouri, though she wanted to be a healer. She was younger than Bouygo and Soujo, only seven years old, and yet her skills were sharpened to their fullest as she worked.

Soujo had been working on cleaning up the blood. So much of it. He had pressured the wounds the entire time...

When Matsuko was done, she nodded at the two and called for them to back up, which they did. The mixture in her hand was a pure white powder with specks of deep blue. It was an ancient remedy, used to remove pain from the person and make then void to it. She reached into the bowl, snatching out a handful and threw it over Subaru's body. It fell like shooting stars, growing invisible upon contact with the body...

"Alright, children... please back away, close your eyes, and help me as best you can." Matsuko said with a nod.

The priestess closed her eyes as she knelt by the bedside and rested her hands upon Subaru's chest. She would have to work as best she could without the aid of Shouri's natural healing function. It was a boost to have the oldest apprentice at her side, a boost in her confidence as well. Healing was a very delicate process and one that often took up energy. However, she would have to do her best without the boy momentarily.

And so she began to chant, a strange symbol appearing upon her forehead as she began. Her words were almost inaudible, but the tone in which she spoke was soothing. It would take a lot to fix up this man... a lot...

Within seconds, Subaru found himself being laid down, and Seishirou whisked from his sight; while he was somewhat concerned about him, wondering what evil-doing he left for, the pain overwhelming him was more of a concern to the bleeding boy.

Suddenly, with a quick toss of powder, he felt his body go numb, almost as if his leg had fallen asleep. While it had stopped the pain, it was a feeling Subaru was anxious to get rid of...

And so, he closed his eyes as Matsuko went to work.

* * *

To be back in his own room in the Ryu no Shinsei Unmei Shrine was a relief to Shouri. He had missed this place with its walls and beautiful decorations. He had missed seeing the small guardian statues that filled the shelves. He had missed the place in general...

And who could blame him? This shrine was the only home that he had ever known.

Shouri paused as he stepped in to the shower. The warmth of the water hitting his skin reminded him of rain, washing the impurities if the streets down the gutter. It felt good to his skin, knowing that the blood was simply vanishing...

In a few minutes, he was out. He stepped out quickly, wrapping a towel around his body as he sighed. The negative energy still pulsed through him, but it was subdued luckily thanks to the shrine guardian's assistance in the matter.

Shouri's room was at the front right side of the shrine. It was a very spacious room with a normal bed, a mirror, some Chester drawers, a closet, a very nice bathroom, and two beautiful windows. The doors to the room were slide doors, but were casual. His room was nicely decorated, but nothing like the room in which Subaru was in.

He sighed as he walked to his closet and searched around. There it was. His favorite outfit. His actual casual outfit.

Without much trouble, he pulled the outfit on. He wore a white tank top that was a little clingy, though very light. He wore a black, zip-up vest over it with a long white jacket lined with black. It was very stylish and very different. Upon his arms he wore tight, black gloves. His boots were black leather, too. His pants were white, tucking into the leather boots. He sighed slightly as he stood up, pulling his left glove on fully.

_'... I wonder how.. Sumeragi-san is doing...' _Shouri thought to himself.

Shouri closed his eyes. Matsuko would need his help soon...

Bouygo peeped in. "... Shouri-sama?"

".. Hnn.. ?" The boy turned slowly to face him. "San-san.."

Shouri entered the room quickly, Bouygo accompanying him. His eyes flickered as he came to a stop. The priestess had gone ahead and started without him. He wasn't upset. It was probably because of Bougyo's request to let him freshen up a bit.

Bouygo looked back for a minute before he closed the slide doors silently and joined the other two children, kneeling silently at the side.

Matsuko paused for a moment as she felt Shouri enter the room. Her eyes flew to him as she nodded, beckoning for him to come.

Drawing in a breath, Shouri proceeded to walk to her side, looking down at Subaru. He had no doubt that he was awake. Matsuko had done considerably well, too. He looked at her and paused. "... Are you sure..?"

"Hai. Your energies cannot affect him." Matsuko replied.

With that small bit of reassurance, Shouri placed his hand over Matsuko's, upon Subaru's chest. He didn't want to do that... but he didn't want Subaru to be in pain, either. He didn't like it... Feeling a heart beat beneath his hand. It made him tremble.

"Are you alright, Tokuichi-san?" Matsuko asked as she looked at the boy.

He nodded. "H-hai..."

Matsuko placed her hand over Shouri's and nodded. ".. You know what to do."

The boy took in a breath before he spoke. His words came out in more of a song-pattern than a chant, but the chant was strong and soothing. He closed his eyes as he concentrated. The chant was much different than Matsuko's, but much stranger. It seemed that the boy gained a holy glow to him. He shined radiantly as his own natural healing ability began to flow.

The priestess joined in, chanting a slightly different spell than Shouri. Her power connected the with his energies and began to expand Shouri's fast healing ability and transfer it into Subaru. If she had not done such a thing so many times before, it might be considered an intimate bond, accessing this ability to transfer it... but it was not the first time.

He wanted to shrink back. What was she doing? That wasn't right... that wasn't right at all. He looked like he was going to cry, perhaps whine. What was she doing?! .. Then it occurred. She was stealing the negative energy from him and neutralizing it so that she could using the positive energy to help in the transfer. It was painful though.. or perhaps just because of his thoughts...

He paused again. He had to remember his thoughts were only a figment of his imagination. Though... was wanting to be held really such a crime?

Subaru felt himself grow slightly stronger as the chanting grew louder; this was a technique that Subaru had never seen or heard before. He planned on inquiring about the technique later.

But for now, he allowed the numbness to swallow him, as his wounds scabbed and he felt pale white flesh form over his injuries.

Shouri felt his body's confusion as the energy was transferred and the process applied itself to the other man. It was a little painful, but he didn't mind. He relaxed and allowed things to flow.

Matsuko said nothing as she continued to channel the energy, though why in the world Shouri's hand had grown so sweaty she wasn't' sure...

Slowly, everything began to find its place. Subaru felt his jaw snap back and place; despite the spell cast on him earlier, he felt it and shuddered violently; that hurt.

Shouri frowned, eyes flickering as he felt Subaru shuddering. Had he felt something as it was fixing? Oh, he hoped not! The last thing Shouri wanted was for Subaru to be in pain. He only shook more. He was only thankful that Subaru hadn't noticed that his hand was as soaked as a rag throwing into a pool and that he was growing shaky.

Again, the priestess steadied the boy. It wasn't just him. It was probably a bit of the negative energy being relieved so quickly, too. Still. She could see their progress was apparent. _'Just a little longer...'_

And then it was done. Subaru felt the energy flowing through him as he felt strength that he hadn't seen in days overcome his body.

Slowly, he opened his eyes.

Matsuko paused as she opened her own eyes and nodded to Subaru. "... How do you feel?"

Shouri froze. He was awake??? The boy froze stiff. Maybe he hadn't noticed. Maybe if he just stood still, no one would remember that he was there.

"Much better, thank you." Although Subaru's tone was formal, it was very sincere. He slowly pushed himself up, feeling a hundred times better than he had in the past few days...at least, physically.

Matsuko and Shouri both drew back a step, or at least Shouri did.

The boy stuffed his hands in his pockets and regained his composure. He felt slightly weaker now that the negative energy was gone. That was okay, though. He hadn't needed it... had he? No. Of course not. He looked at Subaru and nodded. "I believe you two have had introductions already..."

The little girl shrunk behind Shouri at seeing the stranger up...

Matsuko nodded slightly. "Hai. Sumeragi Subaru, wasn't it? Shouri has spoken quite often of you. It is an honor to have you here."

"Hai. Hajimemashite." Subaru made it to his feet, bowing politely. "And you are...?" he inquired. His eyes turned to Shouri, who looked quite pale. In a few minutes, he planned to talk to the boy alone. There was so much he wanted to ask him, and would, in a few minutes.

"Makamura Matsuko, the keeper of this shrine." Matsuko replied with a bow of her head.

Shouri looked back to the little girl and gave her a pat on the head as reassurance that all was well. "San-san," he said to the oldest boy in a whisper, "Please tend to the others."

The older boy complied, taking both younger children with him out the door in silence.

"Shouri," Subaru paused, looking out the corner of his eye at Matsuko, "Would it be all right if we spoke privately?" He said it in the most polite manner he could manage without offending Matsuko, or making Shouri feel uncomfortable.

Matsuko nodded as she stood. "Hai. Take the time that you need."

The priestess exited the room silently.

Shouri watched her go silently before he looked back to Subaru. He wasn't uncomfortable, just a little.. nervous. Well, perhaps he was, but he fought his best not to show it. After all... he had told himself before what he did not want for his own good. "Hai, Sumeragi-san? What did you want to speak with me about?"

"Firstly," Subaru cleared his throat, "Thank you. I really appreciate what you've done for me, but...I don't want you involved any longer. I don't want you getting hurt again on my account."

He paused to let Shouri absorb this.

"Secondly, what did my sister say before she...before she left?"

"... She said that she was going to see a person called 'Kakyou'. That she needed to see him..." Shouri said after a minute or two.

He looked to the ground. Why was he always being told to stay out of things? Why? How could Subaru ask him to stay out of things. He couldn't. Even if he wanted to. He knew he' find a way back into the whole mess...

Subaru noted that his words got Shouri down. "Look, it's not that I don't think you're capable," Subaru said, his voice authentic. "...It's just, if someone hurt you, or if Seishirou...if he," Subaru's voice broke up, and he forced himself to take a deep breath before continuing, "...I'd blame myself. I wouldn't be able to live knowing that it was my fault." He could barely stand baring the knowledge of what Seishirou had done to the obsidian-haired boy already, believing that he, himself, was to blame for it.

"None of it is your fault, Subaru-san. You're not to blame, at all. Look, ever since I was little some pretty weird stuff has happened. If things like this weren't supposed to happen.. they wouldn't. It's not you. It's Fate. Destiny. Whatever the force that controls us is and uses us as mere toys. No matter what you do, or how it's done, something is going to pull me back into this." Shouri glanced down. "It's not that I want to be involved... other than to protect you and Hokuto-sama as best I can... but...but I have this feeling I'm going to get pulled in."

He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, holding off the flood of tears that wished to come.

"... I'm so tired of being pulled back in... it's painful... and I'm not strong enough to survive on my own. Seishirou is right... Without...someone to lean on, I'm defenseless. It's not your fault, Subaru-san... it's mine. For being... so weak... Too weak..."

Subaru shook his head, pulling Shouri into his arms, the way he wished someone would have done for him so long ago, but didn't. "You're not weak," Subaru whispered. "Nor defenseless. You're kind. It's different."

"I.. is it?" Shouri asked himself more than Subaru, his voice very quiet now. "Sometimes...I've wondered.."

It felt good to be held. Just once, Shouri felt safe. That the world couldn't harm him. It wasn't like with Sasori. It was very different. He could feel a heart beat that wasn't built off of his own. To feel safe, be safe, in someone's arms was more than Shouri had once dreamed it to be. It was almost too bad that he knew that this someone was not his... but it stirred a little hope in him that maybe, just maybe, someday he might have someone. But why think so far ahead? Why not just enjoy the moment?

And Subaru didn't let go. "Yes, it is. You're like..." Subaru took a breath, "...like how I used to be. I'd rather be hurt, than let others be hurt. I wouldn't push myself because of it; I tried my best to avoid injuring others, even if it meant myself hurting instead..." His arms wrapped even tighter around the small boy's frame. It was like hugging himself, the Subaru he knew nine years ago...

"... That's why I looked up to you so strongly... and why I still do. You helped me when no one else would... and I've never forgotten that..." Shouri only hoped Subaru didn't push him away like on the train. He would hate it if he did! He just wanted to stay like this forever. "... And I never will..."

Subaru smiled lightly, never relenting his grasp. "And I'll be there for you, as long as you need me to be," he said, his voice quiet, yet soothing.

Shouri smiled softly, a pure and innocent smile. Such reassuring words and he knew they were true. His emerald orbs were shimmering as though the sun was dancing in them. It was real. It really was. "Arigato..." he breathed lightly, closing his eyes.

Indeed, he would preserve this in his memory forever.

"For what?" Subaru inquired, his voice equally soft.

"For being you...and.. for being here for me." He replied almost in a whisper.

"That's nothing to thank me for," Subaru said, his voice quiet and lecturing. "Isn't that what friends are for?"

"Hai, that they are." Shouri said. "But it's not often you find a true friend, ne?"

Subaru shook his head, finally relinquishing his grasp on Shouri. "If you get hurt," he said, finally resolving his friends, "I'm going to blame myself. And you wouldn't want me to be sad, would you?" He half-smiled, hoping that Shouri would get what he was trying to say...

"No, I wouldn't... not at all." Shouri said as he looked at Subaru. The boy glanced down for a minute. "I can only try to stay out of it, Subaru-san... understand... that I don't know how or what things are going to happen.. but I can't always avoid these things. I'll try my best, though...but only if you'll let me help you find Hokuto-sama. I won't fight or anything and I'll stay a good distance away, but I want to help. I have to..."

He gave Subaru a childish puppy-dog look. He did want to help find Hokuto, and if it meant resorting to the puppy-dog pout, then so be it! Subaru didn't want him to get hurt. If Seishirou didn't know he was there, then he wouldn't get hurt! It was logical enough.. right?

Subaru put a warm hand on Shouri's head. "Okay. But," Subaru turned, facing Shouri, "But, you mustn't get yourself hurt. Those are the terms of the agreement."

* * *

Satsuki arrived. Oh, God, he had never been so overjoyed to see her in his entire life. He was almost compelled to leap into her arms and cling to her for dear life. With the day he had been through, he was ready to sink into a long night's sleep. Unfortunately, sleep was not exactly included in the job description of a Dragon of Earth.

What he did do was maintain a very frail composure as Satsuki addressed Nataku and exchanged information on what courses of action were to be taken. At last, when he was given the chance to speak, Yuuto mustered a charming smile, standing erect as his bare muscular chest protruded in deceptive virile tirelessness.

"Ah, konban wa, Satsuki-san," he greeted with a tilt of his head and a debonair smile. What a relief it was to have her back at his side. "Forgive my elated reaction; it's been a rather long day."

He paused as Nataku posed the question that was certainly embedded in the back of all their minds. "Kamui-sama?" Yuuto repeated somewhat cautiously. He turned to Satsuki. "If he's not still in battle with the Seals where he told us to meet him, where could he have gone?" Then, after a moment of pensive silence, he added jestingly with a slight chuckle, "Does this mean I have time to go back and put a shirt on?"

* * *

It was a normal night in Tokyo as an abnormal man walked the main streets. People moved to the sides unconsciously as he walked down, smoking a cigarette. His purple-green eyes scanned the area as his hair and coat wafted in the wind.

"Such a filthy place...exactly how they love it..." he murmured to himself as he continued down. Only a few days ago did he see the protection spells cast into the sky even though he did not know what it meant till what can be only called nightmares to sane people occurred in which the demons came and revealed to him the truth. He looked up to the sky and snickered.

_"'Twas ironic that I have to protect something with the title of heaven in it...but it is their command that I protect and help them.." _he thought. He looked over to where he spotted the last protection sphere location and sat down on a bench. The time would come soon.


	59. Chapter 57: Never Sleep, Never Die

**Chapter Fifty-Seven: Never Sleep, Never Die**

"Agreed!" Shouri exclaimed, nodding his head in four-count.

Hah! So he would get to go and help find Hokuto!! Best of all, he no longer felt burdened. Suddenly, he paused. Where had the black kitten gone? He frowned momentarily, but shook it off. It wasn't important. What was important was finding Hokuto and sticking to Subaru's terms.

"But... before we go, I would like to speak with Matsuko-sama and Bouygo. I don't want them to worry about me while I'm gone." he said with a nod. "Do we have enough time?"

* * *

The elevator reached the floor that they wanted and Aoki held the door opened.

"Ladies first." he said with a smile.

"Arigato, Seiichirou-san." Uo said as she jumped off of the elevator.

Jumping off of elevators came to Uo naturally. She didn't trust anything that operated on cables and had a sudden forceful pull up or down when it stopped. She had learned better as a child when she had been trampled by a crowd of busy mall-goers after she had fallen due to the elevators force. How she loathed elevators!

With a genki smile, she stopped just a few feet away and turned, waiting for Aoki. She wasn't going anywhere without him. True, the past few days had been extremely exciting and she still had confidence in her ability to make a person cry in pain... but that only applied to people who couldn't control water, stop a train with their bare hands, or use the wind element or any form of sonic power.

Fuuma. Kotori. Kamui. Yuzuriha. The names ran through her head and drilled away at her mind. She needed to find them, all of them. She doubted Kotori would believe what had happened. She suddenly frowned. Oh yeah. Kotori already knew about all of this stuff. She bit her lip and fidgeted a bit. Speaking of which, she wondered how she would explain just leaving like that. What would Yuzuriha say?

... ! Yuzuriha had been looking for HER when that fight had occurred. She felt her subconscious stabbing at her. _'Yuzuriha-chan! Gomen ne! Gomen neeee! I did- and.. ano.. .err.. ..oooo... and Kotori-chan.. and... shimatta! I need to go to the gift shop and the flower shop before I find them! I hope they're okay.. maybe if I buy rich chocolate they won't kill me for making them worry so much.. If they're.. ..'  
_  
She swallowed. She didn't want to think about THAT possibility. In fact, she put that out of her mind entirely and pulled her courage up again. After all, what was she going to do when things got really rough? ... Hopefully her mother hadn't been in her laboratory.

Perhaps she could cook up a suitable defense for herself in her laboratory. She had enough resources and funding... not to mention the fact that she still needed to finish that 'special project' of hers. She shook her head again, snapping out of it. Yeah.. maybe even something to protect against sonic attacks, since that was apparently what Fuuma had pulled.

_'... Fuuma.'  
_  
The girl looked to the floor, trying to erase her thoughts. He was going to have hell to pay... but only after she got her answers. Why the heck would he do such things? Why the hell did he want to destroy the world anyways? Why did that idiot have to pick something that she couldn't compete with him at!?

Straightening up, her personality shifted again as a stern, over determined, yet somehow-still-genki look appeared on her face. Hai. Flowers and candy for Yuzuriha and Kotori, an admittance that he had been right to Kamui, and a good chewing out to Fuuma... and maybe a bit more if she could think of anything. Of course, seeing her mother first would be a good idea... and her laboratory. Surely she had something that was usable in there... though she usually never considered creating energy-built-and-based shields out of the blue. Perhaps she had something else helpful.

"This building sure has a lot of floors." Uo suddenly stated with a smile. Funny thing how she could simply be thinking of so much.. And then go right off the track in her words aloud. "I wonder how people can work here..."

* * *

"I have all the time in the world," Subaru said encouragingly. "Go and see them; I'll still be here when you're back." Subaru demonstrated, sitting down, although his thoughts lingered to other things...

* * *

Fuuma smiled at Hokuto from the corner of his eye.

Mayouko shook her head at both of them, as she got three cups down and places them on the table. "Thank you but I'm fine Hokuto. Take a seat and that way we can talk..." she continued, gesturing to the pillows the surrounded the low table.

Hokuto sat down gingerly, smiling slightly at Mayouko. She was feeling most unlike herself, nervous and not nearly as genki as she should have be. Looking down at her hand, she saw it shaking and quickly put it under the table. Taking the teacup given to her by the raven-haired woman, she calmed a bit, feeling the warmth seeping into her fingers. "Talk about what?"

Fuuma sat beside Hokuto and sipped his tea. He looked over to Mayouko with a smile.

Mayouko smiled and took a seat across from them. "Talk about anything. Though I would dearly like to know what happened that made my brother want to resurrect you.."

Hokuto blinked. "Brother...? You're Yuurei's sister?"

Fuuma blinked and sipped his tea. "You didn't know he had one did you?"

Mayouko bowed her head. "He doesn't talk about me much...in fact...he likes it better if he didn't even have a sister..."

Hokuto shook her head. "That's not true! It's just that... I haven't really had a normal conversation with him. It was more of "You can make Kakyou happy, so I will resurrect you" one."

Fuuma sipped his tea yet again. He adored the flavor of the tea, it was so soothing.

Mayouko nodded and murmured to herself, "Glad he finally came to his senses..." Turning to Fuuma she smiled, "I see you like the tea.. It's a special blend."

"Oh? May I ask what you have in it?" Fuuma smiled brightly. It was hard to see the ruthless leader of the Dragon's of Earth in him right now.

Hokuto looked down, putting down her cup of tea. Senses? No... She couldn't make Kakyou happy, only he could. Putting her hands back under the table, she tried warming them between her thighs. Still cold. She shook her head. She wasn't who she used to be anymore.

Mayouko shook her head. "It's a secret!" Glancing at Hokuto she noticed a shiver run through the girl. "Would you like a blanket or something to warm you up?" she asked softly.

Fuuma handed her his bloody torn jacket, smiling brightly. "Wear this...it may be a bit dirty but it will keep you warm."

Hokuto looked up, first at Mayouko, then at Fuuma. She accepted the jacket with a soft smile, slipping it around herself. It was soothingly warm, but it did nothing to warm her coldness. It came from inside, she realized, touching her black-clothed chest. She was cold inside.

Mayouko watched the girl carefully, and her nose wrinkled at the sight of the jacket. "What have you been up to Fuuma?" she turned to him and raises a questioning eyebrow.

"Hmm Nothing that I haven't been doing..."

Mayouko chuckled. "So in other words...torturing, inflicting damage and perhaps a bit of molestation in between?"

Fuuma laughed nervously. "Well I didn't want to phrase it like that."

Mayouko laughed this time, her maroon eyes flashing with amusement. "If you say so..."

Hokuto smiled slightly at the two's conversation. They were like siblings, teasing each other. Like she had teased Subaru.

Fuuma finished his tea and eyed the cup. "May I have more?"

Mayouko nodded and poured him another cup. "You can just take some you know..." She smiled at both of them. "By the way...did you find what you sought during the talk you had with Kakyou?"

Hokuto glanced at Mayouko. "Yes." She nodded, smiling brightly, finally feeling some of the most missed warmth seeping back in. "I'll bring Yuurei back to him."

Mayouko's eyebrow rose. "He won't go back... "

"He will." She frowned. "Because that's all that will make Kakyou happy"

Mayouko shrugged and remained silent for a few moments, she turned back to Fuuma. "Any other plans for tonight Fuuma? And don't say ice cream..."

"Why not?" He pouted.

"I'd like ice cream." Hokuto smiled.

Mayouko shook her head. "Because you are too obsessed for your own good Fuuma. But I suppose I could go for some ice cream as well.."

Fuuma smiled at the girls and laughed. "I suppose I could treat you two."

Hokuto nodded. "That would be nice. But... I need to get back to my brother."

Mayouko grinned. "Now that's the right way to treat to very lovely ladies. Oh come now Hokuto at least get some ice cream first.."

Shifting her gaze to Mayouko, she smiled. The first sincere smile since entering Kakyou's dreamscape. "Yes."

Fuuma rose to his feet, dusting himself off. "Then we should get going. I know just the place."

Mayouko smiled back just as warmly, and standing held out her hands to help Hokuto up. "Come on!"

Hokuto took Mayouko's hands and got to her feet, dusting herself off as Fuuma had done. "Is it far?"

"Not at all." He took Hokuto's open hand and started to walk with the girls to the door.

Mayouko grabbed a coat and her keys as she went by. "I doubt Kakyou is going to go anywhere...but just in case I'll lock the door.."

"It's too bad he can't come along."

Hokuto glanced at Kakyou one last time before exiting the apartment. She couldn't regret her words now.

Mayouko smirked. "I suppose..."

"You are really too cruel to him May-chan."

* * *

He was unaware of when exactly he had closed his eyes. It would have been a blessing to have fallen unconscious, but Yuurei was not so fortunate. The pain was getting worse, yet still his eyelids drooped. His body was so tired, so exhausted. He was ready for everything to come to an end. He was ready to rest in peace.

That was when he felt it. The images flashed before his mind like ardent flames licking at and taunting his little remaining sanity. Subaru and Seishirou...and Hokuto and Shouri... Subaru was in pain. What had Seishirou done to him? And Kakyou...Kakyou was also in pain. But Yuurei could always feel Kakyou's pain. It was Subaru he was worried the most about now.

_-Damn it,- _he cursed himself. Nevertheless, he shoved himself to his feet. Instantly he nearly collapsed again to his knees, clutching his stomach in wide-eyed agony. He was not going to last much longer. If he wanted to help Subaru, he would have to move now.

_-Tokyo,- _he repeated again and again in his mind, closing his eyes and clenching his teeth in bitter concentration. _-Just keep thinking about Tokyo...-_ With a feeble mental command, he summoned the shadows about him and allowed them to swallow him up, praying that he did not land in the Pacific Ocean this time.

The darkness swirling about him almost made him nauseous. He had never gotten sick while shadow-walking before. It must have been another effect from the cursed wound. Even when he was dematerialized into nothing but particles of darkness, the injury still made itself terribly known.

And then suddenly...he hit the ground. Mind in a daze and vision distorted, he found himself back in his physical body, gazing up at the lights that were starting to illuminate a Tokyo sinking into glorious evening. He had made it. But...where in Tokyo was he? He had not been specific in his will to find his destination. He had only wished not to be thrown too terrible off course.

Painstakingly he made his way to his feet and staggered forward to catch his balance, subconsciously straightening his loose black tank-top about his muscular chest. Why had he taken off his trench coat? Oh, right, because he was sweating enough to fill a swimming pool.

A strange, unfamiliar essence pricked at the back of his neck. Was he near a park? He glanced around through narrowed eyes full of suppressed pain. Almost no one was around. A few people walked about on the sidewalks along the street, but no one seemed to notice Yuurei; he was very good at making himself seem invisible. On a bench nearby sat a man who appeared to stand out more than anyone else. But the rest of the pedestrians seemed to ignore him as well.

Oh, well, what did it matter about some new power he was sensing? He had to get to Subaru. But the more he tried to make himself move forward, the more impossible it became. Clenching his teeth and letting out a pained grunt, he finally collapsed to his knees beside the bench, resting an arm on the seat and laying his head down on it. His vision swirled in a maze of confusion, his breathing haggard and forced. This was no good.

* * *

Shouri sighed slightly as he walked down the corridor. He barely made a sound as he walked down it towards the second main room. He loved this place. It was the only home that he had ever known, his first, in memory. This place with its smell of sweet incense, was truly his... and he knew that it always would be.

As he approached the double doors, he stopped. He knew that Bouygo and Matsuko would be waiting for him. They always knew.

Drawing in a breath, Shouri sighed and opened the doors. His eyes flickered slightly as he looked at the woman and the younger boy. He took a few steps before bowing lowly.

"... Matsuko-sama..."

Matsuko's eyes flashed gently as she looked upon the boy. "Shouri-san... so, you're going out again to help that Dragon of Heaven?"

"... Nani?"

"You don't even know?" Matsuko paused. "The Dragons of Heaven and the Dragons of Earth are at the beginning of their war, a war that will decide the fate of this planet. The Dragons of Heaven fight for this world, to keep it. The Dragons of Earth fight to destroy it.."

"... I see. This is why Sumeragi-sama didn't want me involved... But how did you..?" Shouri trailed off, frowning.

"Amazing what we priestesses find out in our useless chantings, ne? As well as by ear." The woman cooed slightly.

A white dove flew into the room, landing upon her shoulder.

Bouygo smiled, stretching out a hand. The dove flew to his hand and perched gently. "Hai, Hadeel-san is very good at listening.."

Shouri smiled sheepishly. "I should have known... then tell me, Matsuko-sama, why am I involved in this?"

"... I believe Fate has chosen you to play a role in this, though what, I'm not sure. I've always known that you were different.. special."

The boy winced at the words. 'Fate'. 'Destiny'. They were to blame for Sasori's disappearance, but he held off his sudden desire to weep. Subaru wouldn't let him go if he was crying his eyes out, now would he? "I see..."

The old woman sighed, stretching out an arm and letting her fingers brush Shouri's dark bangs from his eyes. "You've grown so much..."

"Only with your help, sensei." he replied with a smile. "Never without you."

"Guard yourself well. You know that this is your home, and that I consider you my son as well as my apprentice. This shrine is always open to you." Matsuko nodded, bowing slightly.

The smile seemed to widen a little. "Arigato, Matsuko-sama. I promise that I shall return shortly." He didn't know if that was true, but he would certainly return.

Matsuko nodded before she slowly exited the room. She wasn't tired, but the other two children needed tending to. She needed to pray, as well. Pray for the safety of this Earth. Perhaps the many guardians of the shrine would hear her prayers and honor her requests...

After the woman left, Bouygo and Shouri were left, both standing at opposite ends of the room, or so it seemed. The two stared each other in the eyes. One might have believed that they were going to fight, but what passed between them was nothing of the sort.

At long last, the silence was broken by Bougyo's words: "How long?"

"I'm not sure." Shouri returned immediately, voice confident and strong, though very silent.

"The End of the World?" Bouygo said, shaking his head in disbelief. While he seemed so mature, he was only fourteen years old.

"I'm not alone." Shouri replied. "I'm also not directly related. What could happen to me?"

"So much could happen!" Bouygo spoke out, raising his voice in protest. He suddenly shrunk back a little, quieting down a little bit. "So much... and I can't take care of everyone on my own!!"

"You won't have to!" Shouri shook his head. "I told Matsuko-sama that I will be back an-"

The two were now directly in front of one another. "You are such a bad liar, Tokuichi-sama! You worry us all sick to death when you're gone! How can you do this!?"

"When you are older, you will understand." Shouri frowned, suddenly seized the boy's shoulders, though gently. He had seen it. Tears. Tears that would be wasted on him. He wouldn't have that. "No tears, San-san... no tears. For me, you must be strong. You must support everyone for me. Don't forget what Ryuji-sama told us so long ago when we were both just boys.. when I was your age... remember?"

The boy looked up at him, wiping his tears quickly as he nodded. "Hai... Ryuji-sama told us that this shrine is under his protection... by the power of the Water Dragon and the storm. A storm is a blessing and no one is to cry over it. He told us to always have faith... that he would always protect us, and so would the other guardians."

"Then believe Ryuji-sama's words. I will be back for all of you. Nothing... NOTHING is going to happen to me." Shouri nodded slightly as he smiled again. "Now then... be a good brother, as you always have. I promise I'll be back..."

Bouygo sighed as he nodded.

Shouri sighed slightly as he nodded. "... Ja matta ne, San-san."

"... Ja matta ne, Tokuichi-sama..."

Shouri bowed slightly and turned, walking through the double doors and closing them behind himself. He quickly began to walk back towards the room... So much for a brief good-bye... they turned into many sweet good-byes.

* * *

The man peered down at the one who slumped onto the bench nearby "Lovely night, hmm?" he drew a cigarette out and placed it to his lips and a little flicker of a dark purple flame emerged from his finger as he raised his hand to where the cigarette was sticking out. He took a deep breath of both the sulfuric fumes and of the nicotine into his lungs.

Yuurei nearly choked, not on the fumes from the cigarette, but on his own breath. "Perhaps to some of us," he finally managed to say. The man exhaled the smoke threw his nose like some old idol statue might have in the days of yore "Your soaked...What occurred that your like this. I can tell this was not from a night time jog" he took another deep puff of the cancer stick.

Drawing a deep breath and concentrating fully on meditation for the purposes of suppressing the pain, Yuurei finally breathed a bit freer. "Very observant of you," he answered in the same dry tone. "Though...nothing one not involved in the End of the World would concern himself with..." The casual movements of the man indicated this was more than a mere mortal being. Plus now that he was closer, Yuurei could sense far more acutely the power of his soul.

"End of the World? I won't let it happen...my masters do not wish to end their existence yet from foolish divine games of a twisted hypocritical mad god" the man snorted as the smoke came forth from his mouth. He then peered closer at the man and smirked, the look of damnation was apparent in his wicked colored-eyes.

Laying his head against his arm on the bench, Yuurei closed his eyes for a minute and tried to relax. This stranger spoke so casually and indifferently about such matters, it almost seemed like meaningless palaver. But that was certainly not the case. Could this man be another factor Yuurei was unaware of? "You speak of mad gods and foolish games," he murmured in heavy breaths, "yet your soul is cold." There was no tone of question in his voice; it was only a mere observation.

"Once you understand how our dark lords work, you understand their hatred to such treachery. What is your name and are you of them...the Dragons of Heaven or the Dragons of Earth" The man questioned, looking over Yuurei for any marks of conflict besides the soaked mess of sweat upon him.

He choked out a wry chuckle. It figured this man would possess such knowledge. How else could one account for his calm behavior? "I am neither," he spat in almost slurred syllables. "I am called the Watcher. My name is Yuurei."

"To only observe and to do nothing...heh," the man took another deep casual drag. "Why not act? It is human will to do so usually...especially over such a tremendous deal" he chuckled softly

Yuurei let out a scoff. "You understand nothing about Fate, stranger. But I have chosen. I've defied the laws of my destiny and fought to defend the Dragons of Heaven. And this is the price that inevitably must be paid for my crimes of interfering." At that moment, his eyes widened, and he curled over himself to let out a violent bout of coughing, blood spilling from his lips and dripping to the floor. "This is...Fate's punishment...," he managed to get out in a raspy breath. Would he have explained the entire story if he had been given enough air to do so? Perhaps if only to get it off his chest and into the open...

"Oh yes...forget my rudeness...I am Shikyoden Dante...called Baal by some," he gazed over the man lying on the ground. "You don't have to die...You can defy fate...let them have your name and you can live" Dante spoke coldly and stood up, covering Yuurei in a dark shadow. "Isn't that what you wish? To see our planet survive."

Gazing back up at Dante out of cold, despairing eyes, Yuurei nearly laughed at what he heard. "Are you asking me to sell you my soul?" The speech might have worked if the man had not said that name-- Baal. One of the false gods made into an idol in the ancient days of Israel. This stranger was surely in collaboration with the devils of the spiritual realm.

"Perhaps" he smirked. "A soul is quite useless lest one knows how to access its potential...one that few know how to...It sounds like you never learned to access it as your dying here with not the blood of your foes upon your hands" Dante looked to the sky "Aquarius is quite beautiful during this time of season, no?" he spoke softly and chucked his cigarette butt to the side, it bounced like a miniature ball a few times.

Again he smirked, but did not bother to explain to this demoniac stranger the depths of his training and the strength of his soul. Neither did he tell him that he had in fact completed his mission-- the one from which he had acquired this fatal injury. But, of course, none of that mattered now. Taking a deep breath, Yuurei gave a sparse shrug and shook his head, ignoring the seemingly trivial question. "My wish is not to die," he stated plainly around his pain, "but neither is it to kill."

"Its only to observe, no?" Dante snickered again "To idly watch the sway of a battle that will decide a fate of your life and the lives of all." Dante spoke harshly. He looked over to the Tokyo buildings that were in a short distance "You do not wish to die, but you do not wish to act. That is quite amusing." he leered gently

This man understood nothing. Of course he could not. He was only speaking on assumptions. But his words did not spark anger in Yuurei's soul; instead it caused a swell of sorrow for people who thought so brashly. "I'm sorry you don't understand," he mumbled, shoving his way to his feet with sheer pain-racked determination. Hand bathed in blood, still covering his wound, he staggered toward those same Tokyo buildings. "But I have no time to explain. There's still something I must do...before my time is up."

"Shall you lead me to the others? Hmm?" Dante grinned and followed after him, his overcoat in this dim light gave the look of a dark priest hovering. "Perhaps I don't understand, but I know what is best for all."

Yuurei stopped mid-stride. Lead this Dante to Subaru and Shouri, and possibly Seishirou? Was this man truly set on protecting the Earth--even so, in what way did he mean that? Clenching his teeth, he knew he could not allow that to happen. And his strength was dwindling far too quickly now; he had not enough power left to shadow-walk, and certainly far too little to direct his course. It would be suicide to try at this point. So what else could he do? He grimaced and spoke in a low, dangerous tone. "What do you want from me?"

"Well, you don't seem very happy to live...so at least let me have a chance to protect the ones destined to save the world, lead me to them and let the battle begin." Dante smirked again, his eyes shined with madness.

The madness was also evident in his voice. Yuurei cringed again. "So tell me, Dante," he spat dryly. "Since you seem so adamant on acting, what side have you chosen? That of the Dragons of Heaven, or of Earth?"

"The Dragons of Heaven of course...The ones of earth wish oblivion for everything...something the others do not wish for yet.." Dante's voice spoke the truth coldly. It was quite blunt with how he said it that it was true.

It was not a good act. This stranger literally radiated an evil aura that ate away at Yuurei's senses. Anyone whom he did not watch over personally, he could only assume was an enemy. And he was certainly not in the mood to debate the views of the Seals versus the Angels, so he simply straightened his back and stood perfectly still, letting the wind whip through his long raven tresses. "Your speech is not a very convincing one," he stated surprisingly smoothly, considering his condition. "I might not be able to stop you from finding them yourself, but I will not lead you to them."

"Convincing? It may not be but its true...very true...Oh yes...with that condition, what shall you do? Die alone with a stranger? I have no intention of taking your worthless life, you refused life and you are not of the Earth so lets get to the point...Take me to them or die with regret" Dante looked at the man with mix of pity and scorn. The wind sifted threw his long blonde waves and the back of his coat.

Another deep inhale. He turned around and met the man's gaze. Striding forward on forcibly strengthened limbs, he stopped only a foot in front of Dante, staring into his eyes, searching out his very soul for all essence of truth. Even in his state, he forced himself to concentrate his energy not on the pain, but on this man. What he found was troubling. This man was undoubtedly wicked to the core, and yet his words remained true somehow. Of course, the Dragons of Earth were not necessarily all evil--Kakyou himself was the perfect example. Lowering his head and keeping his voice husky, Yuurei finally nodded reluctantly. "All right. I'll take you to them."

"That 'twas the way, my friend. Lead the path." He grinned threw his perfect teeth, his eyes dilated a little and his response was quite disturbing as he was...happy? It did not matter to Dante, he soon would begin his master's work upon this plane and would help his goals if he did manage to survive it. Even if he died, he would receive a better fate than most for his duties, he thought.

Yuurei suppressed a snarl of distaste. He hated being used. He hated being controlled. But now he had very little choice. However, as the pain was starting to gnaw at his insides once again, he staggered in his first steps away from the demoniac stranger. Inadvertently he fell back to catch Dante's shoulder for support. "It seems," he breathed haggardly, "I'll have to direct you from a closer perspective." Now remained only one final question: to which of the Dragons would he lead the man?

He followed "A closer perspective? What do you mean?" he drew another cigarette, this time he pulled out a lighter and flicked it, lighting the cig as they got closer to viewing eyes.

Yuurei could not help but laugh at the man's extreme seriousness, even though this situation called for such. Perhaps he was starting to be delusional. "I just mean I'll have to lean on you as we go. I don't have enough strength left to move quickly, you understand..."

"Then so be it" he spoke and took Yuurei's arm over his shoulder and acted as a crutch. Being used by a mortal for once? To him, if the such was needed for initial contact, then it must be done.

He did not like relying on the man for support. Even as Dante took his arm over his shoulder, Yuurei strained to keep as far away as he could. It was a disgrace, and he knew it--a powerful sorcerer sinking so low as to lean on another, ANY other, for support. Shaking himself sternly, he focused his innate senses on locating the others. Finally he lifted his free arm from his stomach wound and pointed in the direction of the inner city. "That way."

Dante headed the direction Yuurei spoke of. A small smirk formed upon his lips as he laughed internally at Yuurei's grudge to have one such as him help him. "So you've made up your mind...I can tell, one like you knows of both consequences and benefits of the trade.."

Yuurei nodded curtly, ignoring a verbal response as the pain bit acridly into his abdomen. As they reached the buildings, he lifted his head to nod toward the top of the nearest one. "Roof-hopping is quicker," he muttered, the notion sounding absurd, his intentions completely serious.

"Why hop when one can take flight?" he grinned and placed him to the ground softly and stepped back a bit and took a deep breath..."Allar c pambt," a glowing blood-red symbol formed at his feet as he spoke, "Babalon l Abbadon." His voice became harsh and animal like, his form started to shake violently and the stench of necrophilia graves swept threw the small area. "Lap noqod" his clothing melted into the seal below him, horns sprouted from his head slowly, from his back struggled something..."Noar ta ozazm!!!!" his voice split into many fragments, wings busted from his back, his figure was the same...save the fact his legs were that of a goats and his hair was pitch black with burning purple orbs as eyes. His arms were much more muscular and upon his chest was the symbol.

Yuurei stepped back and stared in wide-eyed, horrific awe. So he had been right about the man's demoniac origins. How could such a being possibly be on the side of the Dragons of Heaven? It simply made no sense, no matter how the man--this beast--stated it. But, not one to show signs of fear even in the most trailing moments, Yuurei quickly recovered himself and furrowed his brow. "Are you ready now?" he questioned almost sardonically.

With a snarl of a multiple sound of voices it spoke "Yesss...we are ready," it was almost a relief that it spoke Japanese instead of that very alien, dead language Dante spoke. The merged fusion of Abbadon and Dante stepped up to Yuurei and picked him up and leapt, up and took flight.

Yuurei allowed this with little trouble, thankful the movements and the flight did not make him nauseous; he had never been one to become easily frightened or disturbed. Methodically he pointed in the direction of their destination, indicating the beast that was somehow still Dante to turn slightly to stay the course. And incredibly, though by now Yuurei was used to it, no one below walking the streets seemed to notice them. The players of the End of the World were practically invisible...

The beast shifted course slightly, it had the scent of sulfur, brimstone and something else that wasn't suppose to be upon this plane of existence. It's black leathered wings soared and it's serpentine tail hissed threw the quick breeze.

Finally they came into sight. His vision was distorted, but he could still make out their forms. Fuuma, the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth, suddenly seemed someone genteel compared to this monstrous creature. And Hokuto, Subaru's sister Yuurei had helped resurrect from beyond the grave. And then...Mayouko, Yuurei's own younger sister who had caused him so much turmoil. "Down there," he managed to call out above the roar of wind and the pungent odors that Yuurei barely even noticed because he hardly possessed the capacity to breathe anyway.

The demon took note of both Yuurei's life fading and of the figures and dove quickly down. "So that's them, hmm?". Yuurei nodded subconsciously. He purposely failed, however, to mention Fuuma's name...and that he was the leader of the Dragons of Earth...


	60. Chapter 58: A Life of Regrets

**Chapter Fifty-Eight: A Life Of Regrets**

Subaru watched as Shouri left, and considered leaving. Period.

While he knew it would be cruel, and incredibly selfish, he knew that Shouri, because of the sort of man he was, wouldn't be able to fulfill his part of the bargain.

He eyed the door.

But if he left, Shouri would surely feel betrayed and hurt, the way he felt when Hokuto left him...for that man.

Before Subaru had any more time to brood, he heard footsteps. He wasn't going anywhere.

Not without Shouri.

The boy opened the door, a light smile upon his face. He felt that a part of his heart was at ease, now that he had informed Matsuko and Bouygo of what he intended to do. Still, the word 'Fate' was heavy upon his mind. If 'Fate' wanted him to play a part in all of this, what could it possibly be? Was it truly necessary for 'Fate' to yank Sasori away?

As he looked up, his eyes locked onto Subaru.

"Ready." He said with a nod, smile still not fading.

Subaru had no idea where to go, or where to start, but the smile on Shouri's face was encouraging.

"Let's go," he said, simply, slowly making his way towards the DIET building, making sure that Shouri was close by.

Hinoto-hime would surely know where Hokuto was.

* * *

Shisa had barely begun to allow himself to 'relax' when he heard the sound of Taer's voice in his head. His eyes flickered open. Yes, the silver orb was still around him. For a moment, he had forgotten where he was, 'who' he was...

It had been nice, nice to forget. It had been nice to simply forget his problems... well, at least have them in the back of his mind. That was what his 'sleep' was for, since he really couldn't sleep like a human, letting the mind momentarily shut down and restore itself while the human didn't really 'think'.

His restoration was already complete. He did not need to sleep anymore in the abandoned old warehouse, but he wanted to. He wanted to be sure that he was fully restored, after all... he felt as though some of his energies were still lingering. This 'sleep' of his was the only way that he could have little 'peace' of mind.

... Unfortunately, just as he had begun to fully relax, the small, blue bird's cries reached him through the link.

_He vanished! Right before my eyes! He vanished! _Taer's voice was concerned.

_"... Nani?" _The Guardian's eyes opened slowly. _"You lost the Watcher?"  
_  
_Hai... I believe that he's gone somewhere though..._

_"... Find him. I want you to keep watch over him, Taer. Quickly... go." _Shisa's words were emotionless as usual, simply his thoughts propelled and interpreted as words.

_Hai, Shisa-sama. _The blue bird replied.

The Guardian sighed as he continued to sit silently in the silver orb in the broken down warehouse's office. He loved this place. It always felt so serene... so calm. It helped him to calm down and be silent.

Closing his eyes, he focused upon his three Spirit Beasts. By focusing on them and using the Earth's link, he could see what they saw.

* * *

Taer was soaring through the skies of Tokyo, already in the process of locating Yuurei without being seen. As the smallest and the fastest, it wouldn't be to much trouble.

* * *

Kaze, Spirit Beast of the Wind, was still watching Shouri as he was told to do.

It seemed that the negative energies from before were gone from the boy. Both Kaze and the boy were relieved. Apparently, though, Shouri was still very unaware of Kaze's presence.

* * *

As for Anzu, her eyes were upon everyone. The Spirit Beast of Fire, majestic and pure, was watching all of those who were not monitored. It was she that knew the whereabouts of all.

She had watched Okita and Kaori with her third eye, focusing in upon everyone. Satsuki, Yuuto, Nataku, Fuuma, Hokuto, Aoki- none could escape her ever-watchful gaze...

* * *

Shisa sighed. How much longer until the planet's Fate would be decided? How much longer until he could be free? He closed his eyes silently. For now, he would just rest... so much to think on.

He had no doubt that Okita would join the Dragons of Earth in their quest. How that would affect the tides- he was not quite sure. It seemed very uneven to him, the odds of how things would turn out... but it was not his concern. His priorities were lying with Shouri, no matter how Fate twisted things.

_'... How much longer..' _The Guardian thought to himself.

Another scream reached his ears. Even his attempt at the mental block was still feeble. Perhaps it was just the fact that he wished to be restored that made him believe he was almost there. It would take a while longer...

... But how much longer did humanity have?

The Earth was crying, screaming, and wailing. Why couldn't they hear it? Why couldn't they try? ... Humanity was so blind... blinded by themselves, at that.

Shisa paused momentarily as he opened his eyes, letting himself drift into the memory of a rainy day. The rain always made him feel calm. It was like a dance to him. Each drop was a single, pure dancer who would dance and dance and dance, and probably would never stop if there was no ground...

_... Shisa-sama..? _Anzu's voice reached his ears.

He stirred. _"Nani?"_

_... Are you alright?_

... For one brief moment, a small, tender smile graced the Guardian's lips before he bowed his head and closed his eyes with a silent sigh. The silver orb did not waver, but grew stronger as a peaceful light radiated from him.

_"Hai... I have no other choice." _Shisa replied. He felt her concern. Without another word, he allowed himself to drift back into concentration. The sooner he was restored, the better. Besides the events taking place, he felt a new energy... an energy that he had not noticed before. Perhaps he would look into it later. He would sit back and watch, for now. Watch and rest.

* * *

Wandering around the city had made Kusanagi oblivious to the time and almost in an instant, night was upon him.

Wandering away from the park that he loved so dearly, he took the city roof tops and made his way back home. Off from the distance, the CLAMP school campus seemed to stand out amongst the rest of the buildings.

It was on the way, and Kusanagi jumped by to the nearest roof and landed down on the cold grass. A nostalgic smile crept across his face as he gazed up at the building in all its glory. "Heh...good times..." he muttered to himself.

Hikari yawned a bit as she walked around the campus. Those who were paying attention would seem to notice that she seem to have a fairly good understanding of where everything seemed to be. She went and got some dirt from the greenhouse, fashioning it into a very sharp dagger in her hands before she headed out. Hikari then wandered towards the outside of the building, just as Kusanagi landed on the grass outside. Hikari jumped back a bit nearly falling over, surprised. She almost started to yell at him but stopped when she realized who it was.

"So... I've finally found you... Kusanagi..." she said.

Kneeling to the ground and placing one hand face down on it, she closed her eyes in concentration. The ground around that area of the school campus begins to shake, slowly building up. Carefully taking the dagger in her other hand, she prepared to strike.

"Huh?" said a slightly dazed Kusanagi. He whirled around, facing the young woman, still confused to who she could be.

It was then that the ground began to shake beneath him. Kusanagi stumbled back, trying to keep his balance. He leapt back, holding his position firmly as tremors began to subside.

"Well, well. If it isn't my favorite cousin..." said Kusanagi with a forced smile. "How you been Ryu? Or is it Hikari today? Keep forgetting how much you like to play dress up."

Hikari stood up glared at Kusanagi.

"What about you? Still killing others from what I've heard." she said to him.

Hikari held her dagger in her hand, ready to attack.

"I guess it's about time we ran into each other. This day was bound to come after we parted... after the incident." she said.

Hikari closed her eyes and clenched her free hand.

"You better check your information again, because I'm trying to save lives, not take them," he snapped back at Hikari.

Glaring back, he stared at the dagger in her hand. "So I guess that's meant for me. I can see that you still hold that grudge, but don't think I haven't forgotten it as well. This isn't the time and place for it though..."

He began to turn and walk away, not wanting to deal with this. "I turned over a new leaf if hadn't heard already. How about we just call it a night and deal with it another time?"

"Kusanagi stop! We're going to fight. I made a promise that I would make you pay for what you did back then!" Hikari told Kusanagi.

Taking the dagger by the blade in her fingers, she gave it a toss directly at Kusanagi's back.

* * *

Shouri followed Subaru quickly, not questioning his comrade's decision or direction. As they walked, he found that his head was clear. It was a major improvement from the sorrow that had filled him like water in a dirty glass. He liked to feel bright, happy, confident... and what was more was that his body was fully up and ready to go thanks to Matsuko's chant. Whatever his mentor had done had rejuvenated him, as well.

He watched the sky as they walked. It seemed happy enough, just like he was... even though, he knew that it was probably going to cry soon.

So, the 'Dragons of Earth' wanted to destroy the world, or so was the impression that Shouri had received. Seishirou was one of them, obviously... so that meant that he couldn't let it happen. He would hold up his bargain with Subaru, though... for now. He had given his word and until he was released from it, he would keep his word.

_'So... that's three promises.' _He thought to himself with a soft smile as he looked ahead again.

The first was to Matsuko- he would return safely to the shrine and would always remember the shrine that was his home and his 'family' there. The second was to Bouygo- that he would return safely and that he would give the boy his strength while he was away; after all, the boy considered Shouri his big brother, maybe a father-figure in some ways, and he needed to know that he was coming back. The third was to Subaru, to always be there for him and not to get hurt... but there was one more promise that Shouri had made to himself; that he wouldn't allow himself Fate to take anyone else from him, especially Subaru and Hokuto.

And so, with a smile and a confident nod of his head, he kept his pace as he walked by Subaru. For the first time in the past few days, he felt as though he was standing on his own... and not leaning on another...

* * *

Hokuto listened to Mayouko and Fuuma's chatter as they walked along the streets of Tokyo. She didn't much feel like speaking, but instead went along trying out her motorist and new muscles.

She dragged a lock of hair in front of her, inspecting it's length. It had not grown so much in the last hour or so, but it was still reaching her to her chest. She wondered how long it would be as the new day would dawn. Probably below her waist.

Flexing her hand in front of her, she stretched it to the sky and her eyes fell upon something moving towards them. On closer inspection, it turned out to be Yuurei and another form.

They landed in front of the trio and Hokuto gasped at the extensive injuries the Watcher had. Running to him, she practically snatched him from the man, collapsing to the pavement with Yuurei in her lap. "Yuurei-san...? Yuurei-san...?"

* * *

No sooner had they landed, then Hokuto suddenly rushed up and all but dragged him to the ground. Too exhausted to resist, he let himself fall into her lap, and he gazed up at her out of glassy, bloodshot eyes that were starting to fade and lose their sharp, arrogant luster. "Konban wa, Hokuto-san," he greeted through a raspy cough. "Are you finding life to be all you expected?"

Tears started leaking from her eyes, watching the man in pain before her. "And more." She heard herself say. "Are you all right? Yuurei... How extensive are the injuries?"

Mayouko watched her brother through half-closed eyes as he fell into Hokuto's lap. He was injured and badly.. Mayouko could almost see his life slipping away...and for some strange reason she felt a bit of remorse...

Dante stood there in his form as it slowly begin to shift once again, the symbol fell from his chest and reappeared on the ground. The arcane seal formed at his feet and his clothing oozed up his body and wrapped around him. His form was reverted, the demon had left. "So...we are all here...," he spoke coldly and looked down upon Yuurei.

Yuurei glanced for a moment over to Mayouko, then reverted his attention to Hokuto. "Fatal," he mumbled back numbly. "As I knew from the beginning..." His voice trailed off.

"N-no!" Hokuto sobbed, embracing him. "Not now... Yuurei... I can't make him happy. Only you can do that. Don't you see? My place in his heart is there, but yours is so much bigger." She let him go, glancing at the man she did not know. "He needs you, not me."

A faint sense of anger edged its way into the numbness that was starting to become overwhelming. "Don't you dare," he spat in surprisingly crisp syllables. "Don't you dare tell me that. Not now. It's too late. Don't let him go. Ever. I'll never forgive you, Hokuto..." At that moment he coughed up another mouthful of blood, and momentarily leaned back in her arms to close his eyes in disturbed rest.

Hands deep in the pocket of her coat Mayouko listened to his words and the feeling of remorse was quickly replaced by that of satisfied glee. Finally her dearest brother was getting the picture... Her face however hinted at nothing as she continued to stare down at Yuurei...

His eyes showed no compassion as he looked back and forth from the two. "What is this? Yuurei, who is this girl?" he spat. He reached for his pocket and drew a cigarette. "Yuuurei...I do not enjoy being played as a monkey..." his voice was filled with rising anger, his insane eyes dilated several times.

The tears started rolling down her cheeks and she couldn't remember doing anything other than crying since she had wandered into Kakyou's dreamscape and met the dying man before her. He had offered to resurrect her, letting her be with Kakyou and she had wanted to, so bad. She had let him and her brother put their life into her and here she was, saying it was all for nothing. Believing it was all for nothing. "Yuurei." She sobbed. "I promised him I would bring you to him. I promised."

With everyone pummeling him with words, he nearly wished this near unconscious state would finally envelope him and get it over with. Dismissing Hokuto's worries for a moment, he turned his fading gaze with a curt smirk up to Dante. "This 'girl' is the sister of one of the Dragons of Heaven," he answered simply. Then he pointed to Fuuma. "He's the one you want to talk to."

Something was not right, could this mere girl be a Dragon of Heaven? And this boy...something was not right. "Yuurei...understand if you led me to the wrong people..." He spat again. "I will make your death so painful, it shall be legendary throughout all of Hell and the Abyss." He brought his hand up and a green flame emerged a little and caressed the cigarette.

Yuurei spat out an amused laugh. "Go ahead!" he exclaimed in a throaty cough. "I'm dead anyway! Might as well make a legend out of my pathetic existence..."

"No!" Hokuto looked up, watching the man she had never laid eyes upon in confusion, frustration and desperate hope. "Don't kill him... Don't...hurt him."

Dante merely grinned. "So you did make a mockery out of me..." He took a deep drag from his cigarette. The man moved his hand to the side and tilted his head.

A flash of green shifted Mayouko's attention from Yuurei to the man whom had been with him. Looking him up and down, Mayouko could feel the sinister nature pouring off him in waves. Not that it bothered her, of course... Raising an eyebrow, she glances back down at her brother and said with a smirk. "Mind introducing us, Onii-chan?"

Yuurei refrained from rolling his eyes. "Oh, forgive my rudeness. This is Dante"--he nodded in the man's direction--"an ally of the Dragons of Heaven...supposedly."

Meanwhile Dante softly chanted "A-m-ipzi ils Shaitan..." The earth underneath his hand trembled gently. His pupils faded as he was consumed with the soft whispers to his damned princes. "Noan Napea Noco..." A seal formed at the ground and as what could be only described as a hideous living blade emerged.

Hokuto was surprised. An ally of the Ten no Ryu? And he wanted to kill Yuurei? She straightened up, leaving Yuurei to rest in her lap. "Have you seen my brother? Have you seen Subaru?"

Mayouko kept her face blank at Yuurei's snide answer and instead focused her attention back on Dante and watched as a rather impressive looking sword emerged from the ground and mumbled under her breath. "An ally for the Seals seems a bit far-fetched..."

"Answer me Yuurei, who are these people?! The fate of the world is at hand and my masters don't need to die now! Not when we are so close!" he spat quickly and with even more rage. Dante gripped the massive sword as it's ominous eye peered around from the side of the blade.

* * *

Fuuma eyed Dante, stepping out of the shadows. He was licking a ice cream cone. "Hmm...who are you...?" He licked the cone.

At Dante's curses, Yuurei only laid his head back and rested, smirking as Fuuma finally let himself be known.

"I am Baal" he peered over to Fuuma. A bit of sweat dripped from Dante's forehead; he knew that this man was too confident, too calm.

"Hokuto...explain him." Fuuma took another lick...not taking his eyes off Dante.

"I don't know who he is." She frowned and turned her attention back to Yuurei, stroking his forehead. "You'll be alright. You have to be alright."

Seeing now that most were occupied with other things, Mayouko slid next to Yuurei and Hokuto. Kneeling she glanced down at him and smirked then said quietly, "So you've finally come to your senses..."

Fuuma eyed Yuurei out of the corner of his eye. He smirked, knowing the man's fate.

"Yuurei...you scum...you completely lied to me...Can't you hear their screams?" he said slowly, gazing at Yuurei with those twisted, dilating eyes. Dante gripped the blade tightly.

Fuuma sighed and released a telekinetic grip on Dante's wrists, they began to twist. _Lick...Lick..._

Dante winced in pain and dropped the blade which melted into a puddle of filth onto the ground. He knew if Abbadon did not infest him again, he would die.

Fuuma smiled at Dante, walking toward him. He licked his ice cream slowly. "Tell me...You show up here to interrupt my casual evening and you expect a warm welcome?"

The sweat became more evident "You can blame that man." He motioned to Yuurei.

Fuuma's smile only grew. "You want to kill him too?" He seemed very friendly at this moment, licking his ice cream.

Yuurei winced at the hiss in his ear that belonged to his own sister. His eyes eventually met hers. "You...," he breathed dangerously. "You're the one who did this to him..."

Mayouko raised an eyebrow and chuckled darkly. "I have done nothing. In fact it's been the exact opposite.. it's you who have made him this way. You're just too blind to realize it."

Fuuma laughed cheerily...suddenly the ice cream in his hand was crushing as he formed a fist and he threw the fist at Dante with enough strength to knock him 10 feet. His face was VERY cold. "I believe...-"

"Allar c pambt babalon l abbadon lap noqod noar ta ozazm!!" he chanted quickly. His form shifted quickly...too quickly. Dante let out a howl of pain that had a tinge of laughter in it...but not his own. The wings busted from his back, ripping flesh and muscle. The claws spurted and the horns shot out like nail being pressed by a hammer threw thin wood.

Fuuma stopped and stared at the transformation... That only angered him more. "...Pretty...but not useful."

The fusion leapt up and took flight as quickly as his hell form did.

Fuuma eyes were narrow...How dare he...how dare he...He let of his energy to let the ground shatter around him He breathed heavily and finally turned around with a smile. "More Ice Cream!"

Interrupted by the sudden departure of Dante, Yuurei started to relax a little. At least he had not lead that wicked being to Subaru and Shouri. But now his gaze rested on Fuuma...and he nearly fell over at the young man's demand.

Mayouko watched through narrowed maroon eyes as Dante took off. "I think I might grow to like him... And as to your demand Fuuma, what do you suppose we do about him first?" she smirked and prodded Yuurei in the ribs. "Unless you want him to join us of course..."

Fuuma eyed Yuurei with a dark grin. He leaned in close. "You pay..."

Grimacing as Mayouko prodded at his ribs, Yuurei clenched his teeth and suddenly lashed out an angry hand, gripping the girl's collar and jerking her roughly down so that he could spit in her face. "Coward!" he coughed hoarsely. Eyes glazed over with the look of impending death, he glared at her furiously. "Self-righteous wench! It's one thing to take what you want from me. But this is going too far. This is..." But he suddenly choked, and wide-eyed, reeled back in pain, hacking up blood and bile, nearly drowning in his own blood.

Only then did Yuurei turn to Fuuma. A spark of fire parted the curtain of death in his eyes briefly. "You," he spat bitterly when he could finally speak again, his upper lip curling into a snarl. "Burn...in...Hell."

Fuuma smiled at Yuurei, and suddenly...his fist flew at the man.

Mayouko chuckles and with a finger, wiped off the small bit of blood and spit that landed on her cheek. Seeing Fuuma's intention, she quickly wrenched her collar out of Yuurei's hand and stumbled back a few steps...

Yuurei had expected something like that. Still he was defenseless to prevent its impact. Eyes widening in pain, he let out a low grunt as his head was knocked to the side, shoving him completely out of Hokuto's arms and onto the pavement.

Fuuma smiled at Yuurei. "Burn in Hell yourself. Come, Ladies. He's learned his lesson."

Hokuto reached out for him, trying to catch him, but collapsed half- way, feeling faint. Why were they arguing? Why Mayouko and Yuurei? They were siblings, they shared the same blood.

But before they could go, Yuurei reached out to grab Hokuto's arm. Through pain-filled, pleading eyes, he spoke, "Protect him, okay?"

Mayouko smiled. "I think we should bring him with us...or at least maybe move him...perhaps to my house? Seeing as it's the closest..."

"Hmm...Whatever you wish...He just better respect me.." He looked to Hokuto. "You all right, dear?"

Hokuto felt a stab of cold in her heart and thought of Subaru. Where was he now? Was he okay? Seishirou had been there when she left... He wasn't the harmless veterinarian anymore. She gulped and blackness enveloped her.

"Hokuto!..." Fuuma leapt down to catch her.

Mayouko's maroon eyes filled with triumph, leaning down she whispered into her brother's ear her voice sugary sweet, "Well what would you like, Onii-chan--to stay here or to come with me...?"

Fuuma eyed Hokuto and lifted her. "Should I take her to Subaru or back with you?"

Yuurei clenched his teeth. Kakyou was at Mayouko's apartment. He could not allow her to take him. Angrily he spat, "I'd rather stay with Fuuma than go anywhere with you, Mayouko." His eyes were cold and hard, as was his soul.

Fuuma smirked. "That can be arranged."

Mayouko grinned. "Well seeing as Fuuma's already here...I think you have no choice. We'll bring them both to my apartment, of course..." she said over her shoulder at Fuuma, her eyes still watching Yuurei. "Come on now Onii-chan," she sneered, "You want to follow Fuuma and so we shall. I suppose though...that I'll have to be the one to carry you. I'm quite sure that Fuuma already has his hands full..."

Struggling to his feet, Yuurei staggered back and forth to catch his balance, like a drunkard who had taken a shot too many. Making his way toward Fuuma, he stood before the younger man, his left eye marred by the scar Fuuma had given him earlier. Strangely, a smile appeared across his face. "Why don't you kill me now and save yourself the trouble?" he said hoarsely in a low tone. "I'm liable to take my own life if I have to listen to that wretch another minute," he added, nodding back toward Mayouko.

Fuuma smiled and whisper in his ear. "Because I don't want to mar my hands with the blood of insects like you."

Smirking at the man's answer, Yuurei suddenly grasped Fuuma's hand in both of his own and lifted it forcibly to his lips, kissing the palm and smearing his blood over the smooth skin. His eyes never left Fuuma's. "Now it seems it doesn't matter...ne?"

Mayouko chuckled darkly as Yuurei forced himself up. She continued watching through narrowed eyes and almost laughed at Fuuma's answer to Yuurei's question. Her voice soft she said, "You should remember that you are surrounded by enemies here, Onii-chan..."

Fuuma sighed and suddenly kicked Yuurei forcefully between the legs, clutching onto Hokuto. "You must also remember I'm holding a lady."

Eyes widening again, Yuurei clutched himself and fell to his knees, grunting in pain. But still he managed to smirk through the agony, lifting his eyes--though not his chin--defiantly up at Fuuma. "Ah, yes," he choked through pained gasps, "Forgive me. I seem to have forgotten you're anxious to take her back to your apartment and get her into your bed."

Fuuma eyed Yuurei and laughed. "You will die...just not now. Wait a while."

* * *

Kusanagi quickly turned around and cough the dagger by the handle, gripping it tightly in anger. He should have expected as much from Hikari. This was the same person whom he shared he teen years with.

Griping the flat end of the blade with his other hand, Kusanagi easily snapped the blade in two and tossed the broken remnants behind his shoulders.

"Just as hot headed as ever..." said Kusanagi. "And you still believe I'm the one who caused all this? I should have figured as much. Why else would you come all the way to Tokyo?"

"Well, that was a reason, along with the fact that one doesn't turn down an invitation to study at this school." Hikari said.

She went and grabbed two large handfuls of dirt. Putting them together, she created a sharp earthen sword.

"Let's see just how well in shape you've kept yourself over these years." Hikari told him.

* * *

Pulled suddenly from her trance, Hinoto gasped. A smirk flickered across her lips for the barest of moments and then vanished to be replaced but the face of the Hinoto she showed to the others... The Seals had been dealt a few blows while she had been fighting within herself, and much to her happiness all had not come out unscathed.

All the better for her, she mused..

In fact, one was here with another who would become essential to the shaping of the future and two more were on the way. Shifting slightly, she took a deep breath and said telepathically, her voice soft. _ Welcome. You come seeking me? _

Aoki walked into the place and nodded.

"Yes, we have. We come seeking news about the other Seals... and I would like to know about how this young one here was able to enter the Kekkai I created." he said calmly to Hinoto.


	61. Chapter 59: Blue Wings

**Chapter Fifty-Nine: Blue Wings**

It did not take Taer long to find Yuurei with Dante's sudden summons causing energies to shift in the wind and the spirits to run. What it was, he didn't know. His mission was to find the Watcher and allow Shisa to see through his eyes. That was what he would do...

But when he found him...

It..

Wasn't...

Quite...

What..

He..

Had expected...

The bird now perched from atop a nearby building, invisible to the naked-eye, as always. His small blue wings dropped abruptly after the landing. What he saw... what he saw...

Those energies. That... presence. It was as though the spirits in the wind and sky cried and tried to escape, but were held in the balance as always- trapped and forced to remain in the union and hold together. He could only watch and listen in horror as Yuurei was abused, even if it was lightly. Seeing another being in pain...

It was crazy. It was too much. Still, he could do nothing but watch. Why!? Why the hell couldn't he help him!? .. Because that would be interference, and Shisa-sama demanded absolute loyalty. Still, he felt it was wrong...

And when Dante fled, the bird felt its small stomach lurch and turned, shaking more than an Earth-quake. And... that damned man.. THE Dragon of Earth...

It made his blood boil. How could any human use the name of the Earth, anyhow... true, he didn't mind on some occasions.. but one who wished to destroy it, break the union that they had tried for so long to keep...

With every wave of pain sensed, Taer bowed his head, squinting lightly. It was too much... and he was going to say SOMETHING about it!

His blue wings shifted colors, the edges growing to be razors practically as each feather seemed to grow even colder than ice. To force himself not to attack, not to get too close, and to keep his energies down and his union true, he simply kept his head bowed... But he was NOT going to let this pass. No...

... And on the other end, it would not pass, either.

For Shisa, the pain that Yuurei felt was nothing, for the guardian bore the pains of the Earth every waking second. He never received a break... even when healing or 'sleeping', he could not shut out the pain. Why it didn't shatter his existence, he didn't know. He wished that it would, but it would not...

But the pain of an actual living being, true in existence... that pain was what Shisa could never know.

Watching through Taer's eyes, the guardian felt the pain radiating from Yuurei. He felt the wind crying its gentle tears in the breeze, but barely heard himself curse after watching Dante retreat.

_'Coward.' _He thought simply. No shaking. No outward rage. What could he expect? For someone to actually stand UP to the sugar-crazed, blood-thirsty Dragon of Earth? No. Not even the strongest heart could...

The Earth couldn't even face him... Of course, the planet's feelings were very mixed, too...

Shisa felt his long black strands beginning to grow a little longer, or rather, rip free from the small pony-tail holder that had held them captive. He felt the hood of his cloak fly back as the loosely opened doors began to slam open and shut, open and shut. This was from Shisa's restoration... the wind was installing a few new 'abilities' into him, and it would take even more time.

However, Shisa could care less. His concern was for one other creature that knew what it was to be concealed forever in the shadows of others... one who had known his intent upon merely looking at him. That had never happened... and Shisa did not plan upon letting the Watcher die.. but he could not interfere, either... not now..

Perhaps if he could reach Shouri...

No. That would be unforgivable. The boy had gone through enough. While Shisa always tried to stay true to his curse of non-interference, there were always exceptions... but the Earth was not permitting him to exit the building. It wanted him to sleep. Of course, all that Shisa needed to say were six special words.. and he would be permitted by the Earth, to stand on his own two feet. Being a Guardian was a tough job... and he hated it...

He disliked the Dragons of Earth, too... To the point, that if he should choose a side, it would be with the Dragons of Heaven...

_"KUDASAI, MASTER! I can't stand it anymore! I'm going to go insane if I don-"_

_"Hold your ground, Taer." _Was Shisa's reply. And he had wished that he could have told the bird to transform... Do what he must to at least get Yuurei out.

Again, the wave of pain caught him by surprise. His slender fingers traced the silver orb that surrounded him in that abandoned old warehouse...

_... How long..?_

As he stared out at the darkness, a thought occurred. Yes. Yes, that could very well work.. it was brilliant. The thought.. yes! Absolutely! That would work better than ANYTHING...

_... Yuurei-sama... you've given me something, perhaps a small hint that humanity is not entirely hopeless... and today.. is not your day to die. I will overrule Fate if I must..  
_  
The Guardian closed his eyes, still watching. Yes, but would Fuuma do what was needed for him to be able to do so? ... He hoped he would.. but he hoped that he wouldn't...

And if things worked accordingly.. then there was no way that the Watcher could die. Not on the Guardian's watch...

If only he could cry, that would make the moment perfect... but his tears were unfocused in his heart... for he could never cry. And never would...

* * *

Mayouko choked on the laughter that was threatening to bubble over. "You seem to have little choice, Yuurei...so what will it be?"

Yuurei started to panic. Back to Mayouko's place? Where Kakyou was? No...he could not. Clenching his teeth and curling over himself, he rested his forehead on the ground. "Just leave me alone..."

Mayouko smirked. "Too bad...you're coming anyway.." Walking up to him, she grabbed him by the back of the collar and starts to drag him along, letting him feel every bump and jolt on the way.

She was strong. How had she gotten this strong? He growled as she dragged him along. Perhaps his body had just become lighter as a result of his injuries. But...over the course of a day? It truly did not matter. She was taking him to Kakyou. His worst fears were realized. Kakyou would see him dying.

Mayouko chuckled as she continued to drag him along. "Now, now, Yuurei, no need to get all put out. Kakyou isn't in much of a condition to see you anyway so I wouldn't worry."

Yuurei's eyes widened at those words. "What have you done to him?!" he demanded angrily, reaching out to grab her arm, pulling himself to his feet and shoving her around so that their eyes met.

Mayouko looked up at him, her maroon eyes never wavering from his crimson ones. "I told you...I had nothing to do with it. You're the one that's making him unhappy..."

He continued to glare at her. "I realize that. So why are you taking me back with you? To derive amusement out of watching me hurt him more?"

Mayouko's lips twitched into a grin. "It's more because I like to see you suffer... It's highly amusing. And though you seem to have given up on him he has not given up on you... That should be fixed."

Through clenched teeth, he at last closed his eyes. It was true. "Yes...it should." Glancing up at her apartment building as they approached the front entrance, he took on a sad smile and glanced back at her. "Then...I suppose you'll get what you want tonight."

Mayouko nodded and fished for her key in her pocket even as she let go of her hold on Yuurei's collar. Unlocking the door she said. "It seems we finally have something in common, Brother..." She stopped as if wanting to continue, but then, shaking her head, she opened the door wide and let Yuurei go in front of her.

Yuurei stepped into her apartment room and glanced around, even in his weary state able to sense Kakyou's presence in the quaint bedroom down the hall. Hesitantly he stumbled toward it, looking into the room and leaning to rest against the doorway...

Closing the door behind her with barely a click, she flung her keys on the table and hung up her coat, then padded toward the bedroom... She wasn't about to miss this.

* * *

Kakyou was still curled up in a tight ball, his back facing the doorway, his head tucked into his arms. His breathing was labored and very few minutes a sound like that of a sob could be heard coming from his throat...

Yuurei nearly choked. How could he carry out what he was planning? The sweet, innocent little angel deserved nothing of this harsh, cruel destiny he had been given. But gradually he managed to stumble inside, finally sinking onto the side of the bed, his blood messing up the sheets as he lifted a hand and gently, tentatively, placed it on Kakyou's slender shoulder...

The world immediately began to dissolve around Yuurei, leaving total darkness in it's wake. The line of wall went on forever, the only gap occupied by the huddled up form of Kakyou, his knees pulled up to his chest once more, his forehead resting on his bent knees.. The entrance of someone made the dream-seer look up, his golden eye's filled with pain, longing, regret, and tears...

Yuurei met his eyes, his form in the dream world much stronger than that in reality. He walked more confidently toward the young man, pain etched in his face, yet knowing what he had to accomplish. Finally he came to stand before the dream seer, staring down at him with longing eyes full of regret and desire, yet still he said nothing.

Kakyou continued to stare at Yuurei, his eyes now a bit wide with surprise. Those crimson eyes spoke volumes in that moment, and Kakyou knew that for whatever reason, Yuurei seemed to be unhappy... He continued looking at the man through muddled golden eyes and said softly, "You came back..."

He wanted to tell his darling yume-mi that he was sorry...to beg forgiveness for what he was about to do. But that would only make the situation worse. He also knew that Hokuto was unconscious now and on her way here. So, with a deep breath, holding back the tears in his eyes, Yuurei rocked forward on his left leg, and swung the right out in an expertly executed kick...right into the vulnerable side of Kakyou's ribs.

Kakyou gasped out loud and keeled over onto his left side. Tears spilled afresh out of his eyes as he gasped out one word, "Why?"

Tears brimming at his crimson eyes, Yuurei clenched his teeth and shot one hand down, gripping a handful of platinum-blonde locks and jerking Kakyou back up to his knees. "You want my reason?" he sneered through pain-racked gasps. "Because you are a fool, Kakyou!" Knotting his free hand into a fist, he forced it to comply to move forward swiftly, colliding with Kakyou's jaw. "You're a coward!" he cried. "Nothing but a coward! You make me sick!" Instantly his hand came down and knotted again, plunging deeply and brutally into Kakyou's tender gut.

Kakyou did nothing to fight back. He remained limp in Yuurei's grasp, letting himself be abused, curling over himself when he could, his ears trying to shut out the words that kept echoing in his head...

Yuurei wanted Kakyou to fight back. Anything to protect himself. Yet the lovely dream seer did nothing. He completely succumbed to Yuurei's will. Again and again Yuurei struck him, drawing blood and leaving bruises everywhere. Finally, catching a glimpse of that agonized face, spilling innocent tears and having done nothing wrong, he stopped. He sank to his knees and let Kakyou fall to the floor again. "Enough," he heard himself say, as if somewhere far off in the distance. "Please...let it be enough. Can't I just die now...?"

Kakyou took each blow, each bruise and still nothing spilled forth from his lips, no cry...no plea...no sound... The only thing to show that he was even living anymore were the tears that continuously rolled down his cheeks. It was a surprise when, for no reason, the pummeling stopped, and he was dropped back onto the black floor. He curled around himself again, still no sound coming from his lips, even as Yuurei spoke to the darkness that surrounded them.

Had he broken the man? What had he done? He lowered his gaze to the fragile, motionless creature lying helplessly on the floor. Tears formed a puddle under Kakyou's eyes, and gradually Yuurei leaned over him to kiss them away. Cupping the dream seer's head with both callused, bloodstained hands, he covered the younger man's face with his tears, finally released when he could no longer find the strength to hold them back. He wiped them away from the pale, bruised face with the silvery locks of hair, causing the tresses to become tangled and disarrayed. Confused...he was so confused. He had no right to jerk Kakyou around like this. It was cruel.

At last he stood up again, leaving the injured yume-mi to rest on the floor. He had to practically bite his tongue to keep himself from apologizing profusely. He closed his eyes and turned his back on the man he loved most in the world. Perhaps he could still get out before Hokuto arrived.

* * *

Uo seemed to slightly be off in dreamland, but paid attention nonetheless. The woman there looked like a child to her, but appearances were very deceiving. She wondered if all that Aoki had said of her was true...

Well, that was easy enough to determine. He'd said she was deaf, blind, couldn't walk, and a few other things... but she obviously knew they were there, and could speak, too... well, something like that.

She tilted her head. Well, she sort of knew why... but really didn't. Who knew... it wasn't like she had anything to do with all of this, really. She was an innocent bystander. She just wanted to keep Kotori safe... and to know why Fuuma was acting so weird.  
After all, if anyone wasn't afraid of Fuuma, it was her. He would never be able to scare her. It was what he could do to Kotori that had her worried... but he would never manage to scare her, not matter how twisted.

_'Hmn...' _she opened her eyes again and stayed silent. It was best not to let anyone know that she was a little edgy... she wasn't afraid of Hinoto... just a little edgy.

After all... the whole 'being-defenseless' thing was new to her... It was her defense that made her so poor. Strength-wise, Uo knew she could take out a man twice her size if she really wanted to... but.. concerning pain tolerance... and her constitution...

She shuddered and put it out of her mind. She needed to focus on the matters at hand. Once again, she sunk into silence and listened.

"Seiichiro-san?" The young man beside Hinoto glanced sideways at the two newcomers, recognizing his uncle's voice and figure instantly. He stood, taking a few steps towards Aoki before stopping. His eyes darted from Hinoto to Aoki. A groan sounded in the far corner of the room. Evidently, the twin that had been blown against the wall was regaining consciousness.

"I haven't seen you around lately, uncle. Have you been alright? How are things.. and who's with you?" Saiki edged toward his relative, somewhat assured that Hien could take care of Hinoto in the brief span of time it took him to speak to Aoki.

"Saiki? I'm ok, a little worse for wear, but I'm doing well. Broke up one of the Dragon of Earth's bases and saved the girl here from their clutches. Her name is Uo. She's been through a lot and all. She is friends with Yuzuriha and is very worried about her." Aoki said.

He pushed his glasses up on his face.

"What about you? How have things been with you and things down here?" Aoki asked, smiling at his nephew.

"Hinoto-hime- ah..." A blush slowly crept across Saiki's face. "There have been some unusual people coming through here, but I think we're all fine."

"...erg..." Souhi slowly climbed to her feet, catching the last half of Saiki's sentence while blinking to clear the fuzziness clouding her vision. "Speak for yourself, Saiki-san." She made her way towards Hinoto, exchanging a quick conversation via a glance with her sister.

"Err.." Saiki glanced back at Hinoto, attempting to hide the deepening blush. "But Hinoto-hime could best tell you everything, Seiichiro-san." He smiled. "It's good to see you're safe, with everything that seems to be happening."

Subaru continued to clasp the young boy's hand in his hand, as he took the familiar walk through the DIET building and to the hidden elevator that lead to the secret basement.

As he walked in, he took notice of its occupants. A young woman about Shouri's age that he didn't recognize, Aoki, Saiki, Souhi, and Hien.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything," Subaru said, leading the boy forward. "But there's someone I'm looking for..."

* * *

The horned beast flew to his host's apartment complex in fear and landed on the roof and let out a heart-stopping roar that sounded off car alarms and probably caused what elderly around to suffer from strokes or heart attacks. His form changed once more, Abbadon was quite pissed and thus left for now. As the area went completely silent, Dante fell over onto the ground.

"Damn it..." Dante hissed as he clutched the area where he was slammed. "O-Only if I was f-faster..." he stuttered as he limped towards the rooftop entry. Dante knew he would be reprimanded and mocked by all of Hell for not putting up at least somewhat of a fight. He stumbled down the stairs and into his room quickly before the security guard of the complex went to the roof.

Dante threw off his coat and walked over to his altar that was stained in the blood of a goat he had found in a farm far outside of Tokyo. It wasn't a human, but it wouldn't raise as many questions as a human sacrifice would. It's corpse lied within the inverted pentagram as seals were smeared around the blasphemous symbol. The guts of it were eaten by Abbadon the first time Dante contacted the Arch-duke.

The cruel man fell to his knees and started praying to his dark gods, slashing himself with an anathema and letting the blood spill onto the now glowing symbol. Throughout Dante's head were the screams of Hell and the voices of the Arch-dukes he worshipped and revered. After many minutes of his self-mutilation, the voices stopped their taunting and scorning.

Dante stood up, blood soaked his ripped clothing. His wounds were scabbing, even though they were quite deep. He walked over to his kitchen area and pulled out the odor killer to hide the smell of copper that was in his blood and sprayed it all over. He walked to his room and lit the candles with the hellfire that he controlled and lied down. And within his sleep did the legions of Hell laugh and mock at him.

* * *

Hokuto's eyelids fluttered open, illuminating two startling green orbs. There was darkness enveloping her, stretching out in all directions. Confused, she sat up gingerly, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

Was she dreaming? It couldn't be anything else. The dark dreamscape reached as far as the eye could see and she had never been in such a place in the outside world.

Rubbing her head, she could feel a dull ache throbbing and groaned. She remembered it now. She had collapsed in the street, frustrated and upset at the Tamashii siblings' bickering, not knowing such sibling relationships even existed. She had thought of Subaru, where he was and how he was doing, and then darkness had swallowed her.

Shaking, she tried to stand, but found it difficult. Her body was still weak, her mind even more so. She felt so drained, so absolutely crushed, and all she really wanted was to sleep. Not dream, not wake, but sleep until the world ended. It seemed to her as if being resurrected had not done her much good. Or anyone else she had encountered since her being revived.

Subaru. Shouri. She had left them with Seishirou. Both were people she cared deeply for, and she had left them. Left them with a man she knew was a killer. A man she knew wouldn't hesitate to murder them both.

Mayouko. Fuuma. Both were people she found interesting and she wanted to know them, wanted to care for them. But they were Chi no Ryu and she couldn't. Because of so many things. Because she needed to be with Subaru again. She had to.

Yuurei. She had promised him to take care of Kakyou. But she couldn't. Kakyou didn't need her, he needed Yuurei and even if she wanted to, even if it was all she wanted to do, she could not make him happy anymore. And she hated it.

Kakyou. She gulped, feeling her heart hurt for him, reaching out for him. She wanted to be strong for him, wanted to make him happy, but she didn't deserve it. She sobbed. She knew she didn't deserve it, for his happiness would make her happy and she didn't deserve to be happy.

Not after all the promises she'd broken.

She felt horrible.

Touching her moist cheek, she sobbed again, trying to force the tears away. It worked to some extent, but her eyes were still blurry as she, shaking with silent sobs, stood up and lifted her head, surveying the black dreamscape.

She couldn't see anything than herself, illuminated by a faint glowing coming from within. Her clothes were no longer the black ones she had been buried in, but the apricot colored outfit she had used when first meeting Kakyou. Frowning at that, a salty drop of pearly white liquid fell to the ground and splashed onto the surface, glittering as it was a source of light by itself.

She reached down to touch it and as her finger came in contact with the wet substance, the dreamscape around her flickered and another drop of something red came to rest beside her tear. She moved her finger and gingerly touched the red drop.

It was blood, she realized with a jolt, her hand jerked away from the ground and she stood up, raised her head and was faced with familiar paper walls. But Kakyou wasn't resting against them as he had done when she first met him.

He was laying on the ground, blood seeping from several wounds, his eyes closed. His pained expression and the tears that had been and were still running down his face made Hokuto's breath catch in her throat and she let out a muffled sob, stumbling towards him.

But was a voice spoke, she froze, turning her eyes to the man responsible for Kakyou's injuries, the man Hokuto had never thought capable of inflicting such damage upon the yume-mi they both loved.

Yuurei was standing, his face in shadow but turned down so that he was looking at Kakyou and Hokuto realized he hadn't seen her.

"Enough," He said and a hatred she had never known filled her. "Please...let it be enough. Can't I just die now...?"

She watching in silence, in complete apathy, as the Watcher bent down and wiped away the tears that stained Kakyou's face. She flinched as skin touched skin, not wanting him to touch the yumi-mi, not wanting him anywhere near Kakyou.

The tears were brushed away and she gritted her teeth together as his hands ran through Kakyou's silvery tresses, tangling them together. As the man she now possessed such intense hatred for stood up, she wondered how she mere minutes ago could have found him to be a friend, a companion, someone she could trust Kakyou with.

Yes, he had resurrected her. Yes, he was a friend of Subaru. But it didn't matter. He had purposely hurt the yume-mi she thought he loved, cared for and wanted to protect. How could she have been so wrong?

She stood up, much steadier now, her anger and hatred guiding her movements. He turned his back on Kakyou and as he raised his head, they made eye-contact and Hokuto's anger blazed in her eyes.

She did not speak, did not acknowledge his presence, but walked purposely past him and kneeled next to Kakyou, reaching out a hand and softly touched his right cheek.

She turned her head and looked at the Watcher. "Why?"

* * *

"Its just like you to want to finish things right away as soon as you start them..." smirked Kusanagi. "And I can see that you have a better grip on your powers then you did before."

"Well I have been practicing for this moment cousin. What about yourself? Do you feel you're powerful enough to battle me as I am now?" Hikari asked Kusanagi.

"I'm afraid your way out of your league now Cuz," said Kusanagi." I'm one hundred times strong than we were as kids. Its best that you just leave now. I really would hate to mess up that pretty face of yours..."

Hikari glared at Kusanagi some more and growled a bit. "No... I am not going to... I am not going to let you win..." she said. Hikari then charged at Kusanagi, bringing the sword around and swinging it horizontally at his midsection.

"You never listen do you?" growled Kusanagi as he leap back, barely avoiding the tip of the blade. "Do you still hate me for back then? It was equally your fault as it was mine. Why put the blame on me?"

"Because it was your fault! She died because of you Kusanagi... she died because you did nothing to help save her..." Hikari said, her eyes closed, tears coming out some. Shaking her head a bit, Hikari opened up her eyes again and glared at Kusanagi. "The only way she'll be at peace is if you are dead Kusanagi." she said.

Kusanagi eyes saddened as he turned away. As much as it hurt, he held back the tears that he so desperately wanted to shed. "Baka..." said Kusanagi clenching his fist. "Putting the blame on others when it was your fault. I now remember why I hate you so much..."

Hikari let her tears come out as she stood there. "Stop being a hypocrite... you know you're the reason she died..." she said to Kusanagi. Taking the sword in both her hands, she charged forth at Kusanagi again, this time trying for a diagonal slice from upper right to lower left.

Kusanagi jumped back again, feeling the flesh being torn from his blade as it grazed him. "Hypocrite!?" barked Kusanagi while he clenched his fresh wound. "I did everything I could! If you need someone to blame, blame yourself! You were to weak to do anything! Just as you are now!"

The ground began to shake as Kusanagi's anger rose. Bending over, he slammed his fist into the ground, causing the earth to crack and split beneath Hikari's feet.

Though struggling at first to keep his balance, Kusanagi leapt in the air towards Hikari with his right foot extended. Aiming for her midsection.

An earthen barrier quickly went up as the earthquake died off suddenly, Hikari rolling to the side and her feet, her sword being left where she had landed from her earlier jump and stumble.

Kusanagi crashed into the barrier and fell on his back. Quickly back hand springing to his feet, he stumbled back a bit and rub his head. "Well, looks like you learned a few new tricks sine I last saw you," he said, somewhat impressed.


	62. Chapter 60: Even Those Times Fade Away

**Chapter Sixty: Even Those Times Fade Away**

Her presence cut through his soul like a knife, yet he did not turn. Clenching his teeth, he knotted his fists at the question. "You would not understand," he mumbled through seething teeth, angry at himself for not leaving sooner.

Hokuto turned back to watch Kakyou, not wanting to look at him any more than she had to. She tried to calm herself. She wouldn't scream at him. "Perhaps I won't. Perhaps I will just hate you more if I knew the reason. But I still want to know."

As light kisses caressed his cheek, Kakyou remained a frozen statue, tears that fell like a gentle rain against his face, not his but Yuurei's... And even when his own hair was used to dry them, he still did not even flinch...not even sobs could rise from his throat anymore... He would have pushed Yuurei's hand away, but before he could, Yuurei stood of his own accord. And then another presence...one that gave off hope and compassion... A few moments later a feather light touch on his right cheek...and that was what made him stir. He nuzzled his cheek into it, a warmth in the cold depths of what he hoped was a horrible nightmare...

Frowning and lowering his head, Yuurei closed his eyes to calm down. Then, gesturing to her to follow him to where Kakyou would not be able to hear, he proceeded. For the first time, he looked into her deep emerald eyes. "I'm dying, Hokuto," he murmured somberly. "I don't want to leave him, but I don't have a choice. He's got it stuck in his head that he can't be happy without me. It's foolish, really..." He tried to force out a chuckle, but failed miserably. "I can't let him live out the rest of his life like that." A smile crossed his lips, but it was a sorrowful one. "I know I'm cruel to hurt him like that. But it had to be done. If it means he can come to hate me as you seem to have done so, it will be for the best..." Mournfully he turned his head away and let the shadows veil his face once more.

Hokuto left Kakyou and listened to Yuurei, but it did nothing to ease her anger. Even if she understood him better, he could have done something other than beat the yume-mi half to death. "There had to have been other ways," she stated simply, looking into his eyes. She could see his pain and his longing for Kakyou, but strangely, she did not care anymore. All she knew as that he had hurt the frail dream gazer and that was all she needed to know. "He trusted you. He still does. And this won't make it easier. You might think so, but it won't." She paused and looked down, not wanting to look at him any more than she had to. "Because he'll still love you. It runs deeper than a few beatings. You should know that." Gritting her teeth together, she took a step back from him. "But you've just proven that you don't."

Yuurei shrugged and took another step into the darkness. "Think what you will. It won't matter in a few hours. Then I'll be gone, and I'll never hurt him again."

"Good," she said, turned her back to him and went back to Kakyou, kneeling beside him. "I'm sorry."

Kakyou whimpered a bit as the heat of Hokuto's hand was removed and he was blanketed in cold once more... Listening with one ear, the words did not even penetrate his inner psyche. All he could feel after a moment was...steps backward: one...two...and then Hokuto kneeling next to him. Lifting his head as much as he dared, a million pricks of pain shooting through him with just that one motion, he opened his eyes to slits and said hoarsely, "Why...? Why do you do this to me...?"

Yuurei came to a halt. He knew those words were directed at him. But he was not stupid enough to repeat what he had explained to Kakyou. "You really are pathetic, Kakyou. You can't even defend yourself. Or rather...you won't." He scoffed forcibly. "If you can't figure it out for yourself, then you are certainly not worth wasting my breath in an explanation. Perhaps Hokuto can comfort you...one way or another." With a more sensual smirk at the implications behind his words, he returned once more to retreating into the darkness.

Kakyou watched him walk away, the words this time entering into his memory like a knife. It was true what Yuurei said of him...but how could he defend himself...? Had he, Yuurei would have twisted his efforts for his own purposes...like he had before... Kakyou's golden gaze slid back to the floor, and he held his tongue, afraid that anything he said would be thrown back at him.

Hokuto, said nothing at Yuurei's comments, fuming at what he was trying to do. "Will you be able to sit?" she asked tenderly, touching Kakyou's shoulder.

Yuurei shrugged as his words were unanswered, satisfied with the pain he could feel in Kakyou's soul as it was. Well...perhaps "satisfied" was not the right word. He hated himself for hurting the man, and yet he had no choice in the matter. Hokuto had said there were other ways, that there had to have been. But he could not see them. Was he just blind? Or was she simply being idealistic? He lowered his head uneasily. Either way, it mattered very little now. Neither of the people he left behind in that dreamscape saw the single tear that fell from his eye as he vanished back into the world in which he would die...alone...and full of regrets...

Kakyou sobbed once more as Yuurei faded slowly from the dreamscape. So much was left unsaid that Kakyou's mind was whirling faster than before and his thoughts were all jumbled. He whimpered and curling up again, began to shake, his whole body trembling, making the floor ripple lightly as dry sobs forced their way from his throat.

* * *

Shouri tilted his head lightly upon sight of the others. New faces were something he always came by, or never did... depending upon whether or not Matsuko decided to schedule a tour of the shrine. In other words, he was quite interested in these people, especially as Subaru seemed to know them, a bit. Friends were hard to come by, but the boy... well, he was a little too shy to say anything to anyone, really, and helping Subaru and Hokuto was his task at the moment.

His emerald orbs glistened slightly as he paused. Truth be known, the boy looked around nineteen or so, possibly his early twenties... But Shouri had always had a slightly younger look to him to begin with that others always seemed to misinterpret. He didn't mind, at all... truth be known, his age was really sometimes hard to determine.

He scanned the figures silently. They all seemed normal enough... And that made it hard to believe that any of them could have something to do with the End of the World.

_'... I wonder..'_

... Strangely, however, such a question hadn't popped into Uo's head, yet. Why? Who knew... perhaps it had something to do with the fact that she was sort of staring off into la-la land.

Upon hearing Saiki and Aoki talking, however, she woke up from it.

Of course, when her eyes locked onto the unfamiliar voice, she nearly jumped sky-high, but fell over instead. She heaved a sigh. Why was she so jumpy again? Was she growing depressed again? Hopefully not. Uo didn't want to be depressed... but seeing anything she didn't notice before was naturally going to freak her out.

The girl stood, tossing her long, dark brown strands over her shoulder casually as she looked at everyone again. None of them were scary...

... And then her eyes fell on that one boy who seemed to know Aoki quite well. She wanted to look away, but for some reason, found herself staring at him. He seemed nice enough, and he was kind of cute too...

She giggled. She wondered what Kotori or Yuzuriha would have thought... not actually realizing that she had giggled aloud.

Her eyes caught the two newcomers, but only briefly. They weren't of much interest to her, really.. so long as they weren't there to harm anyone. Besides, they seemed to be in a bit of a hurry.. or was she just imagining things.

She glanced off to the side for a minute before looking back at Aoki and Saiki, suppressing another giggle. After all.. giggling for no apparent reason was rude, and so was staring... no matter if the person was cute.

* * *

Okita finished dying his hair blue, eyeing himself in the mirror of Kaori's place. She fell asleep next to him, he would've appreciated this a little more if he wasn't who he was now. The old Soushi Okita, a person who loved people despite the misery was slowly waking up to the fact that it was only the fame people like him for and without it, he would be walked all over. He sighed and turned off the water, eyeing the new hair color...dark, exactly like his soul right now. He dried his hands and made sure the white sink wasn't tinted blue from the dye...shutting off the lights as he exited the bathroom, eyeing Kaori. 

She was sound asleep...almost angelic if he didn't know her well. Okita sighed and went to his coat,...this wasn't the attire for revenge. He would need to get something less flashy at his house before he went after that bastard...the cold hearted bastard who hurt him most of all...Death was too good for that prick.

Okita wasn't the same anymore...He shook his head and opened the door, looking at Kaori for the last time...probably the last time. He knew he would die if he had his way...But not before his revenge was finished...He whispered. "Kaori...Remember the good times." He silently shut the door and walked down the hallway. There was only one hall light on...Okita felt his eyes narrow as the blackness physically and spiritually surrounded him.

* * *

The darkness faded, and he found himself sitting back beside Kakyou's motionless body, this time lying on the bed. Holding his stomach, now in much more pain due to the pointed sting of reality, he forced himself to his feet and glared at Mayouko, who continued to watch from the doorway.

Making his way to her, he paused at her side in the doorway, not bothering to turn and look at her. "Well, you should be satisfied now," he spat in a low, dangerous tone.

Then, going out into the hall, he glanced around, searching for the familiar essence he so despised. "I thought Fuuma was right behind us?" he questioned, glancing back at Mayouko.

She had watched from her spot in the doorway with a look of amused contempt in her eyes. As Yuurei faded back into reality, her lips twitched into a smirk to see the physical and emotional pain that her dear brother was going through.

Making his way to her, he paused at her side in the doorway, not bothering to turn and look at her. "Well, you should be satisfied now," he spat in a low, dangerous tone.

"Oh I'm very much amused brother dear. And as to Fuuma, he'll catch up. He's most likely getting more ice cream..." Folding her arms across her chest she continued smirking at him.

Turning away from his sister again, Yuurei stumbled down the hall toward the exit, leaning against the wall for support, and leaving a trail of dark blood to stain the whitewashed surface. "I have no more reason to stay here," he muttered over his shoulder, just loud enough for Mayouko to hear. Then he made his way out of the apartment and down the stairs, back into the chilly night air and the darkness in which it resided.

It was probably a good idea to get away from this place as quickly as possible, if merely for the sake of avoiding Fuuma. As much as Yuurei was not afraid of the young man, he was also not in the mood to listen to the Dark Kamui's childish, bipolar ramblings either.

It was done. He could never go back. Everything he needed to accomplish before his death was now complete. Kakyou would surely hate him for what he had done, the things he had said. As the crisp wind whipped through his long, sweaty black locks, he turned his face up into the breeze and closed his eyes for a moment. Where would his soul go once his body was gone? Would it ascend to Heaven, or would he burn in Hell? After what he had just done to Kakyou, he felt he already knew the answer...

He continued to stagger down the sidewalk, finally making it to the neighboring building and slumping against the wall for support. Clenching his teeth an instant before the urge came, he bent over himself suddenly to give a haggard, choking cough, splattering droplets of rich red fluid all over the ground in random patterns of crimson. It was as though he was being ripped apart from the inside-out. His head spun; he could hardly feel his legs anymore. He  
wanted nothing more than to curl over himself and sink to the ground, waiting for death to take him. But that was not an option. Not here. He still had a job to do.

Subaru. He had to find Subaru. Opening his eyes to thin scarlet slivers, unable to remember when he had closed them, he shoved away from the wall and took a feeble step forward, collapsing almost instantly back against the wall, gasping desperately for raspy breaths of precious oxygen. He could not do this. It was too much.

_-Subaru...-_

Clenching his teeth in adamant determination, he straightened his back and shoved his way to his feet again, clutching his wound with a blood-covered hand. He would find his friend. He would not let Seishirou hurt him again.

That thought was the only thing that kept him going.

* * *

"Well one of us had to improve our powers and all to be able to do more." Hikari said. Kneeling down, she started up another violent earthquake in the ground.

"Don't go and give your self too much credit now," said Kusanagi. "I'm a lot more powerful than back then and as much I would love to show you, I hate to tear up this lovely little campus..." Kusanagi's fist began to glow as he charged his ki into it. "But you really leave me no choice!" he shouted created a tremor of his own to rival that of Hikari's.

Hikari quickly jumped up and back, slipping when she landed and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Clumsy as always," laughed Kusanagi as he straightened out his gloves. "Maybe if you ditched the dress then you wouldn't have this problem."

"Oh? And let you look at me? You may be my cousin, but that doesn't mean I'll let you see me naked." Hikari said, getting up.

Kusanagi stumbled over a bit when he heard that. "That's not what I meant!" he shouted. Crouching low, Kusanagi darted forward and swung out with a right fist.

Kusanagi stumbled forward, holding his head. Regaining his balance, he charged at Hikari again with a flurry if left handed jabs before swinging low with a powerful right hand aimed at Hikari's stomach.

Hikari couldn't quite dodge quickly enough and was pummeled by the assault. She stumbled backwards and was breathing heavily.

Still rubbing his head, Kusanagi gasped for air, trying to recover some strength. "So...you had enough yet?" he said.

Hikari growled a bit as she breathed heavily. "F... for now..." she said.

* * *

Damnation...

The visions of beyond the golden gates of Hell continued to flood Dante's dreams. The flaming pits from the west, the oozing black venomous sea that was known as the Abyss was due north, the barren wastelands to the east, the endless green the red sky above and the abomination of a city, Dis, was below him south as he stood upon a great mountain of brimstone. He saw it all as if he was there...but that stench...this wasn't what Hell smelled like...something stunk like wasted meat that was sitting out too long. His communication with hell was beginning to fade as his physical form lying in bed started...itching...darkness claimed him again...

Dante awoke to his room. Something was crawling on his arm ...up... Further...SWAT!. He checked his hand within the light of the green flame and saw a fly. Stupid filth. That's what all of the people he met were to him...insects. Especially that one that lied to him, he would somehow make him suffer in the end. Dante wiped his hand again the side of his bed and hopped out. God damn...what was that stench?

He dressed in some clothing and headed out to where he thought the stench was coming from and low and behold, it was that carcass. Abbadon didn't eat everything as maggots oozed out of the skull of the dead creature. A pair flies must have screwed inside it's head. Well it was about time to get rid of the thing, it was nearly two weeks. Dante went over to the kitchen and grabbed a couple trash bags and placed them in each other and headed to the mutilated corpse and stuffed it into the bag.

Shit, this thing was going to get attention if someone came in due to the smell. He tied the bag up and grabbed the odor killer and sprayed like mad. In nothing more than a pair of old jean shorts and a ripped t-shirt, Dante opened the door and carried the bag outside and headed out for another night walk.

* * *

She paused, looking at Yuuto. "Then again, we could always go back and get Yuuto-san a shirt before he catches a cold."

Yuuto blinked and shrugged. "I already tried that." He nodded to Nataku. "IT seemed a little impatient to get going, however."

"Don't be mean, Yuuto-san," Satsuki admonished him lightly. She turned to Nataku, who was standing next to Yuuto. "Nataku-san, do you think we could get a shirt for Yuuto to wear before we find Kamui- san?" she asked, making sure she sounded respectfully polite. It was, after all, a good idea to be respectful when the person with whom you are speaking is waving about a very large and sharp sword.

Nataku looked from Satsuki to Yuuto, then back to the young genius. "He seems perfectly fine without one, and finding Kamui is the most important thing to do right now." He waved the sword about idly. "Besides, if Yuuto gets cold along the way, we can stop and find him a jacket if it becomes necessary." He nodded to the pair. "Are we going now, then?" It was a childlike request.

A slight sweat drop formed over the back of Yuuto's head. "I...guess we don't really have a choice, do we?" He was recovering well and knew he could fight, but it would have been pointless. Besides, he reasoned, they needed to find Fuuma anyway. "All right," he said a bit sardonically, smirking at the genetic doll. "Where do we start looking?"

Which direction did you last see him heading towards, Satsuki-san?" The clone asked, indifferent to Yuuto's commentary.

Satsuki shrugged. "I'm not quite sure," she said, "but I think they were headed that way." She nodded toward the center of the city. "It sounded like they were going to find someone."

Yuuto veiled a smirk with a charming smile. "So, shall we be off?" he inquired, making as if to leap from the rooftop to the neighboring building.

Nataku nodded, the wind catching the fabric hovering about his body, swaying the sword back and forth as it did so. He looked to Satsuki to see if she, too, was in agreement with their current plan.

"Lead the way," Satsuki answered, smirking slightly. She looked over at Nataku, smiling indulgently at the child-like clone. "Let's go, Nataku-san," she said.

Nataku's face registered relief as he nodded again and leapt into the air, one hand gripping the end of the fabric, the other gripping both an end and the sword.

Following swiftly, Yuuto leaped from the building to the next, and the group made its way across the city to its inner boundaries, traversing swiftly closer to the supposed destination.

* * *

Turning her head, she set her blind eyes on Uo. Hinoto knew before she had even entered the basement that this girl was another instrumental piece in the destiny of the world. The girl remained quiet and reserved however. She seemed to have a few things on her mind and Hinoto couldn't blame her.

Saiki stirred next to her and there was a small breeze as he stood. Hinoto continued to gaze at Uo through her sightless eyes. She would wait to explain until the others arrived. She was sure that they would all want an explanation.

A few moments later Subaru entered the chamber along with another boy, Shouri who was also connected to the end of the world. Her voice was soft as she sent her telepathic voice throughout the chamber. _ You were not interrupting Subaru. I was expecting you.. You are looking for Yuurei yes and perhaps your sister? _

Subaru nodded. Hinoto never ceased to impress him. "Do you know where they are?" he asked, his voice booming loudly as his eyes crossed paths with that of his fellow Ten no Ryu, Aoki.

* * *

Yuurei arrived in a alley way...with several cords around. They looked like trip wire. Okita was standing on a pole, glaring down at him. He was wearing all black and his eyes were much like Kamui's--narrow.

Yuurei's ankles tangled in the cords, and he stumbled to his knees clumsily. He was too depleted of strength to sense the young J- rocker's presence, but he still had enough wits left to discern this was a trap. His glazed eyes narrowed, and he glanced around for the hidden being, his eyes finally resting on the form atop the pole. He gave the man a confused look. Was this boy attacking him?

The cord suddenly snapped, and a bottle supported by it hit the ground. The sound had enough force behind it to toss Yuurei into another cord, like an uppercut to the stomach. Okita stood silently, preparing for the next sound.

Eyes widening at the sudden pain that hit right where his wound had been inflicted, Yuurei parted his lips to give a shout, but only blood and tainted saliva spilled forth. Thrown back by the blast, ears suddenly throbbing with just as much pain as his gut felt, he slumped against the surface of what he thought was a wall, trying to focus his distorted gaze on the youth again. "What are you doing?" he attempted to choke out, but the sound was barely audible, his voice was so depleted.

Okita eyes narrowed as this time several bottles crashed, each sending a "punch" into him. Each sound began to hurt Yuurei; the wind was squealing in a very cutting fashion, mostly disorienting. Okita pulled another set of strings...sending more bottles down around Yuurei.

Crying out at the shrill sounds that were far too loud for the physical bearings of the attack, Yuurei covered his head with his arms and tried to contract into himself. Digging forcefully within the tiny ounce of strength he had left, he summoned forth a feeble psychic barrier to surround himself and give him some protection. Once this was done, he struggled to his feet and glared up at the boy. Gathering his voice more confidently, he shouted, "What's the meaning of this? What do you want?"

Okita tossed coins at the ground, and the sound went off like small explosions. "You want mercy?...BEG FOR MERCY, DAMN YOU!"

It was like an earthquake was going off in his head. Clutching frantically at his ears, Yuurei pressed the palms of his callused hands to the sides of his head and screamed hoarsely, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth. He also felt the tepid dampness in his palms, and realized his ears were bleeding. Unwillingly he fell to his knees again, crumpling over himself. "I don't understand!" he cried after the explosions had subsided. This boy was not one of the ones he had watched over. Why was he attacking?

"You killed my parents...! Now beg for the mercy like they begged you, SO I CAN ROB YOU OF IT!!!!!!" he shrieked out, his voice was now attacking him, pounding him against the ground.

Again Yuurei gripped his head. Killed his parents? "What are you talking about?" he called out, ignoring his own pain. "I don't even know you! I have killed no one!" But, seeing the rage in the young man's eyes, he knew arguing his case would be worthless.

Okita's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly landed. He glared down at Yuurei, and suddenly kicked him to the ground. "YOU LIAR!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

His body seared in pain. Lurching back from the kick, it was impossible for Yuurei to regain his bearings quickly, if at all. "I didn't," he choked out again, shoving himself back to his hands and knees. Strangely, a sorrowful smile crossed his grim features--one of something akin to compassion. "But...what I say doesn't matter...does it?" He was not sure why he acted; he was going to die anyway. But this boy would surely make his death long and drawn- out. He could no longer shadow-walk. So, mustering his every breath and bit of strength, he pushed himself to his feet and ran.

Fuuma walked out of the shadows and stared at Okita with a grin. "Hmm...seems you found him first."

Okita eyed Fuuma with cold eyes. "What do you want?"

Yuurei nearly collided with Fuuma's stalwart frame, who was still holding an unconscious Hokuto in his arms. Forcing himself to an abrupt, unsteady halt, Yuurei glanced from Okita to Fuuma, clenching his teeth as he panted heavily, knowing he was trapped, and practically unable to fight back.

"Okita...I suggest you don't kill him."

Okita snarled and prepared another attack. "WHY THE FUCK NOT?!"

"Because death will end his suffering."

Yuurei started to breath harder in a panic. Fuuma was planning to draw this out even more than the boy? Avidly he attempted to summon the power to shadow-walk, but the shadows only wavered about him before the effort totally exhausted him, and he slumped against the wall of the building. Seeing double out of his glazed crimson eyes, he glared up at Fuuma, slowly gathering a shadow attack and preparing to strike should the young man move any closer.

Fuuma eyed Yuurei and suddenly sent a telekinetic blast to knock him violently in to the wall he leaned against.

Wind suddenly gone from his lungs, Yuurei's eyes shot open as the power instantly vanished. His grip on consciousness wavered.

Okita glared at Yuurei. "Yes...he will suffer...for what he did to my parents..."

Fuuma smirked and eyed Yuurei. _ I said I wouldn't be the one to harm you, didn't I?_ He gave a mental maniacal laugh.

Yuurei let out a low growl and coughed out in broken syllables, "You know I didn't kill them, you bastard..."

Okita's eyes narrowed, and suddenly he yelled a very high note at Yuurei...and it slammed into him like a ton of bricks.

Chest constricted by the force and intensity of the boy's peculiar attack, Yuurei shut his eyes tightly and threw back his head, choking up a mouthful of blood and writhing in a desperate attempt to get the ringing pain in his ears to stop. And that was when everything went black.


	63. Chapter 61: Into an Invisible Darkness

**Chapter Sixty-One: Into An Invisible Darkness**

Dante began to stroll down towards the docks via the back way, carrying the bag. He lit up a cigarette with that damned fire and began to smoke it. God damn...that stench was horrible.

Dante finally got to the docks. By this time he heard the buzzing of those damnable insects raging inside the bag. That hideous stench was followed with those damn noises. He drew his anthemia and slit the bag a bit and tossed it out, a few flies flew here and there.

_"Good riddance..." _he thought, watched the bag fill with water, sinking and turned around and headed towards his apartment, looking around for anything odd and drawing out a cigarette.

* * *

As the three of them leaped through the city, Yuuto kept his eyes focused on the genetic doll. What was the creature's obsession with the Dragon of Earth's Kamui?

Suddenly his eye caught on something else. Abruptly he stopped in his tracks, landing and staying on a fairly low rooftop. Before him was the DIET building which he had practically destroyed only two days earlier. So many auras gathered there... Could this perhaps be a meeting of the Seals? If so, it presented an ample opportunity.

"Ano...Nataku! Satsuki!" he called out. "Hold up a sec!" Beckoning them back, he nodded at the building. "What do you think? Kanoe's onee-san is inside, along with several of the Seals. If we can't find our Kamui-sama, what do you say to crashing a party?"

* * *

Uo paused as she glanced over to the other two who had entered, now giving them more thought. After all, she didn't want to become some stare-giggle freak who just sat there giggling and staring for no reason at all.

She tilted her head a little before she looked back at Hinoto. Questions popped up in her head. Precisely how had Hinoto gained her powers? Had she been born with them? It was obvious that Saiki and the other two were protectors of the woman... she seemed too fragile not to be protected. Then again, that was normal. Most everyone Uo knew was very, very fragile.

Shouri looked to Subaru momentarily before back at Hinoto. He remained silent, a bit wary of being near new people.

Finally, Uo let her gaze slide to the floor. She was staring again... so, perhaps the floor was the best place to look momentarily.

* * *

Yuzuriha was finally starting to feel better.

Probably the most surprising part of the entire procedure was the phone call she received from her grandma, who was quite alarmed at hearing her beloved granddaughter was hurt. Yuzuriha had always thought that her grandma would be accepting about something like this, but she insisted that Yuzuriha visit as soon as she was better; apparently the possibility of Yuzuriha dying in the near future was becoming plainly evident to the aging grandmother, who had always wanted to die before her next-of-kin.

"Nekoi Yuzuriha, you won't die before me," she had said in a tone, half-joking, half-serious.

Yuzuriha knew that her grandma meant it, though.

Noroku was right. The CLAMP Campus had some of the best facilities in Tokyo. And Yuzuriha was their primary concern, despite the multitude of patients that had been transferred there since the collapse of the hospital a few days previous.

Yuzuriha had insisted on no special treatment, but the doctors insisted that if she wasn't patched up quickly, the patients would continue coming in.

And with those words, Yuzuriha felt enough motivation to push herself, to get better.

And so she did.

Arashi hadn't been doing much as of late. She wasn't hurt much, not at all actually. Not compared to Yuzuriha and the other patients. Most of her time was spent sitting around in random places on the campus, thinking.

Nothing made sense to her anymore. This wasn't the way things were supposed to happen. Not to her, or her friends, or anyone. Why couldn't things be normal?

Arashi knocked on Yuzuriha's open door twice before stepping into the room she was staying in.

"Hey, you. How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing lots better," Yuzuriha fibbed, forcing a smile. "Grandma called, and I'm going to visit her later in the week." Yuzuriha frowned. "I'd actually rather she come visit me, but I wouldn't want her getting harmed because of me." Yuzuriha turned her gaze to Arashi; she was secretly longing to ask what had gone on while she was asleep, but...

"Has everything been all right?" Yuzuriha inquired.

* * *

Fuuma stood silently beside Okita as they entered their underground lair. He had dropped Hokuto off at Seishirou's apartment, leaving the touching note:

"Guard her but don't touch her, She's mine...-Love Fuuma".

Before he had left with the boy and his trophy kill...one that was still only on millimeter from death. He eyed Okita with a smile as they finally reached their destination. Finally the boy who reminded him of Kamui's boyish looks was near to him...Alone no less. He smiled darkly as he led the way to a empty room. "He will do well in here...Though I'm going to add some lights so he can't pull his little shadow trick..."

Okita was silent...to think that he was back so soon after betraying his other friend Yuuto...The one who remained true to him...The one of the other dragon who set on the destruction of earth...Should he follow them or stay out of it. No he already was apart of it and he had to choose a side...A side of friends who wanted to destroy everything or a side of backstabbers who killed his parents to rid them from the world they claimed to protect. He had to choose...He had to choose a side now. He eyed Fuuma's smile, was this the Kamui for him? The one who laughed at Yuurei's misery...His eyes were covered by Shadow...Destiny had already chosen for him.

* * *

Kaori woke up.

And he was gone.

She ran through the house looking for him, but from the second she opened her lethargic right eye and he wasn't by her side, she knew it. But she panicked, and rummaged through every room in her penthouse, looking for her him.

When she couldn't find him, the realization really sunk in.

He wasn't coming back.

She plopped down on the sofa, her eyes just as blank as her mind for a few seconds. She felt a surge of tears coming on, but she bit them back.

She tossed on a pair of shorts and a tank top before pulling her blue- jean jacket off the back of the sofa.

She was going to find him, no matter what.

* * *

Sorata dialed Arashi's phone, from a phone both near the school. That was the safest place after all...Noroku wouldn't take them anywhere else.

The ringing in her pocket made Arashi stop talking with Yuzuriha. She'd forgotten that she'd even had her cell phone with her. With cold eyes, she fished it out of her pocket. "One moment, Yuzu-chan, I need to take this."

Perhaps it would be Hinoto-hime, or one of her fellow Seals? "Moshi Moshi?" she asked, clicking it on, bringing the phone to her ear.

"Heh...Hey beautiful...How about we meet outside?" The voice seemed reminiscent of a man who seemed to have died in the last encounter.

Her heart lurched, and her eyes widened. "...Outside...Where outside, Sorata?" she asked, acknowledging his voice with her own monotone.

"See the sign with lovers...to the east of the school. Meet me there." The line went dead suddenly. Sorata stood in the phone booth with his hand on the receiver, hung on the hook. He looked coldly at it before smiling sarcastically. Evil wasn't that bad once you came to terms with it.

The sign with the lovers? Was there such a thing? They had probably passed it, and she hadn't noticed, with good reason. She kept the phone's dial tone beeping in her ear for minutes after the hang up. Her eyes caught on Yuzuriha. Arashi knew that she shouldn't go, she had no reason to go back to him. But, what if...what if he was meeting with her to tell her that everything had been a joke; part of a plan?!

"Yuzuriha-chan, something's come up...I'll be right back, okay?" She smiled at her friend before running out the door and heading to the street.

Sorata walked silenced to a tree and leaned on it. He smiled and waited, his black coat blowing in the wind. Arashi paused outside the school, looking to the east, for the sign. When she spotted it, she leaped in it's direction, tired already of wasting time. She landed smoothly in front of Sorata.

Sorata smiled darkly at her. "So we meet again eh? I missed your face."

She frowned. "Of course you did. It doesn't take long to run off though." Her eyes always stayed on every other part of his body except his eyes. "What do you want...?" she asked, sad emotions slowly pouring through her voice.

"I wanted to see you again...that was my reasoning. I mean I still very much love you but..." He eyed the shadows. "But this is destiny...So I gotta fight you." He smiled in his usual childish way, sending a electric attack at a pedestrian. "Shoulda put up a barrier Arashi..."

Sorata eyed her sadly. "...I hate to hear that." He charged another attack after he watched the man fall to his knees. "We are two very different people now."

"I'm still the same." she stated. "You changed. I haven't." She didn't look behind her at the fallen.

"Why do we have to fight? Why is it always a fight with you? Why can't we ever talk? There are things we need to talk about..." She paused, drawing her sword from her palm. "Or is this the way players act?"

"We can talk while we take care of business." He grinned widely. "I mean it would be the best time to catch up. So what's on your MIND?" He shot out a barrage of electric orbs at her.

"You know I don't like multi-tasking!" she shouted as she jumped sideways. She held back, and was going to continue dodging if she could help it. Blast her caring side.

"So, how can you talk of your love for me, when you want to kill me without mercy? And when you broke your date with that "cute girl with the dog"?"

Sorata smiled and scratched his head running to keep from staying in one place too long. "A) It isn't I want to kill you...Just the way it is...And B) The girl with the dog is nice and all but doesn't have your curves."

She jumped towards him. He always had a way of making her angry. "So its all for the body? Thanks a lot, smart ass." She swung her sword forward towards his midsection, though she had no intent to actually hit him, but if she did on accident...oh well.

Sorata dodge to the side and touched her face. "Don't get me wrong...You have the personality any guy would die for." He grinned at her and spun away before she could react.

She pulled back, and jumped to the edge of her barrier. Childishly, she stuck her tongue out. "Always one for a laugh, nee, Sora-kun?" "The jokes are old. Shape up and act right." she scolded. "It's no fun like this, the lame-ness gets boring quickly."

"The cold bitch routine does too." He smirked at her and bowed. "My jokes may not be the best thing I have but You shouldn't talk when you got bad habits of your own, ne?" He made a cute expression.

Arashi rolled her eyes. "Lookit me, I spreak Engrish to impress girls! In teh long run, I end up sounding like Scrappy Doo!" she mimicked a Sorata-wanna-be, pulling the cap from her pocket, and pointing the Engrish shirt she still wore, though she had changed back into her skirt. "Christ, Sorata."

How childish. She laughed at herself in her mind's eye.

Sorata grinned and suddenly lost all feeling in his face. "I'm so unbelievable gothic...I look like a statue because my face barely moves...Oh yeah I can grow a phallic object from my hand because I've never had another one given to me." He tried to suppress laughter. "Oh wait...I moved to much today, let me go sleep in my coffin. You should talk Arashi-chan."

"Oh that's interesting." She frowned, knowing most of it was true. "If I've moved or smiled too much lately, it's all thanks to you. I was doing just fine before you came along and messed everything in my damned life up!"

She stopped and sighed. "What good does name calling do anyway? I'll never get your true love, and that's my own fault for ever believing in you." She lowered her sword to her side.

Sorata walked toward her. Suddenly embracing her and looked into her eyes. "You ruined mine as well...You charmed the monk who supposed to be pure."

"You were never pure.." she said softly. Then, a moment later, her voice hardened. "Please don't touch me..." although more pain, than a threat came out.

Sorata eyed her softly, smiling, touching her face just as softly. He wasn't one to listen.

She sighed, letting a breath out. "I don't want to be hurt by you anymore. I don't want to hurt you. I..." There were so many things that she wanted. But none that he would understand. Secretly, she enjoyed his touch and caresses, but her face stayed expressionless.  
Sorata smiled and softly taped her face. "You're open...Just thought I should put that out..." He kept his hand there, waiting for her next move...The one that might kill him.

"You're one to talk." she hissed. She pressed her index finger to his lips, and smirked. She snaked her other arm around his neck, shoving her sword between them, yet holding them together.

Sorata smiled and stared at her. "We could each die right now...I mean it's kind of in my job description that I'm supposed to kill you." He noticed the sword and didn't flinch at all. A single spark erupted from his free hand to set the mood but also show he could do harm if he chose to. He moved the hand around her waist.

"At least I would die doing the right thing." she whispered as she drew her face closer to his. "And my only regret would be that I died having been made a fool of in front of you..."

"What would you lose, Sora-kun?"

"The only reason I could ever be redeemed." He drew closer and kissed her deeply, pushing her face closer to his softly. Arashi flinched; she could feel her own weapon drawing closer to her body. She hardly let the kiss last before she forced herself to pull away. She looked at him with big eyes, a soft scowl across her face. But her eyes were misted as she stared at him.

"I hate falling into tangled webs..."

Sorata nodded and pulled her back. "I know...But lets pretend we're the only people who matter right now."

"What do you want...?" she asked. "There's nothing we can do to be only people on this world right now. With this barrier up, how long do you think it'll be before someone comes for me? Your fun time won't last forever."

"I'll take what I can get..." He kissed her softly.

She dragged her sword back across from between them slowly, but never once let her guard down. She pushed against him, giving him the kiss he wanted, and seemed to long for. "I wonder how far you plan to get..." she murmured across his lips.

Sorata broke and just held her. "Not bloody far since I know who I'm up against."

"What are you trying say?" she insisted. "That I'm no fun?"

"No...I'm saying you're not the type to take your clothes off to just anyone."

"You wish for a lot." She smirked coyly. "No one ever said you were just anyone to begin with." she teased him, pressing a hand against his chest.

Sorata smiled and stared at her. "I never claimed to be either...though I have to say you are well above any girl."

She pushed her body up against his. Arashi stared up at him with a dark, interested stare. "You're not taking advantage of our time together as I thought you would." she mused.

Sorata blushed and laughed nervously. " Hard to undress the girl with the sword..." He reached a hand under her shirt. "but I'll do my best."

She didn't move, or say anything. She was perfectly still as Sorata reached under her shirt. "What's the matter? Don't you think my sword makes things more entertaining?"

"Yeah...but I never knew you were that kinky." He cupped a hand over one of her perfect mounds, caressing it under his fingers. "You said they will come looking for you? How long you think we have?"

"Tsk. It's not in my job description to answer the enemy." She replied sweetly. She used her free hand to caress his cheek, trailing a fingernail along his neck sensually.

Sorata smirked and traced a finger along her curves. "I see you picked up my wit...wow I did corrupt you...though you realize I'm still the enemy right?"

Her weapon-hand poked against his back. "How could I ever forget? You're such a good teacher."

Sorata smiled nervously. "Wow, I'm pretty angelic compared to you." He kissed her softly, working on unclasping her bra with the hand underneath her shirt.

"You're nervous," she pointed out, tracing the same finger across his lips. "Care to tell me your thoughts?" she said under her murmured 'mns' as her bra came loose. "I didn't know Goths were angelic."

"Well I'm just not sure if you want this...I don't want to force this on you." He deepened the kiss, running his hand along her bare back. She ran her tongue along his lips, and then pushed it into his mouth, licking the roof. Arashi pulled back. "You're very good at forcing. I wouldn't hold anything past you." She paused. "But you're right. You'll never know what I want."

"I would like to.."

"You lie..."

"I would."

"It doesn't matter. I'll never have it."

"I would like to know."

"It's stupid."

"Arashi...Tell me..."

"You act so serious." She almost laughed, and scoffed at him. She looked deep into his eyes and spoke simply. "I want you back. I want the Sorata that I knew hours ago."

Sorata stared back at her, smiling a little sadly. " I wish I could be...I wish it was so easy to climb back up the cliff I fell from...You're all I have left and destiny says I can't have you...yet to be truthful I didn't know if you were really in love with me...So many have claimed to be and turned their back on me…And all because of this war...which in the end I must suffer for no reason, no praise, not even a thank you...I get nothing for all the suffering I felt, all the anguish I've had...All I had was you and now I can't even have that because of this damn war."

"You also have yourself to blame. Stop putting your burden on everyone else."

Sorata sighed and smiled weakly. " I know... in the end it's all me, but Stargazer told me my fate before I left...warned me of everything and I couldn't stop any of it because I'm too weak." He looked into her eyes.

"Maybe you should've been stronger instead of chasing girls all the time." She looked at him sadly. "Kamui's friend was wise when she told us that fate was not determined. That the future hasn't been decided yet. Why couldn't you ever listen, Sora-kun?"

"Because I'm thick headed." Sorata eyed her. "Though I know I have one strong thing. My love for you has never even wavered since I met you."

"You could always change your mind and fight to defy this "fate" you think you're drowning in. You know I would be with you every step of the way." She smiled weakly. "There are things I could give then that I can't now.."

Sorata eyed her and sighed. "...I'll try Ara-chan...but you don't have to give me anything." He smiled goofily, "Well maybe nude pictures for my room."

"Hey!!" She coughed and choked on her own words. Still as naughty as ever. She laughed at him. "There's much I could give you." She places her eyes downward. "You've only gotten to just past neck, deary."

* * *

Walking down the sidewalk with his hands shoved in his pockets, Seishirou almost did not notice where he was going, wandering listlessly with his head lowered. So much was on his mind that he could not concentrate on direction.

But when he reached the docks and the familiar stench of death filled his nostrils, he lifted his head. He watched as a man with long blonde hair dumped a bag into the water and then turned after it had sunk. Seishirou smirked.

Stepping a few paces forward to meet the man, he pulled out a cigarette of his own and paused directly in front of the stranger's path. "Mind sharing a light?" he asked casually, holding the butt of his cigarette out to the man's lighter.

The stranger had probably sensed his presence, but it was of no concern. Seishirou, however, refrained from speaking of the body bag for the time being. He simply gave a pleasant, somewhat dry smile, and was thankful for this opportune distraction from the scene he had just abandoned.

* * *

Okita reclined on a chair far from Fuuma's sight. He eyed the giant piece of hardware to his right...She was awake by now...It was really funny how he knew her too well...probably putting on one of her cute outfits and was going to drag him back from his hell...He felt sick.

"There's something I can't quite explain, I'm so in love with you, you never take that away. And if I said it a hundred times before, expect a thousand more...you never take that away. Well, expect me to be calling you to see if you're ok when I'm not around. Asking if you love me, I love the way you make it sound. Calling you to see...Do I try too hard to make you smile, to make us smile...Well I'll be calling you to see, if sleeping, are you dreaming? an' if you're dreaming are you dreaming of me? I can't believe you actually...actually picked meeee."

He sang to himself as he sunk lower to the floor. He sang sorrowfully as he taped the side of his chair... The world was truly going to end and he was going to be able to do nothing except help in it's destruction. So all he could do was sing.

"I thought the world had lost it's sway...Then I fell in love with you...and you took that away. You take away the old, show me the new, and I feel that I can shine when I stand next you...so while I'm on this phone, a hundred miles from hoooome, I'll take the words you gave an send them back to you..."

He picked up his voice." I only wanna see if you're ok when I'm not around. Asking if you love me, I love the way you make it sound. Calling you to see...Do I try too hard to make you smile, to make us smile...Well I'll be calling you to see, if sleeping, are you dreaming? an' if you're dreaming are you dreaming of me? I can't believe you actually...actually picked meeee."

Okita wanted to strum his fingers in the guitar solo he used to pull...The one Kaori always rolled her eyes at. His voice only grew sadder as he continued the Chorus:

"Well I'll be calling you to see, if sleeping, are you dreaming? an' if you're dreaming are you dreaming of me? I can't believe you actually...actually picked meeee..."

His hand fell to side of the chair as tears formed in his eyes...The world was losing it's sway...He may never see Kaori again.

He sighed and said to himself. "Do I try too hard to make you smile, to make us smile.." He smiled as his head fell back and watched the ceiling.


	64. Chapter 62: The Watcher’s Downfall

**Chapter Sixty-Two: The Watcher's Downfall**

Dante turned around. He spoke in a normal manner, something was different about this man "I don't mind at all, sir". With that he held the light flame to the man's unlit cigarette.

Seishirou smiled politely and brought the cigarette back to his lips, taking a deep inhale and letting the smoke exit through his nostrils before speaking again. "So...who was it?" he asked casually, as though making small talk as he nodded toward the dock where the body had been dumped.

He grinned a little. "A goat" a little insanity tinged his voice when he spoke. He took a deep drag of the cigarette. "What's with the sunglasses at this hour?" he smiled.

Grinning at the faint sound of insanity that edged the man's tone, Seishirou wordlessly shrugged and lifted a hand to his face, removing the shades he had replaced during his last return to his apartment. There was no need now to verbally point out the grayish glass sphere that had replaced his missing right eye.

"Owww, I don't know what I'd do if something or someone ripped that out of my skull...I'd probably torture the guilty party and let them decide," he laughed softly at the idea of cutting away a victim and the pleasures he would receive from succubae and the such.

Seishirou shrugged. "It was for a worthy cause. And as I remember, the 'guilty party' did end up paying a dear price." He smirked and took another long drag of his cigarette as the faint touch of insanity that coated his own voice rose and fell as though riding on the waves of smoke that were exhaled through his nose.

Dante took another drag from his cigarette. "A dear price? It doesn't sound like you gave the party enough of what it should have deserved." His eyes dilated a bit.

Shrugging Seishirou glanced to the side. "Why waste time with scum? I did what needed to be done and that's all." For the first time he peered slightly closer at the man's aura. Blood splattered not only his soul, but his clothes. Human blood. And it was recent. "Were goats the only beasts you were killing tonight?" He grinned slyly.

"No, I never got the chance to kill the insect that lead me onto the wrong path. If I ever find him, I'll make sure his death will be painful enough that is shall be legendary threw out of all Hell." Dante sighed, letting out the smoke. He gazed back at Seishirou, he knew something...but what...

Seishirou chuckled almost pleasantly. "Sounds like this pest gave you quite a bit of trouble. But tell me, what path were you seeking?"

"The path to those that shall decide the fate the world. My masters need the scum on this planet...our times close at hand..." Dante shrugged, he didn't feel a need to suppress the secrets around this man as he was acting too calm. He took another drag of his cigarette, awaiting this mans response.

Those words sparked meaning in Seishirou's mind. His face suddenly became stern and serious for the first time. "The Dragons of Heaven?" he uttered in disbelief. "One so murderous as yourself?"

Dante smirked. "Why not...the darks ones commanded me to do so, I am their will upon this earth." he stood there, his eyes dilated a little and shadows around him seemed thicker...

This man was an enemy. Seishirou could not hold back the ironic chuckle that made its way up his throat. It figured. Just as he was starting to admire the man. "It's a shame...you must choose the side of light, when you're obviously shrouded in darkness."

"Its a shame you do not see our master's true will, I am chosen of Hell, you are chosen of Earth it seems" He snorted, smirking still. "No wonder why you have not made the one that blinded your eye pay, you have not seen damnation in it's fullest" His eyes dilated and tilted his head to the side a little.

"If you're trying to provoke me," Seishirou spat plainly, "I have no time to waste on you. Go find the Seals whom you serve. I can almost guarantee they will be all the more horrified of you."

Dante snickered. "No time to waste on me? You act like I'm a mere new-ager." He took a deep drag, staring at him still. "I serve my masters, not the seals..."

Seishirou shrugged. "You and your 'masters' wish to aid in the Seals' purposes, don't you?" He smirked and blew a long stream of smoke out his nostrils. "It's all the same to me."

"You shall understand when the masters come to full grips of the sin that has been committed by man. They shall rise and Heaven shall be welded shut for good. But you wouldn't understand the idea of conquest and of ancient hatred." he spoke as the smoke drifted upwards into the sky.

The irony was too much. Seishirou laughed freely. "So it seems Heaven and Hell are working together for a brief time, ne? I would have never guessed they would ever have a common goal in mind, no matter how temporary the truce may be..."

"Heaven's just a mere term for protecting humanity, it seems. It is ironic, no?" He snickered at the thought. "In time, it won't matter, they shall be slaves to the dukes themselves."

Again Seishirou shrugged, becoming slightly annoyed at this man's blatant opinions. "To each his own, as they say. Good luck in your quest, for what it's worth. And please try to refrain from filling up the bay with goat corpses. The smell is rather unpleasant." With that he turned and began to walk away as casually as he had come.

Dante merely grinned and headed on his way home. He was rather surprised, but didn't let his guard down for one second as he made his way home.

* * *

The cold of the shadows, hissing and scratching as they attempted to reach out and snatch at the creature that was protected by the orb of silvery light. How they loathed light, loathed life, loathed the very fact that any thing besides themselves existed. Perhaps that was why the darkness always tried to extinguish any light, any life.

But it always failed. For when the light was gone, there would be nothing for the shadows to live on, and they would fade into a form of nothingness... or would they?

Shisa had often wondered... but such questions were vacant in his mind. He was more focused on keeping up with the Dragons of Heaven and Earth than to wonder over so many things. Like, would he be healed soon enough to aid the Watcher if necessary, or at least send some force to intervene?

It had been too long since Taer, Anzu, OR Kaze had communicated with him, and it worried him. While spirit beasts were not a thing to worry over, Shisa was concerned for the small elemental spirits. They were much different from those described in stories and tales, in that their very emotions proved that they had a soul... or so the Guardian felt.

His eyes were closed. The room seemed to be getting colder. Perhaps a window had been broken in the warehouse in the past few weeks... that, or a few, and the air had decided that it would filter in and out. Either way, it didn't matter. He still suffered.

Who knew what had befallen the Watcher whilst his 'eye' had been closed? Who knew what unspeakable things The Dragon of Heaven was plotting? Who knew what kind of sick, twisted turn Fate had plotted for those people...

It made him flinch.

His long, silken black strands flowed outwards, extending in length a bit more. Perhaps this was another stage for his human body... that, or, as always, a result of the accelerated growth of his energies, body, and capabilities. It would take him a minute, after being released, to get used to the feeling of walking again. He would be like a defenseless toddler for a moment before regaining himself... but he didn't mind.

Again, his mind wandered to the eyes of his pets. Where were they? He questioned sending out a 'shock pulse' to them- a reprimanding wave to draw them back to him... but he didn't have to.

The images flashed before him, overwhelming his mind to the point that his body nearly tumbled over. He saw it all. From the appearance of Dante, to the gathering at the DIET Building, to the events that had come to pass with the Watcher and the Dragon of Earth. He could see them all again... all of them, where they were. With Anzu dodging back and forth, though, he still was missing two...

_'... Why?' _The Guardian's thoughts transformed into words.

The boy, Okita, was now siding with the Dragons of Earth... why? Because OF the Dragon of Earth. Indeed... if the Kamui of Heaven did not step into place, then the Earth truly would need protection. Who knew what would happen if Shisa ended up destroyed. How many agents would the Earth deploy in retaliation? How long could the Earth withstand the Kamui of Earth if the Kamui of Heaven fell? ... And how, HOW could the boy, Okita, trust a murderer? How could that boy be so foolish?

... It wasn't his fault. He was, after all, only human... and a boy at that. Reminding himself of this, Shisa found it more bearable. Perhaps the boy would change his mind, IF he wasn't afraid to face the consequences. Then again.. he WAS only human.

And that creature... he had referred to himself as Dante, or 'Baal'. As Shisa was too swamped with thoughts and questions, he could not ask for more information concerning the name, 'Baal', but decided that he would look into the name later. The fact that this boy seemed to be on the Ten no Ryu's side was rather pleasing, but the fact that it seemed that he would judge too quickly, not hesitating to sink a knife on the back of those that should be his allies made him uneasy. He would have to be closely watched... as would that Sakurazukamori-man.

The visions of what had come to pass concerning Yuurei were what struck him hard. Still, the emotionless Guardian continued to stare forward, not showing a sign of his worry upon his face. How much longer would the Watcher survive? ... Would Fuuma present him with the opportunity to interfere? While he knew that Taer would certainly not be enough...

He felt his muscles tighten suddenly, resulting in a light gasp. He heard the very air whisper to him, "Don't be afraid." And he wasn't afraid. The fact that the process was suddenly being boosted was just a bit rough on the frail human body that he inhabited... well, frail to him, anyhow. His hair grew even longer, stopping a foot or so above his waist. It would be fine. Long hair went very well with his look, especially in his raggedy clothes.

He opened his eyes just slightly, listening to the silence and reflecting on the thoughts that played through his head again as Taer, Anzu, and Kaze continued to watch.

_Gomen for the cut off. _The message reached him from the three birds.

And yet, Shisa did not reply. He merely reflected and listened to the symphony of screams from the Earth, and everything around him.

* * *

Kaze circled the DIET building once more. He didn't want to get too close to it, or Hinoto might know that he was there. His gale-green wings flitted slightly as he landed atop one of the many streetlights and perched in silence. His third eye would tell him what was going on.

He knew what he was to do. He was to watch Shouri. It was his job.

* * *

Taer's blue wings hadn't rested in some time. Even at the underground hide-out, the blue bird followed Yuurei, Fuuma, and Okita. He was now no larger than the fist of a child, having shrunk to keep himself from being too noticeable.

He was a silent bird, silent like a hawk, and quick, too. His yellow eyes flickered slightly as he snuck into one of the better hiding places, still watching Yuurei and Fuuma.

Shisa was a very determined creature. He wanted the small blue bird to keep tabs on Yuurei... AND on Fuuma, even if the man- no.. The Dragon of Earth, did scare the heck out of the creature. If he was noticed, it would be fine. He knew that there were pipes everywhere with water that would make it easier than summoning. All he had to do was pull it from the pipes... but he wouldn't. Not unless noticed. And he probably wouldn't be.

Holding in his desire to keep on flying, he perched silently in a shadow and watched the Watcher and the Chi no Ryu.

* * *

Anzu was another story. The eagle like fire elemental spirit beast flew fast, but majestically. Her fiery wings made the sky appear to be on fire. It was probably a good thing that she wasn't as big as she COULD be.

Because she was larger, she flew at different rates. With rest, she could fly very fast.. faster than an eagle in a dive... but in her current state, she was beginning to grow weary. There wasn't enough sunlight to sustain her.

Rather than complain, she allowed her fiery feathers to begin to dim until they were the color of the setting sun. Her energies restored as she began to travel faster. Kotori and the Kamui of the Ten no Ryu were fine. Now, it was time to check on the trio that consisted of Satsuki, Yuuto, and Nataku.

... The problem would be staying hidden, especially from that blasted blonde man and his water works.

Anzu snorted. She was a proud spirit beast. It wasn't like the water-boy could get her, even if she was found out... and who would be stupid enough to attack a spirit beast?

* * *

"Wake up."

A brutal lash snapped across his back and around his lean torso, splitting the soothing silence with a violent crack. Still he could not manage to open his eyes. He could barely feel his body at all-- only knew that he was not resting or lying down.

"I said, wake up."

Another cruel strike, and he felt the agonizing groan rise up through his throat and spill forth from his thin, bruised lips. Sweat drenched his long, stringy raven locks which fell in damp tangles around his shoulders and chest, matting his brow and veiling his face in shadow. His lacerated chest heaved for breath as his eyelids gradually lifted into narrow crimson slivers. He found himself staring at a stone-tiled floor.

The chamber was well lit, and the light stung his eyes and caused his head to throb more acutely than it had already been pounding. No shadows at all. Even if he had still possessed the strength and focus to shadow-walk, it would have been impossible; there were no shadows here to summon. He tried to move his arm to shield his eyes, but found that his wrists were both incapacitated, strung up above his head in shackles, the chains reaching high into the rafters above.

There was no breeze here--they were obviously inside, after all--and still he felt cold. Focusing his distorted vision, creases lined his clammy brow when he realized the cause. His tattered clothes had been completely stripped away. What was more, his sinewy naked body was now covered with brutal new lacerations and ugly bluish-black bruises. He was standing, or at least that was how it appeared. The shackles that bound his wrists together had raised him from the floor, preventing him from collapsing in a bloody heap.

"Glad to see you're finally awake." The voice was deep but strangely cheerful.

A coarse hand gripped his chin and lifted it, and he found his wavering gaze staring into two dark, wicked eyes. Yet the youth's expression was surprisingly pleasant. If his wits had been any more about himself, Yuurei would have known to expect nothing less from the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth. But as it was, he could do little more than stare in confusion at his captor, wondering where he was, how he had gotten here, and what he had done to deserve such blatant torture.

"You really are a nuisance," Fuuma chuckled darkly. Then suddenly his eyes grew cold, and his youthful facial cast turned to stone. "You're far more trouble than you're worth, Watcher." With that he shoved Yuurei's jaw to the side and stepped away, twirling the long, thick leather whip about his other hand. "I even offered to let you off easy by paying for ice cream," he added indignantly, "but you couldn't be satisfied with that, could you?"

Yuurei grimaced. Was this how he was going to meet his end--at the hands of this psychotic madman? In slurred, broken syllables, he choked, "What do you want from me, Fuuma?"

The man gave him a hard stare, then suddenly smiled happily. "I'd appreciate it if you'd call me Kamui." Then, just as abruptly, the smile fell away. "As to what I want...your sanity would be a nice start."

At this Yuurei could not help but smirk, though it cost him a mouthful of blood. "I thought you were supposed to grant wishes, Fuuma," he spat out dryly, "not rip them apart."

Again that cold, callused hand reached out to grip his jaw, and Fuuma drew so close that when he whispered his chilling reply, his lips were mere inches from Yuurei's face. "See, that's where Fate gets twisted," he began smoothly. "It is my destiny to grant the wishes of this Earth and the people of it. However..." He proceeded to turn and walk a few steps away. "...You are a thorn in my side, Kantoku-sama. I don't think you deserve to have your wish granted. And isn't it my right to make that judgment?" Without warning he spun back around and lashed out with the whip, striking Yuurei across the abdomen and upper chest, ripping through the rough epidermis and into the taut, stalwart muscles.

Choking on a pain-racked cry, Yuurei instinctively attempted to defend himself, only to find that he had been rendered utterly helpless. His strength was gone. His powers were completely depleted. He could no longer even stand on his own will, and the chains prevented him from staggering backward. No way to block, no way to dodge, no way to avoid any blow Fuuma planned on dealing him.

The young man suddenly let out a hearty laugh. "Your stupidity never ceases to amuse me!" he chuckled, striking Yuurei again with his whip. "You had the easiest job of us all, and you couldn't even do that right. You've let everyone down, after trying so hard to do just the opposite. It's sad, really." Another lash.

He tried to scream, but nearly suffocated on his own blood. Feverishly he attempted to block Fuuma's words from entering his mind, but that was of little use as well. They hit him like a brick wall. He had let down everyone he loved. He had been the cause of their pain, almost more so than the Dark Kamui himself.

The callused hand grasped his jaw again, and this time Yuurei flinched as he felt a wad of saliva splatter in his eye. Rapidly he tried to blink it away, only to find his vision grow all the more distorted as he stared up into Fuuma's grinning face.

"Would you like to know what will happen to Kakyou after you're gone?" he asked in a seemingly innocent tone. He snickered as Yuurei's eyes widened in terror. "Yes, I know the bond you shared with him." He leaned closer. "I will be the one to console him, and he will find comfort in my arms. I will grant him his true wish, and he will forget all about you." Yuurei's eyes must have betrayed his horror, for Fuuma chuckled even more darkly then. "You understand, don't you? You can do nothing but hurt people. Ironic, isn't it? You say I'm the wicked bastard bent on destroying the world, and yet you've destroyed more lives than I could ever hope to accomplish."

He was right. Yuurei knew it instantly. In defying Fate, he had overstepped his bounds. This was his punishment. He barely even registered the rivers of tears that began to trickle down his bruised, bloody cheeks. Fuuma's eyes consumed his entire world, and in that moment, all he knew were his faults. He had destroyed Kakyou. And Subaru. And Seishirou. And Hokuto. And Hinoto. And everyone with whom he had come in contact.

Fuuma let out a curt chortle. "Pathetic," he scoffed, and suddenly Yuurei's restraints were released, and he collapsed instantly to the cold floor. "You are worthless to the world, Kantoku-sama," the Dark Kamui spat indignantly. And suddenly his leg flew forward, and the ball of his foot embedded itself deeply into Yuurei's side. "No, you're worse than worthless." Another swift, powerful kick. "You are a plague. Even from the perspective of the Dragons of Heaven, this world would have been better off if you had never existed." Another kick, and still another.

His every rib must have been broken by now. His eyes widened with every brutal strike, and he fought to at least protect the injury Seishirou had given him from Fuuma's blows. There was not enough breath left in his body to cry out at every attack, but he let out low, strained grunts as he body was kicked across the floor, leaving a trail of blood to mark the progress of his path. He wished Fuuma would just get it over with. Now more than ever, he simply wanted to die.

Finally the young man ceased his blows, standing above Yuurei like a lion gazing hungrily down on its crippled prey. He laughed again, and Yuurei could feel those cold, dark eyes burrowing through his back and into the core of his very soul. But Yuurei did not move-- rather, he could not. He felt his hands trembling, his callused fingers touching the bloodstained floor, trying to knot themselves into fists but lacking the strength and the will to complete even that trivial task.

"I wonder if there's anything you're good for," Fuuma smirked banefully. Then abruptly a hand lashed out to grab hold of a handful of soiled raven tresses, jerking Yuurei roughly to his knees. Lowering his face to where it was no more than an inch from Yuurei's, Fuuma gave an icy grin. "I have an idea..."

There was no time to wonder what the young man had in mind. He heard the unzipping of slacks, and suddenly found his face being propelled between Fuuma's legs, the exposed bulge pressing warmly against his raw lips. With one more forceful shove, his lips parted unwillingly, and the man's length sank into his mouth. His eyes widened, and he gagged.

"Well, I suppose you could make a decent whore," Fuuma laughed as he straightened himself, holding Yuurei against him forcefully. "I might even be able to get my friend Yuuto to employ you."

The tears came unremittingly now. Maybe it was true. Maybe Fuuma was right. Was this all he was good for? He had certainly failed Fate one too many times, and had disappointed everyone he had cared about. He was not worth their time or their tears. He was nothing, just as Fuuma had said.

Suddenly he was jostled forward again, this time the younger man's member sinking all the way down his throat as it hardened in arousal. He choked. He could not breathe. Desperately he tried to scramble backward, only to receive a sharp kick to the groin. Letting out a muffle moan, he managed to force rigorous breaths through his flaring nostrils.

At last Fuuma tore himself away, leaving Yuurei to collapse back to the floor, gasping for precious gulps of oxygen. But not even a minute had passed before he felt the stone-like grip on his shoulders, pressing him down against the cold tiles.

His eyes shot open in terror as he felt one hand slide down to grasp his hip. No. No... "Iie!" he screamed hoarsely, suddenly lashing out with both harms, clawing frantically at the slick, smooth floor with every ounce of remaining strength. Blinded by his tears, he attempted to summon the nonexistent shadows about him, but of course to no avail. "Iie!" he cried out again, feeling the lacerations from his recent beatings start to open once more and seep blood as he writhed under Fuuma's grasp.

The hand on his shoulder abruptly shoved him hard against the floor, practically ripping his arm out of its proper socket. Then swiftly it backed away to rest on his other hip, and he felt the nudge of something hard against his exposed anus.

Fuuma entered him with such brutal force that his head was thrown against the floor, a blur of blood mixing with the tears that continued to blind his already distorted vision. His eyes widened at the realization. For a split instant, he choked. Then...

"IIYYAAAAAAA!!!" He screamed it at the top of his lungs as he felt the younger man back away slightly, only to immediately plunge back inside. He felt the seams of his walls tearing, ripping, splitting open. With every bit of will and strength he could muster, he desperately tried to scramble away, shoving his trembling knees against the floor to push himself away from Fuuma. But every attempt was in vain as the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth easily grasped his hips and yanked him back, pumping violently in and out of him, jerking his bleeding, beaten body back and forth repeatedly.

The last drop of his strength and will vanished. Torn apart from the inside-out, Yuurei's eyelids drooped wearily, and his screams faded to mere low cries and grunts of excruciating pain. Too weak and exhausted to continue like this, he finally surrendered unwillingly to Fuuma's thrusts and collapsed back to the floor. Tears continued to stream down his ashen face, splattering into the puddles of blood beneath him as he was continually yanked back and forth.

It seemed to go on forever, but he no longer struggled or fought back. He had nothing left. And perhaps...this was what he deserved. To be broken. To be torn open completely and irrefutably.

The searing, creamy surge of semen that poured into him like fiery torrents as a result of Fuuma's climax barely registered in his benumbed mind. What he did feel when the man finally pulled out of him, was the flood of liquid that spilled from his body, though he could not see the mixture of sperm and rich red blood that stained his thighs and dripped on the floor in tiny puddles as a result of being torn open so violently by Fuuma's penetration.

A dark, cold chuckle reached his ear. "No, I was wrong," he muttered derisively. "You are completely useless--a waste of my time."

He toppled back onto his side as Fuuma stood, and the sounds of the man's footsteps growing farther and farther away echoed throughout the hollow, lonely sanctums of his mind. Feebly he tried to wrap his arms about himself, for suddenly the air around him felt so very cold. But he could not even gather the strength or the will to do that.

Somewhere beyond the reach of his obscured vision, a door clicked and locked, and he knew Fuuma was gone. And he was left alone, in this cold room, bathed in his own blood, sweat, and worse. At last he managed to close his eyes, and it was only then that he realized he was crying. In his entire life, he had only cried but once before. And that was when he had been reunited with Kakyou.

But now it did not seem to matter. He let the sobs come, wracking his body and flooding his soul. Fuuma was right. He was pathetic. In the end, he was the weakest of them all. Fuuma had won. Yuurei had lost everything.

He knew in that moment, he was broken.

* * *

The feel of the building was cold. Aside from Okita's singing, nothing else reached Taer's ears as he minimized himself to be about the size of a child's pinky-finger. Upon reaching his destination, the closed door that Fuuma and Yuurei had vanished behind, the small water bird had decided that it was time to shift.

His blue body melted into a puddle of clear, crystal water. Once in the liquid state, he passed beneath the door easily and came out on the other side, quickly escaping to an unnoticeable corner and transforming back before taking flight, now the size of a fingernail...

But almost immediately after arriving in the room, he wished that he hadn't.

The blue spirit beast was forced to watch every second of the torture, every second of the horrible, indescribable event that followed with it. Shisa had told the spirits that humans could be terrible creatures, things that did not deserve to live- that was what The Dragon of Earth was in Taer's mind.

Blood was everywhere. Still, Taer forced himself to remain silent. He tried to look away, but could not. If any spirits had inhabited the room, they had surely fled by now- all but him. He didn't want to see the Watcher suffer... he didn't want to see any more of it, nor did he wish to hear the Kamui speak. Every word, every movement, only fueled the bird's fear and anger...

He had reached his peak by the time that Fuuma left. The bird jumped up from its position on the floor and flapped its wings, wildly, though said nothing. It was almost like a dare for the Kamui to return... but then again..

His yellow eyes flickered as he landed upon the ground once the door was locked. There was nothing he could do... nothing.

_Shisa-sama? _Taer closed his yellow eyes momentarily as his third eye glistened. _... Shisa-sa-  
_

* * *

A sudden blast of air propelled itself from the link that the three spirit beasts shared with their master, knocking the four beasts back a bit. It had not been intentional, but Shisa could no longer bare it. 

Shisa sat, narrowed eyes probably capable of drilling a hole through anything, in the silvery orb. His anger was a massive force that caused the ground beneath him to shake. The orb began to glow fiercely.

He had seen it all with his own eyes. He had heard it all with his ears. He had felt the pain, the suffering inflicted upon the Watcher. He had felt the Dragon of Earth's simple pleasure brought about from making another suffer. It was too much to ask the Guardian to keep calm. He could not. No matter how much the pure side of reason wished him to remain calm, he simply could not.

Perhaps if it had been another creature besides the Watcher, he would have tolerated it. After all, Shisa was rather prodigious against most humans. Perhaps if it had not been done in the name of the Earth, he could have tolerated it. Perhaps if he had not known already the unspeakable horrors that the Kamui had committed, he could have let it pass... but no longer could he allow it to pass. He would have to act, then and there. After all... no filthy human had the right to decide another's time of passing, nor did they have the right to say so in the Earth's name. It infuriated Shisa beyond reason.

The process, however, was not entirely complete. Shisa would not be able to help the Watcher if he was to go after the Kamui. He would have to send someone else to help the Watcher in his place... and he knew who.

As the Guardian opened his eyes again, he saw bronze and silver 'colored energy' gathering into the orb. Almost done... and then he could take up his feud with Fuuma.

He felt a light tug from the Earth. Apparently, as always, the planet's mixed feelings wished to get in the way. He shook his head lightly, his long hair whipping this way and that as a wind began to build in the silvery orb. His body had grown stronger. His tolerance and abilities had certainly grown. He was capable of much more... And with the Earth to back him, he would be strong enough to at least put his point across to the Chi no Ryu.

Shisa drew in a breath as he calmed down a bit. If he did not, then he would do something foolish... and that was not allowable. Things would have to be executed very carefully... VERY carefully.

Shouri. Yes, he could fetch Yuurei and take the Watcher to the shrine. If anyone could save that man's life, it was Matsuko. With Shouri's help, the chances were even greater... that, and Subaru would certainly go, if not only to keep an eye on Shouri, but to find Yuurei, as well, ne?

Fuuma. What to do about the man? He knew that he could not intervene with Fate without good reason, but Fate would permit him to. He already had permission. The only thing he couldn't do was kill the boy.. that "privilege" was reserved for another. Still, Shisa had stood by long enough. The man only increased the pain that he felt.. and if he knew, Shisa was almost certain that he'd harm more.

What a twisted ideology! It made him sick! That he (Fuuma) had the power to grant the wishes of the people of the planet... but could decide who got their wishes granted and who got their wishes crushed. Foolishness. And it would not be tolerated. If the Kamui of Earth would like to know what it was to be crushed, then so be it. Shisa could certainly teach him precisely what the Earth wanted... After all, he was technically its slave.

To Kaze, who was confused at all that had passed, a simple command was given. _"Summon Aerora to watch the DIET building. You will follow the boy."  
_  
The shadows had left the room entirely by now. With permission granted, and a strong will behind him, Shisa needed no other kind of guide. He would confront the Chi no Ryu's Kamui as soon as he was permitted.

As he sat there, thinking to himself precisely what he'd do, he realized that confronting the Kamui might twist fate around a bit... but the chances of that happening were slim. Shisa would not lose. He could not. He refused to. After all... how could he? He did not act of his own will... and really, by Fate's Law, in Shisa's mind, Shisa was probably not even considered existent.

... No tears. No smile. No frown. Only a piercing gaze...

... His thoughts already had began to beckon Shouri towards the underground hide-out. There wasn't much time... not at all.

* * *

He could not catch his breath; he was too close to dying. But he did open his eyes again, only to find that blaring light still consuming all the shadows and refusing to let his naked, ensanguined body rest in darkness.

Something flitted at the corner of his blurred vision. He blinked once...twice...repeatedly. A mirage? A hallucination? Was he finally losing his mind? It would be about damned time.

It looked like a watery bird, flapping its wings about as though it were either injured or infuriated.

Yuurei tried to give a smile, shoving an arm out in the creature's direction as he lay on his stomach, unable to move the rest of his body at all.

"How'd you get in here?" he choked in cracked syllables, though somehow his voice remained soft and gentle. Even if it was a hallucination, just the thought of another being's presence was comforting. "Don't be afraid, little guy," he murmured, trying to make his voice sound soothing, though it was terribly raspy.

But he could barely move his arm out toward the tiny creature. Gradually his fragile smile faded, but he continued to watch the little bird in vague fascination. What he would have given to be able to have had the strength to even toss and turn like that.

* * *

Arashi left rather suddenly and Yuzuriha knew something was up. Within minutes, a kekkai was hovering around the border of the CLAMP Campus. As much as she longed to join her comrade, she knew she was unfit to do so.

If the kekkai wavered even once, Yuzuriha resolved, she'd go.

But until then...

* * *

Thwack thwack thwack thud!!

A young teenage male was pounding his fists and legs against the punching bag. He didn't have a good fight in awhile and needed to at least keep his shape up. He let out another series of blows onto the bag and picked up a towel and looked over to see his younger brother, Amaru, sleeping with the video game controller in his hand still.

Owaru walked over to his younger brother and picked him up and carried him to his room and lied him down, tucking him in and started to walk out down to the kitchen to get a glass of soda. He walked down past a window overlooking Tokyo tower and saw it...the weird vibes as if the earth's ki revolving around the cardinal point were weakening.

"Shit...I don't believe this...more mystical bullshit and I have to deal with it!" he sighed and went and got some soda and downed it. The young man walked to his room and started getting dressed in street clothing, he needed to find out why these energies felt like something was wrong. Upon throwing on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, he headed out.


	65. Chapter 63: Last Dream…?

**Chapter Sixty-Three: Last Dream…?**

Dante approached his apartment complex only to see the kekkai field emerge into the skyline.

"So...its another one of them...perhaps I'll finally meet one of the chosen of 'heaven'," he thought and let out a snicker and began his way towards the building quickly. He dared not to disturb Abbadon, not till he at least made contact.

* * *

In her frustration and desperation, Kaori wasn't looking where she was going, and bumped into a young man, probably no older that Okita himself.

"Gomen..." Kaori apologized, her usual uppity tone low and monotone ash, she brushed her long, obsidian locks out of her face.

"Ooof!" he was about to lash out with words and then looked up at the girl. "Oh, it's alright miss" his cheeks got a little red.

"You look like your in a hurry, you alright?" he spoke, within his mind he started thinking how this might be his big break for once...older women are "experienced" after all. As he kept thinking, his cheeks kept getting more flushed.

Kaori frowned, not really noticing Owaru's flustered appearance. "You haven't seen a boy about this height," Kaori lifted her hand to a bit lower than her own height, "And bleach-blonde hair, have you? He's sort of pale..."

"No clue, miss. Is he a boyfriend?" He tried sounding like he wasn't trying to hit on her but well, his acting needed some tweaking.

Kaori blushed, ever so slightly. "No, he's...I'm his manager," Kaori explained.

As he saw her blush in the soft light nearby he let out a small sigh and under his breath he muttered "Why can't I ever get a break?"

He looked back up to her and smiled, "Well, if I see him...umm...you want me to call you or something?" he looked over to the tower again and looked back to the woman.

* * *

Satsuki lightly leaped down onto the roof where Yuuto was, casually strolling up to stand next to him. Like her comrade, she too observed the scene unfolding before them. This indeed appeared to be a perfect opportunity to launch a surprise attack on their enemies. None of the Seals would be expecting anything to happen at their very own base, especially since she and Yuuto had attacked at this same place earlier. As the saying went, lightning never struck in the same place twice.

The computer genius smirked to herself. Then again, the Dragons of Earth couldn't exactly be termed a natural disaster... though a disaster to humanity might be a more appropriate label, if not somewhat clichéd.

Satsuki casually adjusted her glasses as she observed the scene before her. "Well, well, what do we have here?" the girl murmured, looking down at the building. "You know, I don't think we'll be able to find Kamui-san for a long time at the rate we're going... And besides, we haven't met all of the Dragons of Heaven yet. I'm sure Kamui-san wouldn't want us to just leave without introducing ourselves properly." The girl smirked darkly, an ominous glint appearing in her eyes. "Now that would be rude, don't you think, Yuuto-san?"

She looked over at Nataku, still holding the Inuki-sword in his hands. "We can also return that sword to its proper mistress... After we've demonstrated its abilities to the Seals, of course."

* * *

Hokuto looked down at Kakyou, feeling so lost. He was hurt badly and it wasn't just physically. What Yuurei had done to him... She didn't understand it. She didn't want to understand it.

There was nothing in her that could comprehend how the Watcher that loved Kakyou so much could do such a thing to him. That he had it in him to do such a thing. He loved him, damn it. She loved him... It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Hokuto gingerly reached out a hand and stroked a blood-soaked lock of hair out of Kakyou's face. The golden tresses were now brown and she flinched, feeling the tears mingled with the red liquid.

"Are you... Can you sta-" She felt a lurch deep inside. Inside her very soul. And her eyes widened in surprise. She was waking up.

_No!_

Not now. Not now that he was hurt, when he needed someone next to him. She cursed Yuurei, cursed Subaru, cursed herself for ever agreeing to be resurrected. If she hadn't, she could remain inside the dream world forever.

Forever beside him.

Kakyou flickered and she hugged him to her, whispering in his ear before she was torn away. "I'll come back for you. I'll come back..."

Her eyelids fluttered open and she blinked several times at the artificial light above her. Sitting up, she bounced slightly on the soft surface and realized she had been laying on a bed.

A bed...? But she had collapsed in a street bathed in lazy amber sun rays. Not in an apartment.

Staggering off of the bed, something fell to the floor. A note, she'd realized. A shaking, black-clothed hand reached down and picked it up.

"Guard her, but don't touch her. She's mine... -Love, Fuuma".

Fuuma. The Chi no Ryu's Kamui. She blinked. He had dropped her off at in an apartment, it turned out. Obviously an apartment belonging to someone he trusted, but who?

Her hand ran over expensive looking furniture and she felt something akin to nostalgia. This interior reminded her of someplace. Someplace she had been a long time ago.

Her eyes widened in surprise and her hand jerked off of the chair as she realized where this reminded her of. Seishirou. Seishirou's apartment, nine years ago.

But it wasn't the same interior, not the same apartment, but his very being was infested inside the place. She felt nauseated.

Leaping to the door, she grabbed the handle and tried tearing the door open. But it was locked and she was locked away inside.

She gagged and fell to the floor. She was locked inside the apartment of her murderer. She recoiled at the thought of being with him. It hadn't affected her at all when Fuuma had been with her. But being with him alone.

Her eyes blurred and she dragged herself to sit against the wall, pulling her legs in front of her. She wept, thinking about Kakyou and his utter devotion to Yuurei. How it was supposed to be her. How she hated the Watcher now and that he was dying...

She sobbed, hugging her legs to her and burying her face into the black cloth of her pants. She didn't want this. She didn't want any of it.

She longed back to 10 years ago, when she had been carefree, cheerful and utterly devoid of any feelings named fear or hurt. When Subaru and she had still been 15 and she had been able to look into his eyes and not see any regret, fear or hopeless wishes. When he didn't want to die.

When she had been really, truly alive and not this empty, cheerless shell she felt she had become. When Seishirou was still the harmless veterinarian and she could still tease Subaru for his obvious attraction to the older male.

When she didn't feel so hopeless. She didn't want to feel hopeless. She didn't want the end of the world.

She only wanted to feel alive again, to laugh again, to love Kakyou with all her heart again, with no interferences and no sadness.

With no manipulative, harsh, violent Watcher.

She didn't want Yuurei.

* * *

Taer stopped his unnecessary flittering as he heard the Watcher address him. He changed directions. The voice had been filled with pain, and Taer, if nothing else, hated to see another creature, innocent in his eyes of accusations made, be forced to suffer.

His blue wings carried him to hover at eye-level of the Watcher, and the scent on him- it wasn't just the stench of blood. It was the stench of death that had been trailing the Watcher ever since the first drop of blood was spilled. He didn't like that scent. He flitted his wings a few times, chirping twice. While making contact through words would be easy, he didn't wish the man to strain to speak, nor let his thoughts build up just because the bird could communicate telepathically.

Yellow eyes seemed to dim suddenly as Taer realized something. There wasn't much time.

* * *

And so had Shisa. The Guardian had thought it over after his mind and cleared and he had taken to thought problems that could arise. There were too many, and he didn't have enough time to contemplate the risks or dangers of any of it. Seeing Yuurei's condition only made him doubt his plan.

His original plan had been to confront Fuuma, an, as he would have before angered, use words instead of violence unless it was unavoidable, calling on Shouri to get Yuurei to Matsuko at the shrine. It would work, right? His answer came sooner than he had expected.

_Master... _The voice of the fire-dusk bird reached his mind without trouble. _I believe that you should.. take a look at this.  
_  
He looked through the 'third eye' of the fire-bird, he saw precisely what she was fearing. Three Chi no Ryu were outside of the DIET building, obviously up to no good. Their words were relayed to his mind by the informative fire-bird. Absolutely no good. This plan wouldn't work.

Having Kaze already know precisely who was in the building, it wouldn't be good to draw Shouri from the place. While the Princess's protectors were considerably strong, they wouldn't stand a chance against those three of the Chi no Ryu. With Aoki and Subaru both there, they had a better chance... but drawing Shouri away might make Subaru uneasy. Besides, the boy had enough strength to protect himself, and with that headstrong girl, Uo, there, he had a feeling there might be a bit of a conflict in safety. Either way, it was best if Kaze was there with Anzu in case the battle became uneasy... and it would probably be best if Shouri was there to help protect.

Besides that, Shouri wouldn't make it in time to assist Yuurei, and if he were to leave, then favor leaned towards the Dragons of Earth in the battle to come.

_Anzu... Kaze... keep your post. Guard the boy... and step in should your assistance be required. _Shisa's emotions once again formed words as he 'spoke'.

Once again, he was put into a position that he didn't like at all. In order to prevent the Watcher's death, Shisa would have to be the one to get him to the shrine. It would be easy enough for Subaru and Shouri to find him when they could, and Matsuko would understand precisely why the Guardian called upon her services.

His mind was made up. His confrontation of Fuuma could wait. A star would fade if he did not act. His act could not be rejected by the Earth, this time... and it was probably more acceptable than his other, reckless plan.

... And then it happened.

The silvery orb of light surrounding the specter in the dark room began to gather large spheres of golden light. The energies that had been gathering finally merged with the silvery orb, causing the upper level of the building to shake as though some heavy object had just been dropped into a small pond and the ripples were traveling outwards.

It was indescribable, this new transformation. His immature transformation was overly dim compared to this new 'upgrade'. When the Earth had intervened in his healing process, he had thought it was merely trying to hold him there... but he was far from correct.

His very appearance had shifted a bit. He appeared slightly older, and his skin was so very fair that he really might have been mistaken for a ghostly prince, cursed to haunt the plain of the living for eternity. His hair no longer stopped half-way down his back, but trailed a good distance past his waist. It was no longer the color of the deep twilight blue, but now the color of the fair raven's black wings with only a few twilight blue strands remaining at each side of his face. The shine and softness was very odd, in particularly for a man. His eyes, however... they had shifted in color, and would continue to do so. The natural, color, however, could not be described, as his eyes were currently a neutral green. His body seemed much stronger than before, partially his build, but it didn't take away from his somewhat 'reaper-like' quality.

All in all, he resembled a dark angel to a degree- a dark angel who had lost his wings, but held the beauty of the dark creature that he would always be, with or without the wings that permitted flight. In the dark, torn hooded-cloak that he wore, he really did look like a ghostly prince of a being that used to be a dark angel, hurled from his throne to live in a world as a mere shadow of the glorious being he had once been.

As the light faded and the building stopped shaking, old relics and shelves having fallen to the ground in the process and stirred up the building dust, as well as the few rats who claimed the abandoned warehouse as home, a few flickering sparks vanished as he began to stop pulsing.

There he stood, kneeling upon the floor in the same black cloak. A rose-like scent had attached itself to him.

The transformation was completed. He was at full strength, AND stronger than he had been. He was unaware of his strange new appearance, though it would most likely be much more to his liking. While Shisa disliked humans, some of them could be beautiful creatures- by soul, spirit, and emotion or outwardly. Perhaps the planet had taken that into consideration when performing the transformation.

Either way, it meant nothing to Shisa if he could not use this new form and strength to his own ends. His thoughts now lied with the Watcher, and changing the sudden twist of Fate by his own hand. Those who stood in his way would be dealt with accordingly.

Slowly he stood, eyes opening slowly. His vision was perfect. He could see through the darkness. This form was new so it would take him a bit to get used to it, but after five minutes, he knew he would be fine. He bowed his head silently, and then took off directly towards a wall. The door was not needed for the Guardian to take upon his ghostly form, and he needed to know that he had mastery over this body. His movement was slurred momentarily before he suddenly increased his speed, physical form melting into no more than an illusion as he went straight through the walls, and through the floor, landing easily upon a crate and returned to his physical form immediately.

Shisa would have grinned had he been used to doing so. His skills and movements required less concentration in this form... less effort. Even better... and his speed! He let his thoughts trail off before he again became serious.

_Taer, keep watch over him. Don't let him leave this plain. _His emotions propelled the words easily. _... I'll be there momentarily._

With that, Shisa moved swiftly, going through every object in front of him without the slightest bit of trouble or effort applied. Within three seconds, he was on the streets of Tokyo. His destination was the Underground Headquarters of the Dragons of Earth, and it could not be doubted that he would be there much faster than Taer could anticipate.

As he went, his black cloak exchanged blows, beaten by the wind. The Earth's screams did not phase him at the moment.

* * *

Taer's yellow eyes flashed slightly in response as he looked at the Watcher again. He chirped encouragingly, still flitting his wings to keep himself up in the air at eye-level. If birds had lips, surely the blue water-bird would have been grinning.

* * *

His vision wavered, and the bird's image became distorted. It was so cold. Was he shaking? It was almost impossible to tell. He could barely feel his body. It must have looked bizarre--a grown, powerful- looking man huddled up against himself in the middle of a lighted room, stark naked. His fatal wound was bleeding worse than ever now, thanks to Fuuma. Yuurei's hate had long since melted away to sheer dread and vehement nausea at the mere thought of that name.

When exactly he drifted out of consciousness, he was not quite sure. But when he next opened his eyes in narrow crimson slivers, he found himself back in darkness. In the shadows of his mind. If only he could stay here forever...away from everything...away from everyone... Soon he would be dead from his injury. But maybe that would not be so bad. It had to be better than this suffering...this bottomless agony. Even in his blackened dreams, his virile, scarred, naked body began to quaver...

Everything was dark here, faded to oblivion after Hokuto had left, but Kakyou suddenly found that he did not mind. Retreating back into his old dreamscape would at least dull the pain of past memories. He leaned heavily against the only doorway that existed in the long line of wall, his knees to his chest, his head bowed, golden locks streaming down the sides of his pale face. Tears fell silently down his cheeks and noiselessly onto the fabric of his lap.

_God, why had it come to this...to a total rejection of feeling and a broken promise...? Why is it always broken promises? I suppose I should just expect them now, but why did it have to be him...? I love him most...  
_  
Another twinge of pain, though this time faint... Suddenly his head shot up, his golden eyes staring into the darkness. A certain person had just entered his own dream...and he was lost and...and...

"OH, GOD, NO!!!" Kakyou screamed into the black space. Scrambling to his feet, Kakyou started forward, walking as fast as his trembling legs could carry him, afraid that if he ran he would fall. He stumbled a few times, once landing on his hands and knees, but he struggled back up and kept on going.

_Hold on, Yuurei! I'm coming! Please...you can't die...you can't... I don't want you to... Please hold on...for me...for whomever it is you love...even if it's not me anymore..._

Footsteps. Echoing. Staggering. Persistent. It was not Fuuma returning, and for that Yuurei was truly grateful. But that meant it could be only one other person. His stomach tightened at the thought, causing his pain to sharpen immensely.

_God...please...not now... _But still he forced his eyes open and glanced up through his tears to make out the vague image of a frantic figure bathed in white effulgence stumbling toward him. _Kakyou..._

Kakyou had no idea where his dream ended and Yuurei's began. All he knew was that he had to keep going. He could see Yuurei now, a vaguely darker outline against the blackness of his dream. The man was curled in a fetal position, and as Kakyou got closer, he could make out a face...and the tears running down the ashen cheeks...

_Tears... Why is he crying...? _And it came to him in a flash...part of a dream--the agony...the struggle...the humiliation...

Kakyou choked on a sob, not wanting to think anymore of that, as his feet broke into a run the last few feet toward Yuurei. Skidding to a halt, he knelt in the next smooth motion. His kimono settled about him like a cloud as he slid closer inch by inch, a shaking hand reaching out and then suddenly pulling back, unsure of what to do...

"Yuurei..." His voice was so soft, he could barely hear it himself...

But as Kakyou started to recoil, a sudden sense of horror flooded Yuurei's soul that the younger man would leave, and Yuurei would be alone again. For the first time in his life, he dreaded being left alone. Choking on pain and tears, he extended one shaking hand and grasped Kakyou's wrist, pulling it closer and pressing it against his bruised cheek. "Please...don't go..."

Kakyou slid as close as he dared now, letting his hand continue to rest lightly on Yuurei's cheek. He did nothing more, however, his mind still in so much of a jumble over everything that had happened in the past days...hours...minutes... Kakyou was not even sure anymore. Time had become nothing to him. He had given up on that when he had started dreaming, after Hokuto's death. And now that she was alive again? He still did not know what to think...

His brow furrowed at her name, confused about her sudden departure from his dreams. When she had died, consciousness was a concern she had not needed to worry about. But he quickly pushed that thought away. Glancing down at Yuurei, his tears started again as he slowly moved the hand on Yuurei's cheek, stroking it gently. "I'm not planning on going anywhere...," he whispered.

Still choking on humiliation, Yuurei was unsure of whether to pull Kakyou closer or push him away. But the thought of the dream seer leaving was far more painful to consider, so he took a deep breath...and promptly was sent into a spasm of coughing, in which a mouthful of bubbling blood spilled from his lips.

A few drops of blood splattered onto Kakyou's hand, where it was still resting on the older man's cheek. Kakyou stared at it with fascination, almost as if not seeing it...almost as if trying to convince himself that, if he did not see it, it would not be true...

But no. It was not a dream. Gazing into Yuurei's crimson orbs, he saw how glazed-over they were--how faint the spark was becoming. And the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "You...you're..." Kakyou's voice quavered, and he abruptly stopped, not wanting to say it...even though he already knew...

Yuurei winced at Kakyou's stuttered words. He knew. Shakily Yuurei nodded, pressing his hand closer over Kakyou's. "I'm...dying," he managed to cough. "I know...I'm dying." But he could say no more-- no explanation, no reason. He had not the strength or the will to keep going.

Kakyou shuddered, his hand fluttering beneath Yuurei's and against the Watcher's cheek. He took a deep breath and choked, trying to stop the sob from rising in his throat. He had to be the strong one now... Yuurei had been there when Kakyou had needed him, and even if they had gone their separate ways, Kakyou knew that Yuurei would have still watched over him and protected him.

He took another deep breath, and with his other hand, he carefully lifted Yuurei's head and let it come back to rest on the pristine white cloth of his kimono, a single, lone tear falling onto the older man's forehead as Kakyou bowed his head and closed his eyes. "Why can't I ever stop this...? I can do nothing...but I want to be able to do something...to change this...to change everything..." His voice was barely audible, his eyes squeezed shut, a look of pure agony and despair evident on his face...

"I know...," was all Yuurei could murmur in his raspy voice as he lay his head in Kakyou's lap and closed his eyes languidly. After several restoring moments of throaty breathing, he managed to add, "It's all right. I'm...not afraid...of dying." More fresh tears streamed down his pallid, clammy cheeks. "I never expected you...to do anything. I...I only wanted to...protect you. And I couldn't even...do that right." Talking too much again. When had he ever talked enough? Let alone too much. But his words caused him to choke again, splattering more droplets of crimson life fluid across Kakyou's kimono. This may have been only a dream, but he knew well enough that his every shed drop of blood was very real. Still, he could not permit himself to stop.

Forcing his eyes open into narrow crimson slivers, he turned his head to look up at Kakyou's beautiful face, lifting a shaky hand to brush the tender flesh of his smooth cheek that he knew so well. Gingerly, with unsteady movements, he wiped away an innocent tear that slipped down the dream seer's face. "This won't do at all," he muttered with a forced chuckle. Then his expression hardened, and he met Kakyou's distraught gaze. "I...I don't want you...to cry for me. I don't...deserve your tears. I've caused you...so much pain...and now...I'm ready to die. You...should be relieved," he choked out as a stabbing pain that was not physical bit acridly through his heart. "I'll never hurt you again. Hokuto will...protect you." He hated the idea. It was the most revolting notion he could comprehend--that the one he loved would spend his life loving and living for someone else.

Moving his thumb ever so slightly back and forth, he tried to stop Yuurei's tears from streaming down the older man's cheek. "I know you aren't afraid of dying... I'm the one who's afraid of losing you." He winced a bit as more flecks of blood stained his kimono, and then shook his head in denial. "You did it perfectly right, Yuurei, and don't you ever think otherwise..." His voice trailed off.

As Yuurei's hand lifted and touched his cheek, leaning into it as much as he dared, more tears flowed. "I cry for you because I love you, Yuurei. And because you of all people deserve these tears...for what you have been put through." He leaned down then and kissed the Watcher on the forehead, tears still blurring his vision. "I will never love another as much as you, Yuurei, even with what we have gone through...I have always loved you. Hokuto is...," he stammered, trying to come up with a word, and instead took Yuurei's hand and, kissing the man's callused palm, placed it gently on his chest, right over his heart. "Only you hold this now...only you," he whispered.

Yuurei felt torn. As he felt his hand pressed against Kakyou's slender chest, he wanted more than anything to take the younger man into his arms and tell him not to be afraid. But if he complied to his own whims, he would only cause the lovely young dream seer more pain when Yuurei died. And if he pushed Kakyou away, would that pain be lessened? No, it would be intensified. So what could he do? And how? He did not want to leave. It was true what he had said about not fearing death, but a fear much deeper and profound gripped his soul in that moment. He could not bear the thought of leaving Kakyou.

And so now, through parched lips and dry throat, he murmured the words that he knew in his heart both he and Kakyou needed to hear. "Kakyou-kun...I love you, too." With this is attempted to give a faint smile, but it was wrought with pain. "Gomen nasai...my darling." How could he jerk Kakyou around like this, pulling him closer one moment and pushing him away the next? But it mattered none. Soon it would all be over. "I'm so sorry..."

The darkness was slowly becoming oppressive, and Kakyou felt as if another weight had been added to his already tired shoulders. He continued to grip Yuurei's hand lightly against his heart, as if some part of him vainly hoped that he could transfer his heartbeat, his blood, into the one man that he could not bear to see go.

At Yuurei's hushed and pain-filled words, his mouth opened a bit, and he let the breath he did not even know he had been holding out in one long rush. He smiled down at him through his tears. "I know...," he whispered. "And I keep telling you there is no need to be sorry. It is Fate, Yuurei. There is nothing that can change it...even though I wish now that there was..."

Continuing to look down at him, Kakyou closed his eyes for a brief moment, and when he opened them again, a spark of panic had taken over his features, as if it had finally hit him that Yuurei might actually die. "You...you can't die... I don't want you to die... Oh, god...why did it have to be this way...?" His voice was quavering again, and he clutched Yuurei's hand a bit tighter. "You can't...I need you..."

Yuurei bit his lip and closed his eyes, struggling to smother a sob. Why did Kakyou have to make death so hard for him? Why could he not just die in peace? But to know that he was leaving behind someone who not only loved him, but needed him as well, was almost too much for him to bear. After being taunted and ridiculed, beaten and raped, he would have welcomed death's gentle embrace only moments before. But now he was beginning to understand more fully that he was not living merely for himself. What would happen to Kakyou if Yuurei died? Hokuto loved the frail dream seer as well, and she had the power to protect him to a certain extent. But it was the lovely young man's words to which Yuurei clung. _Only you hold this now...only you..._

He could feel himself fading. Kakyou's face appeared to be growing farther and farther away. Reaching out desperately, he grasped the side of the dream seer's head with a trembling hand as he choked on a low sob. At that same moment, a new stab of excruciating pain cut through his entrails like a knife, and with a fierce howl, he reeled his head back, throwing it over Kakyou's lap and against the intangible blackness of the ground. His back arched awkwardly as the pain ate away at his insides, and avidly he squeezed his eyes shut tightly, writhing side to side as his hand fell to clutch frantically at the collar of Kakyou's kimono.

"Damn you, Seishirou, damn you!" he coughed ferociously as blood began to trickle from his nose and ears and the corners of his eyes-- a result of his attempt to soothe the pain with mental concentration as he had done before. No such luck this time. With one last agonizing twist of his body, he collapsed again in Kakyou's lap as the pain relented for a few more precious moments.

Panting and gasping for precious oxygen as it became more and more difficult to breathe, he blinked away the tears, along with the sweat that had dribbled into his eyes and continued to stream down his brow. But his vision did not improve. He could barely make out Kakyou's figure hovering over him with deepest concern. The more he squinted, the more distorted the dream seer's image became. These were his final moments.

"Kakyou-kun...," he murmured, far below a whisper. "Do you...know...what my...wish is?" His voice was beyond broken, the syllables hardly capable of being choked from between his lips. "I want...you...to be happy. No matter what. Even...if it's...without me. No crying." He reached up feebly toward what he thought to be Kakyou's cheek, but instead felt his fingers brush delicately against the dream seer's tender lips. "Be...happy. For me...Kakyou-kun..."

Kakyou's eyes widened as he saw the pain and utter agony that overtook Yuurei's features. He wanted to do something--do ANYTHING-- to help ease the pain, but he was frozen to the ground. His own trembling hand had reached up and covered his open mouth, a look of horror and sadness evident at the same time. Yuurei's hand tugging at his collar almost choked him, but he did not care. Tears continued to blur his vision as he watched.

Blood seeped from the man's nose, ears and eyes, as he collapsed back into Kakyou's blood-flecked lap. Yuurei's eyes were becoming more unfocused as Kakyou stared down at him. Finally able to move, he grabbed Yuurei's hand with his own and clutched it tightly.

Lips moved, and the voice was so faint that Kakyou had to bend down to hear him. Yuurei's labored breathing was moist on his cheek as he listened. Tears still glistened against his pale cheeks, and he stayed where he was, lips parted slightly as Yuurei's fingers brushed against them. "I can't be happy without you, Yuurei," he whispered back. "But...but I promise I'll try..." He mirrored the man's movement then and placed his own fingers against the bloodstained lips. "Shhh...you should stop trying to talk now. Save your strength."

Kakyou continued to stare down at Yuurei, one hand still clutching Yuurei's tightly within it, and the other still a feather-light touch on the man's lips. _So this is what it had to come to...the one person I care most about...dying in my arms...because of the one future that exists... Why did it have to be this way...? Why must it be this way...?  
_  
Smiling weakly, Yuurei closed his eyes and tried to settle against Kakyou's lap again. So much left unsaid...so many desires left unfulfilled. But this was the way it was meant to be...destined to be apart.

But that was only on Earth. With his last ounce of strength, Yuurei opened his eyes one final time, and he thought Kakyou's image appeared slightly clearer, though there was no way to tell for certain. "I'll be...waiting...for you...," he whispered lethargically. He wanted to add one last word of love; he wanted to say that he would always wait for Kakyou. But he was out of time. With that final breath, his eyelids fell shut, and his arms went limp and fell to his sides. His body gave a small shudder, and then faded gradually from the realm of his unconsciousness.

And so Kakyou was left alone once again in the darkness...

After Yuurei faded from the dreamscape, Kakyou continued to sit there, unmoving. He could have even been mistaken for a statue, but the only thing that gave him away was the tears that started rolling faster down his cheeks. "No...no...this can't be real...this can't be real..." His voice started out as no more than a whisper. His hands balled into fists, and he pounded the floor once...twice...

The dreamscape faded around him, and he was yet in another darkened land, but this time he recognized it as his own. The long line of wall panels faded into the darkness beyond. Not that Kakyou noticed, of course.

Stumbling to his feet, he stood for a moment, then tried to take a step forward, only to fall once more to his knees. He could not even see the ground anymore, his tears were coming so fast and so furiously. Suddenly he lifted his head toward the ceiling. "YUUREI!!!!" His scream echoed through the dreamscape, a million other voices screaming with him, and Kakyou clutched his head. His voice then dropped to a whisper. "Please come back to me. I...I don't want to be alone..."

* * *

Hinoto continued to stare at Subaru through blind, red eyes. Should she tell him... that small part of her that was still sane begged her not too, but that part was overruled.. 

_ Hokuto is at...Seishirou's house... and Yuurei is... dying... _Her voice was soft and full of sympathy...

"What?!" Subaru tightened his fist in anger; "Where's Yuurei?! Where is he?!" He demanded. He would save them both, even if it meant his life.

Hinoto shook her head sadly. _ I don't know..  
_

* * *

He finally approached the green field that is known as a kekkai, took a deep breath and stepped through it, amazed at what it looked like inside at the alien dimension. Dante prepared for anything.

* * *

He reached his apartment in little time. Well, at least it seemed that way. The events of the past moments replayed again and again in his mind. The man had not even told him his name. His aura was so wicked and vial, possibly even more so than Seishirou's. Yet he claimed to be on the side of the Dragons of Heaven. And before he had even the time to thoroughly think this through, he was already walking up the stairs to the door of his apartment.

Unlocking the door and stepping inside, he instantly smelled and tasted the presence of another. Very familiar. If he had been given a little more time, he would have recognized it on his own.

But that was when he saw her. He almost failed to recognize her, she had changed so much in appearance. Her hair was much longer now, and she had grown in height. No more the girl he remembered, but a beautiful young woman. Almost as beautiful as her brother...

Quickly he regained his composure, straightening his back again and smiling cordially in welcome. "Hokuto-chan," he greeted warmly. "Good to see you again so soon. Might I ask what you're doing here?" He glanced around her idly, searching out the other essence he almost expected to find, but failing to feel anything more than a tinge of regret and a suppressed flood of memories. "Is Kamui- sama not with you?"

Taking the cigarette from his lips and pinching the end to smother the flame, he tossed it into the waste basket by the doorway and lifted his hand to remove his shades. Still giving her a charming smile, he awaited her reply as he shoved his free hand casually back into his pocket.

Hokuto's head jerked up as she heard Seishirou's voice, loaded with warmth. She almost gagged again, his presence flooding her. He was smiling; even worse, he was smiling charmingly and she couldn't stand it.

Watching him toss the cigarette end into the waste basket, she pressed herself against the wall, trying to be as small as possible. "I don't know what I'm doing here. I woke up here."

Seishirou frowned. Woke up? When had she fallen asleep? It dawned on him almost before the question had finished itself within his mind. Her body was still weak. She had not fully regenerated her strength yet. And Fuuma...that was probably why she was here. Fuuma had business to attend to and could not afford to haul around her unconscious body.

He chuckled huskily and took an intimidating step forward. "I think I'm beginning to understand. Did Kamui-sama leave a note for me?" Such a trivial thing could almost be expected from a responsible young man such as Fuuma.

As he took a step towards her, she pressed herself further against the wall, away from him. Wondering how she ever could have found this man charming and loveable, she stretched out an arm, trying to keep it from shaking, and pointed to the floor beside his bed, where the snowy white note from Fuuma had landed.

"There." She did not say anything else. All she wanted was to get the hell out of that apartment and find Subaru. She would do anything to find Subaru.

Following the direction of her finger into his bedroom, he approached the bedside and gingerly picked up the said note, studying it carefully at first. However, there was little to determine from its brief, blunt message.

_"Watch her. Don't touch her--she's mine. Love, Fuuma."_

At this Seishirou could not help but to chuckle in amusement. Shrugging and letting the paper slip from his fingers back to the mattress, he came back out of the room and smiled kindly at Hokuto as he made his way to the kitchen. "Looks like it's just going to be you and me for a while," he said casually, as though it were nothing out of the ordinary. "Can I get you something to eat or drink?"

Seishirou followed her, walking casually to the doorway and smiling down as he watched her try to escape. Suddenly, at the bottom of the stairwell, the shape of an inverted pentagram appeared in the air, forming an impermeable wall in Hokuto's path.

"Really, now," he mused down at her, his smile turning sly. "That is awfully rude, seeing as how I'm opening my home up to you, and here you go running off like that. I must insist you stay for a while. And..." He turned back around to head inside, knowing she would not be able to escape. "I suggest you make yourself comfortable. No telling how long you'll be here."

Hokuto didn't turn around, didn't speak, but reached out a shaking hand and touched the invisible wall before her. No, damn it! She couldn't stay here. Not next to the man who had killed her. Even though she had been murdered willingly, she couldn't take this. She was afraid.

His voice, that she desperately tried to block out, spoke and she cringed, hearing his words and understanding the meaning of them. She was trapped. Trapped until Fuuma came back. A jolt shot through her as a thought entered her mind. Maybe Fuuma would never let her go to see Subaru. Maybe never... The thought hurt her more than she could have ever imagined.

Turning around, she just caught sight of his shirt as he walked back inside the apartment. Defeated, she gingerly walked up the stairs and back down the hall that had been her escape route. She touched the door handle and closed it quietly behind her, leaning against the door. She closed her eyes, letting the salty tears once again run down her cheeks.

Seishirou, now in the kitchen, smiled when he heard the door click shut. "That's more like it," he called out to her. "Now, you must be hungry. Is there anything I can get for you?"

Hokuto wiped away her tears and took a step towards to kitchen, trying with all her might to put on a happy face. It didn't work. She leaned against the door frame, looking at him. Shaking her head, her words came out in a mere whisper. "No. I'm not hungry."

But all she had had to eat and drink since being resurrected had been a few sips of tea at Mayouko's and the half-eaten ice cream that had been abandoned when Yuurei and Dante made their appearance on the pavement where she had fainted. So her stomach betrayed her.

Seishirou chuckled when he heard her stomach growl. "Somehow I'm inclined not to believe you." He looked over at her with a gentle smile from where he stood at the refrigerator. "It'll take your mind off of everything. You know, no one should be angry on an empty stomach." He threw her a wink with his good eye.

She was taken aback by his behavior. He was almost as the old Seishirou that she had known, only...not. There was something different and she presumed it to be the 'couldn't-care-less-if-anyone- died' part.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, she shook her head. "I'm not... angry." And she meant it. All she could feel was a sense of being lost. Rubbing her red eyes, she realized the tears hadn't stopped flowing since she had shut the door. Her black silky shirt was soaked and she looked down at it in mild disgust.

Setting out a dish of cold sushi before her, along with a glass of iced tea, Seishirou took a seat beside her and smiled, refraining from touching her comfortingly on the shoulder. Somehow he knew that would only upset her all the more. Finally he decided on a few simple words. "Subaru's looking for you, too, you know."

Her head flew up, surprise and hope shining in her eyes. "He is?" If he was... If he really was, then he would come to her. He would find her eventually. And she didn't need to worry about being kept by Fuuma.

Nodding almost nonchalantly, Seishirou took a sip of his tea. "Just try to relax for now. Get some rest if you need. Fuuma might be out for a while." A smirk crept over his face. "But at least one of our opponents should be out of the way for good by now..."

Seishirou met her glance with an impassive one of his own. "Do you know of the Watcher, I wonder?" he mused, setting his elbow on the table. A sly smile spread across his thin lips. "But I suppose it doesn't matter, as I imagine he's probably dead by now." A spark ignited in his good eye. "Kamui-sama wasn't very...fond of him..."

A yerk went through her. Yuurei. Was he dead? Already? It hadn't even been an hour since he had told her he was dying. "He... Resurrected me." She managed to choke out, feeling faint. If she hated him, then why did she feel such remorse over his death? "Why didn't Fuuma like him?"

Seishirou nodded wisely. "Ah, yes, that's right. He did, didn't he?" He closed his eyes. "As far as I know, he interfered with several of Kamui-sama's plans and got on his bad side. If he's not dead by now, he sure as hell will is probably in a lot of pain."

Hokuto fell back in her chair, looking at Seishirou. "I don't... understand. Yuurei..." She shook her head, trying to clear it. "I hope he's dead." She gritted her teeth together, staring at her glass of iced tea. "I hate him."

Seishirou stared at her for a moment before suddenly turning to burst out in laughter. "Hokuto-chan!" he exclaimed, "I don't believe I've ever heard you say such things before. He must be a terrible person for you to 'hate' him." His grin softened and he took a deep breath. "So tell me. What did he do to you?"

"He didn't do anything to me." She shuddered, thinking of the blood- stained Kakyou she had been ripped away from. "He...hurt Kakyou. And that's much, much worse than what he could have ever done to me."

Seishirou raised an eyebrow. "Kakyou...?" Suddenly he snapped his fingers. "Oh, you mean the other Angel? The one in a coma?" He let out a soft, very amused chuckle. "So that's the one Kantoku-sama had his eye on..."

Hokuto didn't reply. She tried to block out the images of a bleeding and broken Kakyou, but didn't manage to do it. Eating her sushi in silence, she could feel her eyes sting. She didn't cry. Not anymore. She felt like she couldn't cry anymore, there weren't any tears left in her.

Shrugging as she remained silent, Seishirou returned to his dinner and ate quietly.

* * *

Kamui stared out into the distance from the balcony, the cool night air brushing through his hair. He stared back inside for a moment, watching Kotori sleep soundly on the couch. A gentle smile crept across his face. It been such a long time since he felt at peace. It was all because of her...

Clenching his head, Kamui could feel a sudden ringing in his ear as a kekkai was put up in the distance. He knew that he had to do something, but was hesitant to leave Kotori behind. Walking back inside, he knelt beside her and ran his fingers through a lock of her hair.

"Gomen ne sai..." he whispered softly. "I said I would never leave you again, but...they need me now. I promise I'll come back as soon as I can."

Pressing his lips lovingly against hers, Kamui rose back to his feet and stepped out to the balcony once more. Perching on top of the guard rail, he leapt out onto a near by roof and began to make his way to the site of the Kekkai.


	66. Chapter 64: Heart of Darkness

**Chapter Sixty-Four: Heart Of Darkness**

Nataku stopped as his fellow angels had done, catching the last of Satsuki's dialogue as he landed beside them. He did want to locate their missing leader, partially due to the recurring images flowing through  
his thoughts. His companions seemed to be watching him, or at least Satsuki's attention seemed to be directed at him.

He glanced at the sword held loosely in one hand, then down at the building beneath them. So, the seals were here? He could sense the presence of several strong powers in the vicinity. Fuuma would undoubtedly want them to take advantage of such an opportunity, wouldn't he? Golden eyes focused on Satsuki and Yuuto once more as he nodded his agreement with the idea.

He felt something akin to happiness when he thought that such an action on their behalf would make Fuuma smile.

* * *

"What?!" Subaru tightened his fist in anger; "Where's Yuurei?! Where is he?!" He demanded. He would save them both, even if it meant his life.

Hinoto bowed her head, her pale hair surrounding her as a single seemingly sympathetic tear spilled down her cheek. _ I don't...know...  
_  
To hear a dream-seer say such things should come as a surprise to everyone in the room. It was rare when things were obscured even from dream-seers themselves... though in Hinoto's case...perhaps she did know the truth but decided to keep it to herself...

She continued on perhaps a minute later after seeming to compose herself. Her soft voice now only being heard in Subaru's mind. _ I lost him somewhere near Shinjuku...near the subway... Perhaps you should go there and find him... I know you care for him deeply...  
_

* * *

Fuuma eyed Okita in his dazed state...He smiled and shook his head. He didn't bother to comfort the boy, it wouldn't help him in the end. He just kept walking, eventually turning back to Okita who was staring at a monitor which Yuuto had installed to watch TV no doubt...It was one of that Boy's commercials...Interesting how much more alive he was in the fake light of pop culture...such a disappointment really.

He finally called out. "I shall be back...I need to take in some air before I suffocate down here." He smiled cheerily. "I shall return." With that he walked casually out the door...not bothering to fix the  
unfixable.

* * *

As the wind began to sing a soft, tragic melody, Shisa picked up his pace. He did not care how fast he was going. He knew where to go, and what to do. It was a matter of time and the right energy. Keeping up his ghost-like form, he found it appropriate to draw back his hood and let his wild black strands whip in the wind as he traversed the massive concrete playground of Tokyo.

It surprised him a bit, the feeling of something of his own form whipping through his ghost-like state. His hair must have grown out...

But it didn't matter to him. He barely noticed it as he drew his hood back over himself. He was almost there. He could feel Taer's presence growing stronger... and apparently the Watcher's life force had not yet faded.

Then this would be a good time, he supposed. Reaching past his 'Third-Eye' link, he allowed the long, slender fingers of his mental reach to seek out the mind of the one he protected and to tug ever so slightly upon the delicate mind. He would have to increase his effort, but so long as he was moving, the boy would know and grow curious as to why something pulled at him- especially something with a pull as supernatural as his late sister's own.

Turning his attention back to what was ahead of him, hood drawn over head, he dashed quickly. The subway entrance was just ahead.. and he could phase right through the ground to the proper level if need be. _... Taer..  
_

* * *

The blue water bird's eyes traced upwards as he flapped his wings evenly. He nearly spoke aloud, his 'expression' shifting to a happier tone as his silent, but lively song came into play again.

_'Shisa-sama!' _Taer looked back at the Watcher, chirping reassuringly with the song of hope light upon his deep song.

* * *

Suddenly Shouri turned. He felt a pull in him, like someone was tugging at his arm. It was strong, too strong... and familiar. His flickered considerably as he tried to focus in on it, but found it nearly impossible to determine its whereabouts, as the source was probably moving.

And suddenly it struck him. With emerald orbs wide, he realized that the familiarity of this tug was more than simply familiar! It was similar to that of his sister's calling... and yet, it was so very different and distant. He felt as though he should know it... but, not.

His lower lip trembled. What if it was Sasori's... no. That was impossible. After a minute of staring off in one direction (towards the Dragons of Earth headquarters,) he regained his composure and looked to Subaru again. Should he tell him? No... Subaru was too busy. Besides, it was surely nothing... right?

_'.. I feel as though.. I should be somewhere else..' _Shouri thought to himself... but shoved the thought aside.

* * *

Kusanagi laughed a bit as he stumbled back, clenching his would tightly. It wasn't very large, but fairly deep. Hikari definitely knew where she was aiming. Any closer and his head would have cleanly cut off.

"Just stay down..." said Kusanagi.

"We go on any longer and your going to die. You know very well I'm the stronger one. I always was. That's why you couldn't protect her. It was your fault that she died. Just let that sink into your head for a while, then come back and see me when your not blinded by rage."

Hikari shook her head.

"No... you weren't only stronger... you were always better than me at everything..." she said.

She clenched one of her fists.

"Always getting all the attention... always being treated nicely and all..." she said.

"Is that was this is about? Acceptance?" asked Kusanagi.

"After all these years I figured you would have gotten out of that outcast phase. But why take it out on me? Are you jealous?"

He let out a laugh at the thought. "You're coming after the wrong guy then cuz."

"No... it's not about acceptance or jealously. It's about proving to everyone that you're the weaker one... that they were wrong about you..." Hikari said.

* * *

Consciousness grabbed hold of both his heart and his throat, dragging him back into reality's cold, cruel, painful grasp. His head throbbed; his mind spun. Where was he? It did not take long to remember.

He tried to move. Big mistake. Nearly letting out a cry at the pain that shot up his spine, he quickly ceased his efforts. But his eyes finally cooperated and opened, and that was when he saw him.

A familiar figure, standing over the strange little bird spirit he had called to earlier. And the only word he could choke out in half dread, half relief, was, "...You..."

The Guardian gazed down at the Watcher in silence as his figure materialized again. He had dropped from the ceiling so easily, passing through the earth from above to drop into the room. It had been difficult, but easy at the same time.

Shisa nodded his head slightly. "Hai. Me," he stated.

Momentarily, his eyes drifted to the small blue bird who's head he gave a gentle pat before looking back at the Watcher. "You've been quite the assignment for Taer...but that is not why I am here." His human voice...it was different now. It was...'better', to say the least. He no longer sounded like some childish boy. It fit his mysterious persona with a dark, perhaps even slightly musical, tone to it...and yet, all the while, it was perfect.

"I have no time to explain. We must leave before the Kamui returns."

Yuurei had no strength to nod assuredly, but he kept his eyes fixed on the mysterious ghost's figure. Was it possible? Was this man-- this being--here to save him? He continued to stare, unaware that he was doing so. At last he managed to gasp in a breathless explanation, "I...I can't move..."

Shisa nodded slightly, suddenly sweeping his cloak from his form, easy enough. The hood left his form with it, letting his long dark strands drop gently to their true places. He looked at the Watcher before kneeling easily and slowly began to pick him up. His movements were quick, and he performed the task of lifting the Watcher without hesitance. Pain was better dealt with quickly than slowly.

After a moment, he tightened his grip a little, just to be secure. "Do you think you can manage?" His words were formed as his emotions propelled.

* * *

Kaori dug into her purse and pulled out her business card. "If you see him, call my cell," she said, quickly disappearing as fast as she first made her appearance.

"Alright miss", he waved to her and headed on his way towards Tokyo Tower, he was going to need to be sneaky at this time of night as cops would bother him. He took the back ways he knew to get there. Once he got into a good light he looked over the card for a second and put it in his pocket and continued his way there.

As he arrived to it, he felt the energies of his direction writhing threw it, its like if they were holding sway. As Owaru looked around still, feeling the energies...he saw it...the green energy field in the sky line.

* * *

Her eyes shifted, and her gaze fell behind Sorata. Someone had just entered her kekkai, and, to say the least.

In the long run, she was not happy. Arashi's eyes narrowed, and she took hold of Sorata's arm to make him stop "fondling" her breast. "We have company." she hissed in his ear.

* * *

Kotori hadn't tried to fall asleep. That was the last thing she had planned on doing while she lied next to Kamui. But somehow, her eyes got heavy while they dressed back in the tattered garments, and then she was sleeping.

Well, sort of. Kotori was more-so half asleep. She supposed that she was afraid she would wake up and it would have all been a dream. Even worst, a nightmare, and Fuuma would be leering over her.

So, she kept her ears open, and her eyes closed as she drifted in and out of sleep. When his lips touched hers, she tried to reach out to grab his hand. She had only heard the murmuring of his words, but she knew that somehow, he would try to leave again. Weather he wanted to or not was beyond her. She wasn't sure what was going anymore. Everyone was missing and jumping on rooftops. Could Uo jump on roofs too? It was true that she hadn't seen Uo in a very long time. Okay, a few hours, but, it felt like months.

Kotori let her hand brush against Kamui's and then drop down over the side of the couch. She would have called out to him, as she slowly opened her eyes, but she didn't want to  
make things more difficult for him than they already were.

"Ja ne ai..." she mouthed, as she pushed herself up. For a moment, she wanted to stand, and run after him. But, logically, she knew that she would never be able to catch up to him, nor would it be wise to follow him. Not to mention, if Uo or Yuzuriha would return and she wasn't here... Whatever she did that included following Kamui would only make her a burden, and she couldn't bear the thought of being in their way.

* * *

The man walked down the street, his coat flapped in the breeze as he gazed around and drew out a cigarette. A small green flame erupted from his fingertip as he pointed it towards the cigarette. "Hello? Anyone here?" he spoke in a loud voice that echoed threw the area.

As the man lifted him, Yuurei draped his arm around the being's shoulders and leaned his head in against the being's neck. After the way Fuuma had touched him...and beaten him...it felt good just to be held gently. He did not know this man, but somehow he felt compelled to trust him.

Pressing his bare feet against the cold floor and doing his best to straighten his back, he nodded, soothed by the soft fabric of the being's cloak that had been draped about him. "I...think so..."

Shisa nodded slightly before he glanced around. Going through the walls would be easiest, as hovering wasn't going to make it easy, and Taer certainly could not hover through the earth in a water form without turning into mud. He looked at the Watcher. "...Can you phase through walls?"

The question was in general. The blue water bird was already sitting at the door's base, waiting for the two.

Again Yuurei nodded. Then paused. Yes, normally he could. But after everything that had been done to him, he had not even the strength left to stand by his own accord. "Perhaps," he choked, "if you lend me a little energy...?"

Shisa nodded slightly. He didn't even have to close his eyes to transfer the energy. It was brief, and while he simply could not make the same connection that he used to, or rather was too busy concentrating on escape to do so, it gave him a bit more insight as to whether or not his decision had been the right one. It had been.

Yuurei felt the energy enter his body and begin to replenish a tiny portion of his power. It was barely enough, but it would have to do. As they neared the wall, he concentrated on reaching the outside, wherever that was, and slowly but surely the shadows came to envelop him, making him part of the darkness so as to dissolve through the physical barrier of the wall.

Passing through was easy enough, but keeping silent to keep the boy from knowing of their presence was much easier. Shisa stopped just outside, against the wall, simply to ensure that Yuurei was still with him. If this were the case, they'd have one more wall to pass before he could ensure them out easily...and that was just the door at the top of the stairs...it would be easy enough to do that.

Willingly Yuurei allowed his essence to be guided by the mysterious stranger, working his life force to remain part of the shadows, while letting his rescuer lead the both of them outside. He was not conscious enough to realize where they were going. He only knew he if this man let him go, he would be lost in oblivion forever...

Shisa finally got them outside, out of the headquarters. They were out of the subway within a matter of minutes. Shisa traveled a little bit slower just to ensure that he would not lose the man. He stopped outside silently, pausing a moment as he tightened his grip a little bit and waited for Yuurei to materialize again. The sooner, the better...because after that, he would give a brief warning, and then he would move up to speed.

It was a struggle to pull his body back together. He let go of his hold on the spell, but at first nothing happened. It was with much more strenuous effort that he returned to his body, and as he collapsed against the man's body for support, he let out a sharp cry of pain. What was happening to him? It took a moment to remember. Yes. He was dying. No, more than that. He was almost dead.

Shisa immediately pulled Yuurei into his grasp again. The 'scent of death', so said Taer, was growing stronger. His eyes flickered once or twice as he looked at the man, avoiding the eyes. "...Fate will not permit you to die. I'm going to increase our speed. Tell me if I move too fast...but know that words are not necessary."

He didn't waste time waiting for a response. He began to run quickly, ignoring the feeling of the wind whipping through his hair. It stung, but he could care less. Taer had flown ahead of him to tell the priestess. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on increasing his speed and passing through the barriers that prevented him from moving faster. Everything became a blur as he sped up.

The wind stung his skin, and he buried his face against the man's chest. The speed at which the being traveled was not something he was unaccustomed to, but in his condition, it took away his breath and caused him to almost choke. However, he refused to complain or even let the thought of pain enter his mind. He simply clung to the man's shoulders and let himself be carried.

At long last, Shisa began to slow down. His body shivered lightly from being touched. It wasn't something that he was accustomed to. He was used to being alone, and to traveling alone. The last time he had actually touched a person had been Shouri, but he had been a small, small child at the time and Shisa had to perform an act that would probably cause the boy to condemn him should he ever find out. It didn't matter though. He let it pass as he continued on.

The familiar energies radiating from the Shrine were quite peaceful, though strange and different. It was an ancient place and thusly held much more of the planet's energy than a normal building. As they came forward, he saw a small girl drop her broom on the porch and run inside. Obviously the girl had seen them. Shisa finally stopped, slowing down gradually instead of suddenly. Finally...they were here.

* * *

Matsuko knew, too. Already she had ordered the preparations be made ready. With a life force that was so weak approaching fast, and the appearance of the blue water bird, she knew what was in store. Strangely, she was using Shouri's room...

Through his pain, Yuurei could sense the man's tension. As they came to a stop, a pang of guilt came over his subconscious. What right did he have to seek shelter in this stranger's arms? He should have been stronger than this. He had never needed anyone before. He had grown up alone in the mountains of Kyoto and had never asked anyone for help, much less fallen into someone's arms in a fit of desperation. This mysterious being was nervous. He could feel it. As they approached the shrine and he felt the powers overwhelm him from within, he attempted to shove away from the man. He did not belong here. He had no right to ask for help.

Shisa's eyes flashed slightly as he looked down at the Watcher. His tone shifted momentarily as he bounded up the first flight of stairs. Landing, he allowed his words to come out, although his lips did not move. After all, the Guardian had never spoken aloud. "...There is a time and a place for rebellion. That time is not now." His words were sincere. "I will follow you anywhere you go. This planet is not even a millionth of my limit..."

Through blood-blurred eyes Yuurei stared up at the man as he came and took a hold of him again. What was this being? He had sensed the life force of the man's power when the being had confronted Subaru and Hokuto, but he had never even imagined he could be this powerful. Out of raw, chapped lips, he coughed as tears of mixed fear and guilt came to his eyes, "...I...I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. You have no reason to apologize to me," he replied softly with a nod as he walked through the double doors of the shrine easily.

The feeling within the building was more of a...light and airy feel. It was not cheerful, but it was not dense. It was powerful and majestic, yet soft and unwavering. As he traversed the hallways, he made his way to the proper room, stopping just outside of the door. He nodded his head and the door simply opened 'on its own'.

"The priestess here is very kind. I believe she can have you back on your feet, or at least secure your life force."

Was it possible? He was going to live? Slumping against the man's sturdy frame again, having lost the will to argue, Yuurei closed his eyes and let himself be led into the shrine. The feeling this new atmosphere brought was peaceful and calming...almost as though...

Matsuko met the Guardian's eyes with an even, serious gaze. The words exchanged were brief, but in an instant, the Watcher was placed on the bed. The insurance of his life force would come before any bath. The priestess was ready to move already, the appropriate herbs already made out earlier from the curing of Subaru. It was sprinkled again, this time over Yuurei's form, and the priestess began her chant to make the spell affective...not to mention, this time, a more powerful creature's abilities would be placed into it.

After a moment, Shisa's hand found its way beside the priestess's own. Again, the rejuvenation process, though far more powerful and a much more advanced spell, was put into play.

His eyes closed; his lungs opened up. Suddenly he found that he could breathe again. For what seemed like a small eternity, he teetered on the fine line between consciousness and insensibility, his eyes opening every so often in hazy crimson slivers to gaze up at the two people who were trying to save his life. The mysterious man had said Fate would not allow him to die yet. But was it not Fate that had foreordained his demise were he to interfere with the End of the World? His brain was in a muddle. He had been ready to die. Why were these people saving him? He would only bring more pain upon others anyway. ...And he was unaware that these feelings were radiating strongly about the room as the enchantments took place...

A forceful jolt was propelled from the mind of the Guardian. Within that single jolt was reassurance, a light reprimand, and a small bit of comfort. Of course, he knew nothing that much of comfort...but he offered what he could. It was hard, but he did what he could. Fate, his mind spoke, was a word that humanity often used to express what they could not explain...either way, existent or not, Fate could be bent and compromised with.

* * *

"Still holding a grudge after all this time..." said Kusanagi shaking his head.

"Well, I should have expected that. Its not like you and I would just go out to a bar and reminisce about old time. But if that's what you want then go ahead, but I'm going to beat you every time. Stay alive till then. We'll cross paths again...I know it..."

"And I'll win the next time we meet..." Hikari said to him.

Grabbing her shoes, Hikari began walking back into the school.

* * *

**My immortal**  
_I'm so tired of being here  
Suppressed by all of my childish fears  
And if you have to leave  
I wish that you would just leave  
Because your presence still lingers here  
And it won't leave me alone...  
_

Stumbling to his feet, he stood for a moment, then tried to take a step forward, only to fall once more to his knees. He could not even see the ground anymore, his tears were coming so fast and so furiously.

_These wounds won't seem to heal  
This pain is just too real  
There's just too much that time cannot erase...  
_

Suddenly he lifted his head toward the ceiling. "YUUREI!!!!" His scream echoed through the dreamscape, a million other voices screaming with him, and Kakyou clutched his head. His voice then dropped to a whisper. "Please come back to me. I...I don't want to be alone..."

A gentle hand, like that of a passing breeze suddenly caressed his cheek, and a low, sugary sweet voice whispered into his ear. "You're not alone... I'm here.."

Kakyou flinched away from the touch and the voice. He knew who it was of course... and it was the last person he really wanted to see...

He pulled himself away a few feet by dragging himself with only his hands, letting his knees slid along the floor. His head was bowed, his golden tresses falling to cover his face, tears the shimmered like diamonds in the darkness falling to the floor each second, creating tiny ripples on its inky surface.

Mayouko hissed lightly and watched him, then said in a tone of feigned disinterest. "So you finally come to an understanding with him...and then he dies. How utterly tragic." She took a step toward the distraught dream-seer, her face looking like a cat that had just stolen a bit of cream. "It really is too bad..." Taking another large step, she planted herself in front of him and bending grabbed his chin and forced him to stand on his feet so she could look into his face...

_You used to captivate me  
By your resonating light  
But now I'm bound by the life you left behind  
Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams  
Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me..._

Kakyou couldn't even find the will to fight back as he was forced to his feet by a brutal hand at his chin. His neck stretched, and his chin jutted out, his feet weren't even planted on the ground firmly, he was almost dangling in air but he did nothing. He just stared back at Mayouko with dull lifeless golden eyes. Mayouko's cold maroon eyes bore into his and he found that he couldn't even look away... It was hard for him to comprehend that this was Yuurei's sister.. They were so unlike... Yuurei.. Why did he have to think that name... a voice husky and soft whispered in his head... _ I love you... _

Mayouko chuckled as she stared at him and gripping his chin harder she said softly, "It can be said that him dying is your own fault Kakyou... You might have been able to prevent it...but that's not how Fate works is it??"

Tears still streaming down his face, his golden eyes widened at that soft voice and he gave a half sob, half scream.

"STOP IT!!!!!! HE'S DEAD!!! AND THERE'S NOTHING I COULD DO!!!!"

Mayouko shoved him away and spit out, "You could have pushed him away when you had the chance!"

Kakyou fell onto the floor hard, his head making contact and bouncing back up, stars started to become visible at the corners of his vision. He sobbed again and curled up into a tight ball.

Mayouko stalked over to the huddled mass and kicked him hard in the side. "It was all your fault. All your fault. Do you hear me Kakyou?!? IT WAS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!" Tears had suddenly sprung into her eyes, though she wasn't really sure why...

Kakyou sprawled backwards at the hard kick, and stared up out of glazed golden eyes to the ceiling. "It wasn't my fault... there was nothing I could do... Yuurei... I..I don't want to be alone..." His eyes now roamed above him, staring at something off in the distance, no longer even seeing the darkness that surrounded him...

Wiping vainly at her eyes with the back of her hand, Mayouko took a step toward Kakyou and looking down at him. When she spoke her voice was husky and full of contempt and scorn. "Unfortunately you are alone... but you knew that a long time ago…didn't you...even when you were with my brother..." And without another word she vanished from the black scape…leaving Kakyou alone...still staring off into the distance...

Those words however penetrated into Kakyou's very soul... It had always been true... always... even during there most intimate moments...Kakyou had still not fully been there... He had given what he had thought were his heart and soul...but had he really...

Flailing over onto his side, he curled back around himself, his hair shielding his face, his golden eyes even more lifeless then they were before...tears still pouring down his already wet cheeks... He clutched the place above his heart with a hand, and squeezed. The pain was still there.. The pain was what made him remember...

_  
I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone  
And though you're still with me  
I've been alone all along...  
_

* * *

Yuurei began to relax at the mental words the man whispered against his ear. But that peaceful feeling was short-lived... Somewhere off in the realm between life and death, someone was crying. Someone...very close to his heart.

He flinched and shook his head. No...he was supposed to be dead. Why were they forcing him to live? "Kakyou..." He had to reach his beloved. Why could he not let go of consciousness' grasp? "Kakyou...!"

"Shhhhhhhhh! Silence, boy!" Matsuko said, her voice somewhere between a harsh hiss and the calming voice of a grandmother.

_'Calm down, Yuurei...,' _Shisa's voice forcefully penetrated the Watcher's mind. _'You most focus... Don't turn your will toward death...not in this place. Stay strong...' _Shisa didn't notice the somewhat rough grasp that he had placed upon Yuurei's shoulders.

Was it possible? Yuurei strained to listen, his eyes wide open but his sight blind to what lay before him. What he saw were beautiful golden eyes and long locks of platinum-blonde hair. Kakyou... Something was happening to Kakyou. He had to reach him. He knew nothing else.

And when the hands came down on his shoulders, he was unable to restore concentration. That touch...so gentle yet persuasive...so much like... "Kakyou..." His voice was low and pleading as he almost easily broke through the grasp on his shoulders to reach up. Cupping what he thought was his lover's face, he smiled up out of tear-stained eyes. "It's all right. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you anymore..."

* * *

Listening from behind one of the slightly cracked double doors, the three children watched with wide eyes. They loved to witness Matsuko's healing techniques, especially the young girl...and the older, flame-haired boy, with the hair brighter than red fireworks, LOVED to watch the healing process take place. It made him wish that he could do such things…but this was new. No one ever grabbed a person's face.

"He's delusional," the rock-headed younger boy whispered.

"It's so sad...but so...so..." The oldest boy trailed.

"Romantic!" the younger girl exclaimed.

"Romantic!?" The two boys glanced at each other.

"Can't you see?" the girl asked. "He's calling out to his lover...but I don't think that's him...and I don't think he knows..."

After a minute, all of the children nodded. "Delusional."

* * *

The raven-haired specter was caught off guard by the man's sudden movements. He was confused, very confused. What was wrong with this? After a minute, he let his mind intertwine with Yuurei's in a frail attempt to discover what was going on. _'Kakyou?' _he questioned himself. A brother perhaps? No. Too many thoughts...too many wishes...too many desires... _'This Kakyou must be a lover' _he concluded.

Oh dear. Oh dear!!! The Guardian took in a breath. He attempted to back away, already aware of what would probably result by his action...

Yuurei sensed the fear. It made sense that Kakyou might be afraid of him. After all, the dream seer believed he was dead, right? When he felt the man try to back away, Yuurei's smile became gentler still as he pushed himself up into a half-sitting position...just enough to graze the man's lips with his own...

Fear. Nothing short of fear could describe just what the Guardian felt. He felt like something had wrenched his throat from his body. He wasn't sure how to react...but he knew that it wasn't right. Yuurei was just delusional, and Shisa would not allow himself to take advantage of that, nor to feed off of this disadvantage. He tried to back away, but already knew that if he broke contact with Yuurei, if his hand should move and he lose physical contact, the healing process would falter and have to be restarted.

"...Yuurei-san...release me..." Shisa's voice was...shaky? It didn't matter if his voice was shaky or not. Would the man even be able to see, or hear, past the illusion?

Matsuko was equally disturbed. If she had known that it was a love- save situation, she would have calmed down, but she hadn't... Still, she was...'bug-eyed', to say the least. She was forcing herself NOT to say anything, but it was very hard not to. This, to say the least, was VERY new...and VERY odd, and VERY disturbing.

Those words...they penetrated through his mind like knives. That was not Kakyou's voice. Suddenly his vision cleared, and he saw hovering over him the dark specter who had saved his life by taking him away from Fuuma's torture chamber. His eyes widened as he felt once more the rejuvenating process flood his veins, restoring his life energy. Instantly he retracted his hands and let his head rest back on the bed. "Gomen nasai!" The frantic apology came out easier than he expected, and he almost shouted it. He was healing. He was going to live.

And this was not Kakyou...

After a minute, Shisa pulled himself back and regained his composure. He felt...very airy. But why? Such an emotion had not been intended for him, so it should not affect him...and it wasn't...right? He quickly regained the calm and cool attitude that he always had and shoved it aside...or at least tried to.

"...Daijoubu," he reassured with a nod, pausing only to look toward the door. At least it gave him a break. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to keep direct eye contact.

Upon seeing the specter eyeing the door, the three sets of two eyes vanished quickly from behind the crack, the door closing quietly.

Shisa looked back at the man again, trying to trace his emotions.

Not convinced by the man's response, Yuurei tried to meet his gaze. Why did the stranger refuse to look him in the eyes? He saw traces of fear in the man's lovely countenance. With a glance to the older woman, then returning his eyes to the man who had saved him, he gingerly lifted his hand to place it over that of the stranger, which was resting on his shoulder. Giving it a light squeeze, he ventured to smile and say, "Domo arigato gozaimasu. I owe you my life..."

He shook his head slightly, his eyes flashing just a bit. "You owe me nothing."

His voice was finally back to normal. It wasn't shaking as it was a moment ago. It was a relief, but at the same time, he was still puzzled to why his voice had shaken like that in the first place. Again, he put it to the side...or at least tried to. After all, he wasn't going to be rude...and he wasn't going to dwell on it.

Yuurei smirked. This man was so much like himself...or at least how he used to be. Almost an exact mirror image of his former self-- cold, resisting confusion, pushing away all signs of possessing emotions. He felt much stronger now, but remained patient as the healing process continued. Closing his eyes more peacefully, he felt the man's eyes on him. Refraining from smirking again, he reverted to his normal stone-faced demeanor and said curtly, eyes still closed, "Are you at least going to tell me your name?"

The Guardian did not let his gaze leave the man. His reply was calm and cool, though somewhat hesitant. To reveal so much about himself wasn't wise, but what was there to lose? The answer wasn't all that complicated, now was it?

"...To be honest, I have no name," he replied. "However, if you must call me something, then 'Shisa' shall suffice."

Yuurei's smile faded. "Shisa...," he repeated in almost a sad tone. "'The suggestion of something that could be...'" He opened his eyes to meet the man's gaze. "Such a lonely name..." He did not add that it was so much like his own, in regards to loneliness...

Shisa shook his head slightly as he looked down at him. "...Perhaps...but it matters little to a shadow, ne?"

A small, sad smile crawled over his face as he shook his head lightly. He cast a glance towards Matsuko. He could see that straight expression trying to slip from her face. She was apparently having a bit of trouble managing her serious attitude.

The priestess stared silently as she continued the silent chant, still holding the transfer and healing. She really questioned whether her presence was appropriate...

Where did that come from? Yuurei stared at Shisa with a stunned expression before quickly regaining his composure. "I didn't let you bring me here and force me to live just to be insulted," he spat dryly, abruptly shoving himself up into a sitting position and starting to shove Shisa and the old woman out of the way. "I've had enough of that for one lifetime."

His actions were brash. On any normal occasion, he would have brushed the name-calling off as nothing. But after what Fuuma had done to him...it was so much harder to let such words simply pass unnoticed...

"I believe you misinterpreted my words. You are not the only one who is forbidden to intervene, nor are you the only one who feels that the word 'shadow' is a self-description," Shisa added, not losing his temper.

He allowed his voice to strengthen to a degree upon the sudden reprimand. He could feel a bit of tension from Matsuko, but he ignored it. The priestess would understand.

Coming to a halt at the man's words, Yuurei gazed up into his eyes, searching out the very essence of truth. Was it possible? Was there another so much like himself that they even felt like the same incarnation of darkness? He had always felt so alone in his destiny, but was it possible someone else shared it? Did this man feel the same way?

No. He shook himself sternly. Shisa was not human; that was very clear to Yuurei's senses, which were now beginning to recharge and focus more acutely again. Shisa had shown emotion, but only for a brief moment. They were still not the same. But quickly Yuurei got a grip on himself and erased the impending sorrowful expression from his features. This was nothing to be regretful about. He had always been alone in his Fate. And he always would be.

So again he lay down, this time consciously deciding that he would not move again until Matsuko had finished. He had already caused her enough stress already, merely by being here.

Matsuko finally withdrew, nodding her head slightly at the two. "...I believe that should do it. I will be able to do no more until Shouri is here..."

Shisa cast a glance to the woman and nodded, letting his hand return to his side easily. He didn't want to make the man uncomfortable, nor himself. He nodded slightly. "...Arigato, miko-sama."


	67. Chapter 65: Pure Snow

**Chapter Sixty-Five: Pure Snow**

Shouri finally looked back to Subaru and hesitantly gave the man's sleeve a very light tug. He looked down almost immediately after. This couldn't be happening. Not now... but Matsuko was now pulling at him, as well as the strange other force. It was too strong to ignore, and she obviously needed him... but he couldn't just LEAVE Subaru!

"A-ano.. Subaru-san..." His voice was somewhat unsure. ".. Matsuko-sama's calling me. Something must have shaken her nerves, but she's asking for my help to finish some form of... healing... bu-but... ano.."

The boy looked down. "... But I really want to help you find your friend, and Hokuto-sama.."

Subaru smiled down at him. "Do you need me to take you home?" he asked softly, placing a hand on his head.

Shouri blinked a minute as he looked up at the older man. It was sort of stupid for him to act like such a little kid... but he liked having Subaru's company. After all, it couldn't hurt anything... right?

"What about Hokuto-sama?" he questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"We'll find her," Subaru said, the tone of his voice, for the first time in days, strong. "We'll find her, if she wants to be found."

He still had little faith in his sister, after he 'betrayed' her like that. It stung his heart, to know that he was only second-best in his onee-sama's life.

"Do you need me to accompany you?"

* * *

Leaving behind Hikari, Kusanagi wandered aimlessly around the city.

He really had no place to go. This was supposed to be a vacation of sorts from the base. Who would have thought he would have joined the fight for the fate of the world, let alone meet Hikari again. "Maybe coming here was a mistake after all..." said Kusanagi as he stared up at the night sky.

The cold night air stung his wound. The bleeding had stopped thankfully, but he was at serious risk of infection without treatment. The most obvious choice was to get himself checked in at the hospital, but there was no telling how long they would keep him there. And he just hated doctors. He was pretty conflicted.

After a few moments, Kusanagi sighed heavily and began to make his way to the hospital. It was for the better.

* * *

Standing outside was getting boring. As soon as Nataku had seemed inclined to agree with this new course of action, Yuuto leaped to the roof of the DIET building and threw a charming smile back over his shoulder at Satsuki. "Shall we get started, then?"

Not waiting for a response, he began to gather his energy, remembering how similar this situation was to that of just a few short days ago when he had attacked this very same building the first time. But this time, instead of releasing his own power immediately, he patiently waited for Satsuki and BEAST to start the impromptu operation.

Satsuki blushed slightly but returned Yuuto's smile with mixture of a smile and a smirk. "Alright," she nodded her agreement, "Let me check the situation before I get started."

She quickly removed her cell phone from her pocket and pressed a short code into it, scanned its screen. "There are only three people in the Seals' headquarters with significant power," she reported briefly. "I'll have BEAST surprise them first, and when they're off guard you can come in with Nataku-san."

The computer girl looked over at her two fellow Angels, smiling darkly. "Let's get this party started now, shall we?" she said lightly, pressing the familiar activation code into her phone.

Far away underground, BEAST in the Angels' second headquarters came to life, whirring loudly. Satsuki smiled in satisfaction and pressed another code into her phone.

Immediately and without warning, the lights in the basement of the DIET building went out, plunging the room into complete darkness. At the same time, a massive number of thick black wires burst out of the floor, heading directly towards the unsuspecting Seals and their dream seer...

* * *

Shouri had been about to respond to Subaru's question when the lights went out. He gasped, eyes searching frantically for any sign of light. He had let his guard down just a little, but he was very suddenly alert again.

His emerald orbs flashed slightly as he heard the sound of concrete breaking. He took a step back, still a bit shaken from the fact that they were, in fact, under attack... or were they? He still wasn't even sure WHAT was going on. His body had begun to quake.

"What's going on?" he gasped, somewhat frightened but certainly more than ready to retaliate.

Uo paused suddenly, taking a step back as she looked around wildly.  
"Nani o!?"

Subaru turned to Shouri, firmly gripping his shoulder. He forced his eyes to lock with the boy's before saying, "Remember your promise. Stay here."

And with that, Subaru bolted down the stairs.

He had no idea what motivated him these days; he didn't want anything to do with the end of the world anymore. He just wanted to find her.

But...

Perhaps they would know. Perhaps they would take him to his beloved onee-sama...

Shouri bit his lower lip. He had been about to protest, but held his tongue. He had made Subaru a promise, and apparently he was going to be held to it. He had been planning to stick to it, but he hadn't believed they would be attacked so soon!

... And what about Matsuko? .. She'd wait. She'd understand; after all, she could feel his thoughts and emotions, and would certainly know if something was wrong.

"Be careful, Subaru!" he called after him, frowning before he backed up a bit, seeing that Aoki, Uo, and Saiki weren't too far from them.

His eyes flashed. Hai, a mental barrier to protect them was in order, but that just wouldn't do momentarily. He needed something stronger... besides, if something had penetrated the ground..

He kept his eyes and ears alert. He would have to get some kind of plan in case Subaru couldn't handle things... or in case he and the people with him were attacked.

* * *

Kaze shifted rather suddenly as he took the form of the wind, becoming invisible to the naked eye. He dived quickly, easily making his way back into the room that was under attack. He allowed his body to shrink a bit more as he hovered above at the ceiling. Anzu was outside... so he had back up; but, one of them had to be there to intervene quickly if it was necessary.

The wind beast's golden eyes traced over as he saw through the darkness. No.. this wouldn't be good, at all.

* * *

The lights went off. Yuuto nodded to Satsuki and leaped down to the ground at the entrance of the DIET building, landing lightly on his feet. Jacket flapping in the wind, he shoved his hands into his pockets and headed for the door, easily passing up all security, who were frantically trying to take care of the electrical "malfunction."

Entering the doors, Yuuto headed straight for the staircase, situated across from the presently out-of-order elevator. It must have appeared strange--a man walking through the midst of chaos with a confident simper on his face while everyone ran in panic around him. Pushing his way through the door that lead to the stairwell, he descended the flight that would lead him to the basement...and the Seals and their dream seer.

He trusted Satsuki and Nataku would know what to do to watch his back.

It took Nataku a moment to realize that their attack on the DIET Building had begun. The quick movement of Satsuki's fingers across her cell phone had nearly been lost on him. Yuuto's sudden jump to the ground below caught his attention, however, and with a nod in Satsuki's direction, the clone followed. Yuuto was a considerable distance ahead of him already, and the throngs of people heading in the opposite direction lengthened that distance with every step.

Nataku considered slicing a path through the crowd with the Seal's sword, but opted to simply avoid the crowd altogether. Or, rather, to leap over it. People scattered where he landed, and he headed calmly, if not quickly, to the stairwell, where Yuuto's retreating form could still be seen.

* * *

Aoki quickly followed after Subaru.

"Stay where here Miss Uo. You'll be safe here for the time." he said to her.

He kept running, heading towards where Yuuto, Nataku and Satsuki where coming from.

* * *

As the young boy words whispered through her mind, Hinoto turned her blind eyes onto Shouri. They stayed there for many long moments, almost boring into him even though she had no sight...

Her eyes flickered to Subaru as he answered and she whispered softly. _ Perhaps you should---- _but she got no farther because the lights suddenly blinked and then went off all together. The darkness that surrounded them had a sinister air and when the floor began to shake, Hinoto gasped as the floor bucked underneath her and she was thrown to the side, her head colliding with the floor.

The cables were still flying toward them, as Subaru and a few moments later Aoki ran up the stairs. Hinoto tries vainly to right herself, her head a bit fuzzy still.

The air currents around her whipped wildly about as the cables came up everywhere.. Another small gasp escaped her lips...but on the inside...she was smirking...

Two seals.. three angels... this could get interesting...

"H-Hinoto-hime!" The cry came from three voices simultaneously, as the twins moved to secure the dream seer, and Saiki hurried back to protect her. The cables springing through the floor were a surprise and a shock, and he glanced back where Aoki had been. And no longer was. Subaru was gone as well, but there were still others in the room besides him, Hinoto and the twins.

"Get down!" He called out to the girl who had accompanied Aoki as well as the young man Subaru had left behind. He couldn't be certain if either had any abilities that could aid them in their current predicament.

The air in the room began to swirl around him in windy spirals. If neither of them had any abilities, then it would be left to him to protect them all. There were times he wished he were a dragon, or at least as strong as his uncle.

* * *

Nataku was behind him. Yuuto felt the genetic clone's presence enter the stairwell. Great. Nataku may have been a fellow Angel, but due to the recent exchange of events, Yuuto was not all too comfortable with being so close to the living doll.

Just then the bottom door swung open, and two more auras entered. The Seals. Yuuto did not even have to look to know it was them. An almost cheerful smile spread across his face as he took control of the water in the pipes opposite the door.

"So we meet again," he called out pleasantly over the stair rail. "I do apologize for any trouble we may have caused you. Destiny can't be helped, you know." And with that, he forced the water to tear through the pipes and the wall, the powerful torrents heading directly for Subaru and Aoki.

Aoki quickly threw a large blast of wind at the water torrents to disperse them quickly.

"Impatient, aren't you? We haven't even gotten a chance to remodel yet and you're back for another visit." he replied to Yuuto.

* * *

There was a whizzing sound and two people rushed out. It took Uo a second to realize that one of those people had been Aoki, which caused her to nearly have a heart attack.

"Neeee! Seiichirou-saaaan! What's going-" She stopped in her tracks, hearing a voice tell her to get down.

... She dropped like a rock in water, hitting the ground roughly. Hearing the cables whiz past her, she immediately began to crawl towards the others. After all, there was safety in numbers... right? Of course, that wasn't what she was thinking about.

_'This is just too weird! First Kotori-chan.. then I find out that Fuuma's a psychopathic maniac trying to destroy the earth and-' _she sweat dropped slightly as another cable whizzed by her.

"... AAAAIIIYEEEEE!" Almost as if by magic, Uo went crawling over the ground and appeared behind Saiki, ducking down. "I can fight, but not THAT good.. WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING!?"

Shouri was tempted to comment on the girl's hopeless attitude, but refused to do so. He positioned himself just so that he was a bit ahead of Saiki, but facing the wall that was to their left so that he had a clear shot at the door should an enemy pass by. Subaru had told him not to get hurt... but Subaru hadn't said not to protect people!

The boy furrowed his brows as he concentrated. So long as he remained passionate about protecting others, then surely he could tolerate using the mental force. Well, it was a chance he had to take. Besides.. for some reason.. he felt a bit stronger.

Tossing a hand up, he began to assist Saiki in shooting the chords away, though his telekinetic blasts could only do so much as he was having to concentrate on multiple targets.

"Shimatta." he cursed silently.

"Why me?" Uo groaned, pulling herself up so that she was kneeling. Well.. how thick were those cables? ... Too thick to punch. It would break her hand, especially at that speed. ".. I hate being defenseless.."

* * *

The sudden sound of rushing water from below caused Nataku to jump the remaining stairs. The sight that awaited him revealed two seals, one already engaged in a battle of the elements with Yuuto. The other looked oddly familiar, but a seal was a seal. One hand gripping his newly-acquired sword, Nataku advanced from the stairwell.

Subaru's eyes darted to the two chi no Ryu below him; it was then that he saw him, the man he had once talked to late one night so many days ago. Had it finally come? The day they had spoken of, when they would battle?

Nataku stopped several feet from the stairwell, fabric floating about his thin frame. Golden eyes stared at the dark-haired seal. "You are... Subaru-san. We met before, didn't we?"

Subaru nodded. "Nataku...right?" Subaru's footsteps steadily brought him closer to the androgynous drone. Personally, Subaru's motivation to fight had quickly dissipated.

Nataku inclined his head towards Yuuto and Aoki, who seemed too focused on their battle with each other to notice their companions. His hand tightened on the hilt of the sword, although the memory of his prior meeting with the seal was befuddling his thoughts. He didn't want to do anything contrary to what Fuuma would want, yet...

Subaru found his own thoughts equally confusing; while he knows it is his fate, he doesn't want to fight Nataku. Subaru had never had an intelligible conversation with one of the Chi no Ryu, save Seishirou, before Nataku, and he had proven how HUMAN they were. While Seishirou caused Subaru to think that all the Chi no Ryu were heartless killing creatures, Nataku had broken that stereotype. Killing a Chi no Ryu wasn't just killing someone who deserved it, it was killing another human being now.

"It seems we are standing in each other's way," Nataku said simply, as if perhaps the statement could clear his thoughts. If only the statement could... His grip on the sword slackened somewhat. Subaru had been the one person he had spoken with who had treated him as more than simply a genetic experiment who could prove useful in the End of the World battle. The fabric settled to a gentle wave in the air. Fuuma's will or no, he realized he didn't want to fight Subaru if such a thing were possible.

Subaru moved out of the way, hoping that perhaps his respect for the clone would cause him to rethink his thoughts as Subaru had re- thought his own.

Nataku's eyes darted from Subaru's face to the now-open pathway leading towards the dream seer and her companions. He didn't understand such an action. Wouldn't a seal wish to protect those he was allied with? The clone remained where he was, the idea to attack the DIET Building and the seals within it slowly becoming less of a priority to him. He glanced over at Yuuto and Aoki, far more confused than before. "I... don't understand." His voice was quiet, and he was watching Subaru again, his eyes those of a child.

"I don't want to fight you." Subaru's voice was quiet, but clear; and echoed down the stairwell.

Nataku's eyes widened. "I... could say the same." He stared at the floor mournfully. "Kamui would be displeased."

Subaru's eyes wavered sympathetically in Nataku's direction. "Even if he's upset, it is still your decision. Do what makes you happy." Subaru recalled the drone claiming he didn't know what happiness was, but...that was impossible. Everyone has experienced some sort of happiness in their lifetime.

"What makes me happy," Nataku repeated dully. The fabric flowed in soothing patterns, failing utterly to alter the clone's state of mind. The childlike laughter he heard so frequently these last few days trailed through his thoughts, yet it seemed less mocking now, and more like... He shook his head slowly. "I cannot tell what would make me 'happy.' I was not created to know such a thing."

"How can you not know what happiness is?" Subaru slowly approached Nataku. "Everyone, regardless of if they know it or not..." Subaru stopped a few feet short of Nataku, "...has experienced happiness. Even you, Nataku."

"Have I?" Nataku glanced up. "How would I know?" His eyes darted briefly to the elemental battle raging close by, wondering idly if he should be helping Yuuto in some fashion, but not quite feeling in a fighting mood.

"Have you ever felt pain? Hurt? Betrayal? Sadness?" Subaru's voice was calm, and cool. "It's the exact opposite of that. It's one of the best feelings in the world."

"I... don't know." The laughter changed to a quiet sobbing and half- conscious mumblings, and Nataku slowly shook them away. His body had been hurt before, but other than that... he could think of nothing similar to what Subaru had described.

"Someone or something, that...makes you want to continue living. That's happiness." Subaru tried his best to describe happiness, but there was not one set definition for it; happiness was something that was conditional. It was different for every person.

"Are you happy?" Nataku asked suddenly, studying the seal's face with a childlike curiosity.

Subaru blinked; did he mean right now or in general? Either way, the answer was the same. "No..." he answered, bluntly honest.

"I see." So happiness was a more difficult thing than he had first thought. He allowed the sword to fall among the folds of the cloth floating about him. "Then you...want to die?"

Subaru bit his lower lip. "No." He shook his head. "No matter what sorrows I experience, or how sad I am, I will always eventually be happy again." At least, Subaru hoped so.

Nataku's face wrinkled in confusion. "Happiness is having something to live for, yet Subaru-san is not happy." He shook his head. "It doesn't make sense."

"You live to be happy, even when you're not," Subaru tried to explain. "Even when you're sad, times of happiness will always return. And when they do, it makes all those times you're unhappy worth living."

"It's confusing." Nataku's expression could be laughable, if the atmosphere weren't so solemn. "You live to be happy, even if such a thing is impossible?" How could the shadow of another person ever be truly happy with their life?

Subaru shook his head. "It's impossible to unhappy forever. Even when you're sad, times of happiness will always return."

"Sadness, happiness... they hold no meaning for me." He stopped a moment to collect his thoughts. "Perhaps... I am happy being by Kamui-sama's side." The name that had once been his echoed through his mind, the two faces speaking its syllables juxtaposed, interwoven with the laughter that might be the 'happiness' that Subaru had spoken of.

"If that is what makes you happy, why aren't you by his side now? Why are you here?" Subaru dared to ask.

"I don't know." Nataku seemed to be using the phrase rather frequently. "I don't know where he is now. Since the kekkai fell, and Satsuki-san said she had arrived after he had already left. I want... to find him again. I thought Yuuto-san and Satsuki-san did as well."

"Why don't we..." Subaru hesitated, "...look for him together, then?" After all, Fuuma had his happiness, where-ever he was.

"Aoki is competent; he'll be able to take care of himself, I have faith in him." Subaru extended a hand to the drone. "Let's go...together."

Nataku glanced over at his fellow angel once more, decided that Yuuto, as well, could take care of himself, and took Subaru's hand to leave the DIET Building and the battles raging below behind.

* * *

Summoning the water back around him to form a hydraulic, sphere-shaped shield that enveloped his body, Yuuto crossed his arms in front of his face to focus his energy on deflecting Aoki's counterattack. But just as he was about to summon another bout of water to strike his opponent, he happened to catch sight of Nataku and Subaru...holding hands?

He stopped in the middle of everything, still holding the water barrier around his body, but dropping his will to attack Aoki. "I think we may have a problem here," he called out to the wind castor. "Seems our colleagues are looking past their conflicting interests."

Then, without so much as waiting for Aoki to respond, Yuuto summoned forth a surge of energy, ripping out a water pipe from the wall, and directing the sharp, jagged end directly at Subaru's chest. With not a second to spare, he forced the water forward, and the pipe with it, using it like a spear. He watched as it sailed toward the Onmyouji Seal.

Subaru noticed it, and while it didn't pierce through the onmyoujist's chest as Yuuto intended (thanks to Subaru's cat-like movements), the side did manage to pommel him in the chest, slamming him against the wall.

Subaru coughed up blood. Internal bleeding, he suspected, trying to push the bar from the indention it lay in against the wall. When he couldn't, he looked up at Nataku, with pleading eyes.

Asking for help was too much.

His reaction was too late. While he could have simply created a star-shaped barrier with the cloths swirling about his body, Nataku had been too distracted with his thoughts to notice the attack on the seal. He could, however, alleviate Subaru of the pipe pinning him to the wall. He gripped one end of the flowing cloth, lashing it out to catch one end of the pipe and drag it off of Subaru. Golden eyes fixed on Yuuto, the direction of the attack.

"That was unnecessary," the clone said quietly, his hand tightening around the sword's hilt again.

Aoki raised an eye at the scene he was watching.

"Ok... before we let all chaos loose in this part of the building, would someone please mind telling me what's going on here?" he asked.

Aoki casually pushed his glasses back up on his face and ran his hand through his hair.

He nearly dropped his jaw when Nataku actually helped Subaru out of his pinioned position against the wall. True, he did not exactly trust the genetic doll, but he had not expected him to aid the enemy.

"Unnecessary?" Yuuto laughed sardonically. "What do you think you're doing?"

Forgetting temporarily what had happened in his shower, he stepped up to the two and grabbed Nataku by the wrist, pulling him away from Subaru. "Kamui-sama would be extremely displeased with you. These people are our enemies. You wouldn't want Kamui-sama to think of you as a traitor, now, would you?"

All the while, he kept his guard up against Subaru and Aoki...and Nataku. If things continued to go like this, Yuuto might just find himself backed against the wall, with no allies to support him. He only prayed that Satsuki would be able to tell what was going on, and come to his aid if need be.

Aoki blinked a bit.

"This is just... strange..." he said. Aoki walked up to Subaru.

"What's going on here?" he asked him.

Nataku stared at Yuuto dumbly, blinking slowly. Things were gradually becoming more and more confusing. He knew Subaru was one of the seals; that in itself had started the confusion swimming through his thoughts. The fact that he didn't want to fight one of the seals, despite what Fuuma would want and expect.

"Going to find 'happiness'," Nataku answered, as if the answer were plainly obvious, even to his childlike intellect. He glanced over at Subaru. "He said he would help me find Kamui." His eyes met Yuuto's. "Isn't that more important than this?"

* * *

Kusanagi had checked into the hospital after all. It wasn't as bad as he expected, until the doctors had a tough time piercing his skin with syringe, then things got rather aggravating from there.

After some stitches, a few pain killers and a nice meal, Kusanagi was resting rather comfortably in the hospital bed. Not caring much what was on TV, he simply rested there, letting his mind wander about the days past events.

Betraying the Dragons of Earth, meeting Ryu/Hikari and Yuzuriha...

Yuzuriha. What ever happened to her? By the time he had gone back to the site of her Kekkai, they were long gone. He could only hope for now that Aoki had taken the girl to Yuzuriha in time.

Resting his head back against the pillow, he could feel the medication begin to take effect. "I hope your alright kid..." he whispered quietly before slowly lulling to sleep.

* * *

Satsuki continued her remote cable attacks from outside the building, randomly flicking a cable at all those in the basement who registered on her cell phone screen as not being one of the Angels. She wasn't too concerned with carrying out a massive attack with her cables; since Yuuto and Nataku were there, she only had to make sure that the enemy was suitably distracted and was not able to injure her comrades.

Then again... Satsuki frowned, staring at her cell phone screen. Something seemed to be wrong; attacks on both sides had stopped. She quickly punched in a code, and her screen zoomed in to the scene in the basement. There was something very wrong. Yuuto was alone, standing on one side with a protective water shield around him. But Nataku was... with the Seals? And he didn't seem to be helping Yuuto either... in fact, from the look of things, it seemed that the clone would very soon turn against their side. And, as skilled as he was, there was no way that Yuuto could fight off so many opponents at once. It was time for drastic action.

The computer girl immediately pressed an attack code into her phone; instantly, within the basement, several more cables burst out of the floor, headed straight for the dream seer Hinoto. Immediately, Satsuki flung herself from the rooftop she was standing on and sprinted into the DIET building, headed for the basement. Hopefully, her attack on the dream seer would be enough to distract the Seals until she could reach Yuuto. The girl dashed down the long flight of stairs, ignoring the chaos on the floors above that she had caused earlier with her blackout.

Finally reaching her destination, Satsuki burst into the basement and quickly scanned the scene before her, immediately going to Yuuto's side, "Yuuto-san, what the hell is going on?" she hissed, keeping her voice low so that no one else would hear. She glared dangerously at the other people in the room; the floor rumbled with her manipulations of the cables beneath, threatening to attack if anyone dared to come near her.

* * *

At least one of the others there was proving to be useful in deflecting the seemingly endless stream of cables. A gust of wind swirled away from Saiki's hand as he turned his head slightly to address Shouri.

"Just how long do you think we can keep this up?" He found himself having to yell in order to be heard over the combined noise of the cables, and counterattacks.

And then more cables burst through the floor, aimed at Hinoto, and Saiki cursed himself for not being closer. Hien and Souhi jumped in the cables' path, daggers appearing in their hands.

"Hinoto-hime, get down. We'll deal with this!" A quick flick of the wrist, and Hien's dagger cut through a portion of one of the cables, skittering along the floor after accomplishing this task. She reached into her hairpiece for the second dagger kept hidden there.  
They would protect the dream seer, even if it meant their deaths.

* * *

Aoki felt the ground shake from Satsuki's attack and grumbles a bit.

"Only one other choice to keep everyone safe..." He said.

Concentrating, Aoki began to create a Kekkai to enclose him and the other Seals and Angels.


	68. Chapter 66: Forgotten Smile

**Chapter Sixty-Six: Forgotten Smile**

Hikari sighed as she walked back towards the clinic.

"Hopefully no one's there... or awake. I really need to change. Man... he got stronger since we last saw each other. I really need to find out how to get stronger than him... if only just long enough to beat him." she said.

Hikari walked up to the clinic area and opened the door, peeking in a bit. Not seeing anyone moving, nor hearing anyone, Hikari walked in and over to a secluded part. She carefully made sure that there was no one looking before she blocked the area off with some curtains and began to change. She made the necessary tucks and changes needed to return back to Ryu. After finishing off the changes and putting away the unneeded clothes, Ryu began to walk around the clinic some, helping out those he could or that needed it.

*****

A flood of relief washed over him as Satsuki appeared at his side, the burst of cables in the next room resounding through the stairwell. "It seems our comrade is confused as to which side he belongs," he replied with his usual pleasant smile, though now it was rather forced.

Turning his attention back to Nataku with more confidence, now that he had reinforcements, his brow lined with creases as he smirked. "You really think he's going to help you?" Yuuto questioned the genetic doll, nodding toward Subaru. "He's the enemy. He knows you're an Angel, and he's a Seal. Do you really think he'll risk his neck by taking you to Kamui-sama?" He let out an amused chuckle. "As soon as you get out of here and turn your back for a moment, he'll show his true motives. His only reason for getting you out of here is to spare his friends and stab you in the back when he gets the chance. That's what this war is all about. It's us versus them."

Finishing his short speech, he stood back beside Satsuki, one hand in his pocket, enveloping both of them in his water barrier in case Subaru, Aoki, or even Nataku tried to attack. For now, all he could do was wait for a response from the living doll.

Hokuto looked down at her plate of sushi and picked up another piece of maki, contemplating if she was really still hungry for it after hearing about Yuurei. Putting it down again, she glanced at Seishirou before standing up and murmuring "Where's the bathroom?"

Casually he pointed down the hall. Cheerfully he added, "And don't bother trying to get out again, ne? There aren't any windows." He flashed her a pleasant smile.

She gave him a mock smile and stalked down the hall, stepping into the bathroom and locking the door behind her. No windows. Damn. She washed her face and stared into the mirror, looking at herself.

The changes in her appearance were so noticeable she was nearly shocked herself. Her face was so pale and un-marred she was almost scared of herself. No sun rays had touched her body in 9 years, it shouldn't surprise her.

Her hair was so long now that she was starting to get annoyed with it. Grabbing the scissors, she cut it, unprofessionally, just above her shoulders. Long locks of black silky hair fell to the floor and she almost smiled. It would be long again in the morning.

Sighing slightly, she flushed the hair down the toilet and unlocked the bathroom door again. She walked in silence back to the Sakurazukamori and sat down in her chair again, drinking some of her ice tea.

He gave her a kind smile. "Feeling better, I see?" he greeted her. "It must be a relief to get your hair back to something of its old length. You're starting to look more like I remember you." A guileful tenor lined his voice.

She shrugged, glancing at him. "I guess. I cut it because it was annoying, so yes, it is a relief." She leaned back into the chair, not wanting to be there at all. Why had she even gone with Fuuma in the first place? To see Kakyou. Sure, but she hadn't intended to end up at her killer's apartment afterwards.

She tried to stifle a yawn, but failed miserably. A headache was coming and all she really felt like doing was stab Seishirou repeatedly.

A wise smile crept over Seishirou's thin lips. "I know you hate me, Hokuto-chan. I can see it in your eyes." Spreading his arms to the sides in something akin to an invitation, he leaned back in his seat. "So, come on, now. Do your worst. You don't have to hide it. You want to kill me just as I killed you all those years ago, don't you?" Well...this was one way to avoid being bored....

Hokuto shrugged. Truth was, she didn't want to kill him, just hurt him. What had driven her to get herself killed in the first place was what he had done to Subaru. "I volunteered all those years ago, Seishirou-san. If you hadn't killed me, you would have killed Subaru. And I'm not trying to hide it."

"And you want to exact revenge, is that correct?" His expression softened. "You want me to go back on my bet?" His glass eye glistened as the dim light struck it just right. "You really are such a fan girl, Hokuto-chan. Back then, You would've done almost anything to get your brother into my bed." His gaze darkened. "And now that it's finally happened...though technically not in a bed...you don't seem very happy about it."

Hokuto's eyes widened in shock upon this. "What?" She spluttered, not quite believing her own ears. "What?" It couldn't be true. Subaru would never have... Not after what Seishirou had done. Not after he had killed her. Not after he had killed his sister.

Seishirou nearly chuckled. "What, you didn't know? I thought your spirit had been watching over him. And of all times to neglect him." Whether out of boredom or simply because he enjoyed watching people suffer, his single seeing eye turned as cold as the glass one. In a quiet, dangerous, almost sensual voice, he murmured, "I thought his screams would surely have reached even the innermost level of Hell...."

Hokuto scrambled up from her chair and backed away from the table. No.... This was even worse. Subaru hadn't even wanted it. He had been forced to... She gagged and her back hit the wall. She tried to grab onto something, but there was nothing except the smooth white surface, her knees gave away and she fell to the floor, trying not to scream at Seishirou.

Trying not to attempt hurting him. Because she would be dead even before being able to touch him. All the anger that she had bottled up for him raged inside of her and she only managed to spit a profanity at him.

Again Seishirou only chuckled and leaned back. "Now, now, Hokuto. You should watch that mouth of yours." In a quieter, sultry voice, he added, "You know, I think he liked it." His voice then returned to normal. "But, of course, I suppose you don't want to hear the rest of it...."

"Since when did what other people want stop you?" She spat, feeling nauseous at the thought of Subaru broken and bleeding.

His eyes narrowed. "Isn't it what you wanted? Didn't you want Subaru and me to be together?" A prudent simper lined his lips. "Of course...this world is full if ironic twists, isn't it? Nine years ago, you would've never expected me to hurt your brother. And now...the one you think most unlikely to save anyone kept Subaru from dying. I must admit, it was the one thing he was good for." He ended these words with a short smirk.

"I did want that. Until you hurt him." She closed her eyes, trying to make the mental images of them together go away. It was true. Nine years ago, she would have given anything to see them together, but now, the thought disgusted her. Then his next words registered and her eyes flew open in shock. "No...."

He nodded and closed his eyes for a moment. "So you understand, then, ne?"

She nodded numbly, not wanting to believe it. Yuurei, of all people. Why did she owe him so much? Subaru's life, her life. And still she hoped he was dead. Still she hoped Fuuma had tortured him to the brink of insanity. Because there was no excuse for what he had done to Kakyou.

Seishirou smiled more lightly. "And still you hate him. See, now isn't that ironic?" His smile became a grin as a smirk flickered through his seeing eye.

Fuuma finished changing into his tight black shirt and black pants a while before he headed with a packed bag to the church where he had taken Kotori not too long ago...it felt like ages though. Funny how much stuff could happen in such a short while. Back when it was the olden days he would maybe do one or two things per day...with a random surprise thrown in for flavor. This was how humanity spent its meaningless days...like a drone it grew up, sought reproduction and infested the decaying remains of the planet it diligently destroyed.

And here at the well...Where that instrument was stored until now...Here was the sword. He raised his hands before the wooden planks that covered it. There was a loud pounding before the well released it's chained up possession. Fuuma could only marvel at it's beauty despite the abundance of chains surrounding its frame. It was very punk rock...I believe that was the slang his generation would use. "Kamui...The chosen day is arriving...You also have your instrument eh?" He took the bundle by the handle. "Then let our symphony be performed flawlessly..." He smiled friendly at the blade. "Let your end be the climax of the Earth's revolution..."

Fuuma placed the blade in his old kendo bag...holding it on his shoulder. Fuuma smiled to himself. _~Now to claim my other possession.~_

He walked eagerly toward Seishirou's apartment...imagining some sort of coffin or evil looking mansion with spooky relics. He didn't get a very good look last time so he expected a creepier experience. He chuckled at the thought.

Fuuma arrived in front of Seishirou's door minutes later, very disappointed it wasn't covered in blood or made of flesh...he probably didn't have that coffin. Probably had a CD collection though. Seishirou's CD collection...That was a scary thought indeed. He knocked and waited for a answer.

*****

"RYU!" A certain dark-haired woman stormed over to the young man, her boots clicking against the floor with each step. Following closely after her was one of the more well-known of the CLAMP Campus staff, her husband. "Where have you BEEN, hmm? Do you KNOW how hard-pressed we've been for some helping SKILLED hands around here?"

"U-Utako-chan.." Akira gently pried her away from Ryu and addressed the young man himself. "It's good to see you again, Ryu. How have things been? I heard you were in a fight... is everything alright?"

"Oh, Hey Akira, Utako. Yeah, I'm fine. Was just off seeing a relative when everything happened and all. I came back when I heard the news and figured that I would lend a helping hand." Ryu said.

He looked around.

"So what else is needed around here? I brought a bunch of supplies with me from while I was out." Ryu said.

*****

She sat there, her eyes fixated on the cake sitting on the kitchen counter as she sat in the next room over. Funny how just hours ago, Kamui was with her mixing the batter which formed that cake while Yuzuriha and Uo sat in the exact place she was in talking.

Uo and Yuzuriha had been gone far too long. She pounded one fist into her other hand. Perhaps they had gotten lost, or were hurt with no one to help them!

Kotori stood abruptly from the couch. If Kamui would always be there for her, shouldn't see be there for her friends? Shouldn't she be brave too? It was time for her to stop hiding from her fears. Her friends could be hurt because of her antics!

She walked to the apartment door and swung it open. Hopefully though, Yuzuriha and Uo wouldn't return while she was out and worry over her. That would make her feel really stupid.

She walked out and shut the behind her. Kotori began her walk, to where? She wasn't sure. She needed new clothes, because the dress that Yuzuriha had lent her was in near shreds. Perhaps she should head over to the shrine then? Not only for clothes, but to pay the respects of her father.

If he was even dead. Fuuma could have easily been lying. With his recent attitude, why not?

Her heart increased in speed, and she clutched her chest as she approached the abandoned church from the day before. She stared straight ahead and ran past it. She paused on the other side, breathing softly to catch her breath.

That figure in the near distance.... It couldn't be him, could it? God how she prayed it wasn't, as she started walking, hoping that his back would stay turned until she was out of site.

Subaru shook his head, bringing his calloused hand to his blood-stained lips, trying to hold back the blood that would come, nevertheless.

"That's not it. He has my sister." Subaru coughed once more, looking at Nataku in a mixture of longing desire and pain.

"Even if he is a seal," Nataku said slowly, his eyes moving from Subaru back to Yuuto, "he wants to find Kamui too. So he would be willing to help." His eyes narrowed. "So attacking him was unnecessary."

The Kekkai that Aoki was making was soon done. "Alright. Now we don't have to worry about this place crashing on our heads just incase something bad happens."

Yuuto's lips curled into a slight growl. "We'll find Kamui-sama when he wants to be found. What do you think this Seal will do once you find him? Take his sister and leave happily as though nothing ever happened?"

Subaru frowned. "Actually, yes." That's all he wanted, to be with the Hokuto he loved so much, to find the Kantoku-sama he had lost. He didn't want anything more than that. He didn't want to play a part in the End of the World any longer.

Yuuto chuckled almost amiably. "And you think that, one--Kamui-sama would just let you have her, and two--that he would just let you walk away? It won't work. Both of you know it."

"Why?" Nataku asked suddenly, "If Subaru-san would be willing to leave and forget all of this, then wouldn't that make Kamui's task easier?" It was a childish response.

"Well, unfortunately, he's got to get rid of all us in a most painful way possible." Aoki looked at Subaru.

Yuuto scowled. "You really think he's telling the truth, don't you? Don't you realize anything goes in this war? Lies are all a part of it. For both sides."

Subaru growled inwardly; this man may be a liar, but he wasn't. "I won't attack him. All I want is my sister, that's all."

"Why would you lie about something like that?" Nataku whirled on Subaru, bending to be at eye-level with the seal. "She's your 'happiness', *isn't* she?"

"How do you know if she's alive or not? Besides, its not safe to go into enemy territory alone."

"H...hai," Subaru said quietly, in response to Nataku's inquiry. "She's alive," he said, turning to Aoki. I know it." He placed his hand against his chest, where his heart would belong. "She's all that matters. I don't care what I have to bear, I'm going to get her back."

Aoki nodded. "That's like how I feel about my family. Do what you feel is right, but I'm going to come with you, just incase something wrong happens." He pushed his glasses up

The kekkai was up. Yuuto and Satsuki could not simply just leave. He frowned at the others. "Fine. Do what you want...but you'll have to go through me first. I won't let you disobey Kamui-sama's orders, no matter how valiant you think your efforts may be."

Aoki walked up to Yuuto. "Excuse me, but weren't you the one who was trying to capture us earlier?" he asked.

Yuuto grinned at Aoki, still holding his water barrier about himself and Satsuki. "I guess you don't remember since you were half conscious the whole time. I dragged you halfway around Tokyo!"

"Well that would explain some of the bumps and bruises..." Aoki said, rubbing the back of his head.

A pause. Then Yuuto frowned. "Hey...didn't I lose some hair because of you?" He reached up to finger the torn locks of gold.

"Well... not directly... but yeah." Aoki said.

Subaru exchanged a look with Nataku. Now'd be a good time to get the hell out of there, but Aoki's kekkai would prove to be a problem for Nataku. Hmm.

Aoki looked at Subaru and started to shrink the Kekkai down, but just to the point where Subaru and Nataku could get out and not Yuuto or Satsuki.

Nodding with a return of his smile, Yuuto replied, "Ah, I thought so." Then, without any further explanation, he summoned a torrent of hydraulic energy and blasted at Aoki. "NO ONE MESSES WITH THE HAIR."

Aoki flew back from the force of the water and slammed into a wall. "Ouch... man, someone has some vanity issues." he said, getting up.

Nataku knelt down, offering his hand to the wounded seal. "Your friend gave us a way out. We should take it. Can you walk?"

Subaru followed behind Nataku, trying to keep his eye on the two offensive seals. "Aoki, we're leaving." His mind quickly wandered to Shouri, who would be in danger if they both left. God DAMN IT.

With Aoki temporarily out of commission, Yuuto turned his blast toward the stairs, blocking Nataku and Subaru's path. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

Attention forcibly redirected back to Aoki, Yuuto winced as he was blown back against the wall, his water barrier shattered, at least for the time being. "Suko," he muttered under his breath as the sharp winds bit into his flesh.

Subaru grabbed Nataku's hand. "I think we'll have to go upstairs," he said in a hushed voice.

Nataku nodded. "We should hurry and leave." He glanced over his shoulder, knowing full well that Yuuto or Satsuki would find some way to get the wrong information of this to Fuuma. But, priorities were priorities. And Subaru was willing to help him find Fuuma. That was what mattered at the moment.

"Get out of here you two. I'll hold them off for as long as I can." Aoki told Nataku and Subaru. He started to create some small tornados in the Kekkai around Satsuki and Yuuto to keep them off balance.

Quickly Yuuto stood in front of Satsuki to block the tornadoes from getting to her. Shielding them both with a weakened water barrier, he called back to her, "Stop them at all costs! I'll hold off this one!"

"Yuuto-san!" Satsuki cried out in alarm. The situation was getting worse and worse by the moment. Nataku was leaving with Subaru, but she didn't want to leave Yuuto alone. However, at Yuuto's command, Satsuki dropped all thoughts of staying to help him. He was right, of course; they had to stop another one of their comrades from turning to the other side. Casting a worried glance at Yuuto, she nodded her assent and immediately dashed after Nataku and Subaru. The computer girl quickly punched a code in her phone; immediately, a mass of cables burst in front of the two, effectively blocking their path.

Nataku turned, the fabric whipping out as he did so to wrap around Satsuki's cell phone and knock it from her grasp. "Don't try to stop us."

Subaru turns around, before looking down at Nataku's sword. "Think you can cut those wires up with your sword?" he asked, not recognizing it as Yuzuriha's spirit-sword.

Aoki gathered up a large amount of wind in his hands and prepares to toss it at Yuuto and Satsuki. "Well, the only way to get out of here is through me." he told them. Just then, Aoki's cell phone began to ring.

"On sowahanba shuda saraba tamara sowahanba shudo kan... On tatagyato dohanbaya sowaka..." Subaru started chanting, his fingers dancing wildly.

Nataku shielded his eyes from the sudden spray of sparks and maintained his attention on covering their retreat. Undoubtedly, the seal had some sort of destructive ability that could handle the cables.

And just as Aoki's cell phone went off, one of the wind tornadoes hit him in the side, cutting through his weakened water barrier and sending him back to his knees with a grunt.

Aoki then unleashed his attack upon the two of them. He then followed up with the wind being to whip around the wires Satsuki had raised up. "Could you give me a moment here?" Aoki asked him.

"On handobo dohanbaya sowaka... Onbazoro dohanbaya sowaka... On basaragini harajihattaya sowaka... On barodaya... sowaka!" A pentacle-shield formed in front of the duo, and he turned back to Nataku. "Can you do something about the wires?" he asked, not knowing how else to word Nataku's ability.

Groaning as he struggled to get to his hands and knees, Yuuto was blown against the wall once more, his defenses temporarily cut off. "Sure," he coughed, somehow still managing to smile. "Take all the time you need."

Uncertain whether Satsuki had truly been rendered powerless by the absence of her cell phone, but wanting very much to leave, Nataku turned back to the mass of cables in front of them. With a quick nod to Subaru, he pulled back his arm, dashing it forward to punch a large hole through the cables. Another such motion, and the hole widened to fit a person in a prone diving position.

Aoki took out his cell phone. "Hi. Could I call you back later? I'm in the middle of the life or death situation here right now." He said. Aoki threw a large blast of wind at Yuuto while he talked.

Wincing at the pain as Aoki's second attack struck him, he struggled to get to his feet, blocking the wind with little more than his arms. His power already low thanks to Nataku's earlier encounter, he fought to regain his water shield.

Summoning his strength back and his wits about him, Yuuto directed a sharp stream of liquid on the floor to rise and shoot though the wind currents toward Aoki as he spoke on the phone. "If you're not going to play fair and wait until you're done, then neither am I." He smirked through another wince.

Aoki got hit with the liquid, getting sliced up. He dropped his cell phone and it flew over to Satsuki and landed right at her feet. "Ok now, time to get serious." he said. Aoki then charged at Yuuto and thrust his palm at his midsection, sending out a blast of gust of sharp whipping wind at him.

Cursing, Satsuki did the first thing that came to mind. Spotting a fuse box on the wall, she dashed over to it and flipped it open, then quickly flipped several switches in it. Immediately, the entire building was plunged into darkness.

Just as darkness covered the room, Yuuto dodged back, nearly hitting the wall again as he gripped Aoki's arm and slung the man's body to the side, though the wind attack cut into his bare waist and left a brutal gash.

At that moment, the girl heard something drop at her feet. Looking down, she saw a cell phone that one of the Seals had dropped. Thinking quickly, the technology genius immediately picked it up and punched a code into it. A mass of wires exploded from the ceiling, headed directly for Subaru.

Aoki grunted in pain as some old wounds from earlier fights opened up again. He picked himself up quickly and got in close to Yuuto, trying to grab his arm.

Jumping back, taking advantage of Aoki's still injured state, Yuuto lunged forward from a side angle and made contact with Aoki's shoulders, shoving the man against the wall and aiming a knee for his cut.

Subaru pulled back, but not in time; while the wires missed his beautiful face, it cut right through his shirt ripping the front off of him entirely. A long bloody cut formed over his pale chest, from shoulder-bone to bellybutton.

Aoki went to block Yuuto's attack, grabbing his knee and using it to try and flip Yuuto over and onto his back.

Caught off guard by the surprisingly quick maneuver, Yuuto grunted as he fell back, hitting his spine hard on the cold floor.

Aoki gathered up a large amount of wind and pushed it right into Yuuto's gut in a fierce blow, following it up with a few quick kicks to his gut.

The fabric floating about Nataku formed into a swirling star shape above him and Subaru, acting as a temporary shield against the remainder of the cables shooting from the ceiling. "Go. Now." His attention remained on the swirling star above them.

Finally unable to hold back his breath any longer, Yuuto's eyes widened as he let out a shrill cry when the wind pummeled his stomach. Air knocked from his lungs, he tried to curl into himself as Aoki continued to attack.

If his mind had been any clearer, he would have thought it strange that this prestigious yet clumsy businessman could be so brutal, but all he knew at the moment was that he had to get himself out of this situation.

Gathering an orb of swirling water in between his palms, he rolled over on his opposite side to face Aoki, thrusting his arms upward and shooting the attack off practically at point blank range against Aoki's chest.

Subaru obeyed Nataku's orders; with a quick, pained leap, he dived through the hole cut in the wires.

Aoki flew backwards from the force of the blow, his shirt getting torn up as he slammed into the wall again.

Satsuki cursed under her breath; the Seal had escaped despite her best efforts. The situation was quickly turning against their favor, with only two fighting against so many enemies.

Nataku stared at the cables bouncing off of and returning to attack his swirling star. If he broke his concentration, moved, released the mental hold on the fabric, he would undoubtedly be skewered. Somehow he had neglected to notice that moments earlier.

But there was still a chance to stop Nataku from escaping. Quickly pressing another code in her phone, another mass of cables burst from the floor, blocking the entrance that Subaru had escaped from and preventing Nataku from following.

Staggering to his feet, Yuuto instantly lunged again at Aoki, grunting as he forced another torrent of hydraulic energy to answer his summons, pressing his hands against Aoki's chest and releasing the attack with a spark in his eye.

Staggering to his feet, Yuuto instantly lunged again at Aoki, grunting as he forced another torrent of hydraulic energy to answer his summons, pressing his hands against Aoki's chest and releasing the attack with a spark in his eye.

Aoki let out an _oof_ as he got blasted by the hydraulic energy. Breathing heavily, Aoki looked at Yuuto.

Nataku could hear the burst of fresh cables from behind him. It seemed one way or another, he was going to wind up a bloody heap. Nevertheless, he maintained his concentration on the star above him, in the hopes that he might survive the onslaught from behind, or at least have enough blood left to be able to get up and walk away eventually.

Yuuto met his gaze and smirked through his exhaustion, blood trickling down his forehead, though his opponent looked something worse. "Sorry it had to come to this," he said almost cheerfully, increasing the strength of the blast.

It didn't take too long before Aoki was to weak to maintain the Kekkai and it dropped. "W... what are you going to do now...?"

"Shuku...Dou...Shou...!" Subaru shouted, his seven-headed shikigami forming with each word. "Hikuu!" He commanded the creature. It flew towards the wires, preparing to pierce through the barrier.

Subaru threw his hand in the air and put up his kekkai; he knew it wouldn't take much more for him to fall as the kekkai would.

Was that fear in Aoki's eyes? Yuuto smiled almost tenderly as he leaned forward, his lips almost brushing the man's ear as he whispered, "Would you like to die quickly? Or...perhaps you want to suffer first...."

Satsuki smirked, satisfied that Nataku could not turn his attention elsewhere. The girl punched another code into her phone, almost casually now. Instantly, another two mass of cables burst from the walls on both sides of Nataku, heading straight for the clone.

Letting one hand slide behind Aoki's head to stroke his brown hair with something akin to gentleness, Yuuto held his other hand behind him, summoning a strand of water and materializing it into a physical whip. "Oh, but I do love the painful route so much more."

Several of the cables shooting from the floor ripped through Nataku's back, leaving bloody holes where they passed through, tearing his shirt to ribbons. His eyes widened in shock at the sudden pain, the star above him slowly losing momentum.

Aoki spat into Yuuto's face. "I'd rather die."

"The Dragons of Earth do not tolerate traitors on their side. I thought you knew that, Nataku-san," Satsuki said, shaking her head almost sadly.

"But believe me, it's better for you to go this way. If I didn't kill you, Kamui-san would come after you instead... and your death would be much more painful than it will be now."

Yuuto chuckled at Aoki's vain attempts, turning his head to the side to lick slowly over the man's bloodstained cheek as he snapped his whip against Aoki's shins. "I don't think you have much say right now."

"Oh... I think I have much say in this as you do." Aoki said. He tried to knee Yuuto right in the groin.

Nataku slumped to the ground, managing to avoid the cables shooting from the walls by doing so, although the movement was not intentional. Blood dripped from his mouth and he coughed, the star falling apart completely as the fabric fell about his body and the cables came down.

Catching Aoki's knee with the hand holding the whip, Yuuto slowed its ascent against his groin, though he still let it make contact, rubbing against it slowly. Grinning darkly, he chuckled against Aoki's ear. "Aoki-san...I didn't know you liked that sort of thing...."

The seven-headed Shikigami pierced through the wires, allowing Subaru to just barely slip through. As soon as it made it through to the other side, the shikigami dissolved entirely. Pushing himself through the wall of wires, he took note of Nataku's condition; a horrified expression filled his usually calm face. He pulled himself through entirely before noticing the wires hurling straight for himself and Nataku. He pulled Nataku up the best he could, pulling him over the shoulder and running as fast as he could with someone on his back.

After a few seconds, Subaru could no longer carry Nataku, at least not in this condition. Not caring if the wires punctured him or not, he dropped Nataku to the ground and pressed his own body against Nataku's, in an effort to shield him from the incoming attack.

Aoki glared at Yuuto. "I'm going to personally make sure you end up dead if you dare do what you're planning to do you freak..." He said, trying to gather up some wind energy.

"Ah," Yuuto replied, snapping his whip back up to twirl about Aoki's throat, tightening until the man can hardly breath. When the blood began to seep from his neck, Yuuto smiled. "Now...care to say that again?"

Due to Yuuto's whip around Aoki's neck, Aoki becomes speechless.

Pulling the whip tighter around Aoki's neck, Yuuto smirked as he felt the man suddenly go limp in his arms. The businessman's eyes rolled back in his head, and his body fell forward as Yuuto relinquished the grasp of his whip, letting it dissolve back into water and splatter on the floor.

Wrapping an arm around Aoki's waist to hold him up, Yuuto flashed a glance in Satsuki's direction. Seeing that Nataku and the Seal were both evidently unconscious--if not dead--under the barrage of the computer genius's wires and cables, Yuuto turned his attention to the entrance of the basement.

He made his way there, using Aoki's body as a human shield, in case any of the others inside thought to attack him as he entered. Letting the man's head rest on his shoulder, Yuuto smiled pleasantly at the dream seer and the others in the basement room. "I suppose it's time to end this, wouldn't you say?"

Admiring Satsuki's cable work that was still in the process of threading through the floor and ceiling, and the young wind castor who was trying desperately to protect the others, Yuuto's smile persisted, but the gleam in his eyes grew deadly.

Lifting his free hand and letting the spilled water pooling on the floor rise and swirl about his palm, he shot a spray of it at the cables, sending a shower of sparks flying everywhere. This battle would soon be over. And it was looking to be in the Angels' favor.

*****

A kekkai had gone up. It had taken Shouri a few minutes to realize it, but as soon as it was up, he knew precisely who it belonged to. It worried him.

"Subaru!" Shouri gasped, eyes widening considerably as he looked up.

Propelled by his sudden worry, Shouri immediately dashed over and under several of the cables and ran directly through the doorway, stopping as his eyes fell upon the people. The man who that girl had been with was fighting with a blonde... but that wasn't what caught his attention.

It was Subaru, along with some other man who was.. ! Who was being pierced by several of the cables from the ground. Shouri's eyes went extremely wide... if he could just stop the cables then it would be fine, right? He didn't doubt that Subaru would soon be pierced as well.. and perhaps it was his concern for Subaru's safety that propelled his next action. He didn't even think about the promise that he had made...

The boy threw up both hands, palms up. An odd energy began to charge as he suddenly drew back and released it, being pushed back just a little bit from the force of the release. The energy had drawn from all around... but it took a crystal-like form as it propelled through the air. It wasn't half as strong as he would have liked it, but it was sufficient.

The strange crystal-like beam flew past Yuuto and Aoki before it suddenly dispersed in accordance, transforming into thousands of small droplets of water... but they appeared more like tears. As they released and separated, it sounded like thunder had sounded off, and shook the walls slightly in accordance.

The oncoming cables were hit by the small tears.... and the sound of something breaking echoed. The cables that were hit were beginning to literally freeze, coated by ice. The ice sheets began to travel downwards on the cables...

Shouri frowned slightly as he fell lightly against the wall. He had done what he had meant.. though that had been the sorriest excuse for an attack he had ever released. His eyes flashed. At least the cables couldn't touch Subaru.. right?


	69. Chapter 67: Sora wa aosugite…

**Chapter Sixty-Seven: "Sora wa ao-sugite…"**

When Subaru felt nothing pierce through his back, he opened a eye, which had been cast shut in anticipation of the pain to come.

"Sh...Shouri?" Subaru smiled in relief; this was the first time in a long while that he had been happy to see Shouri's face amidst battle.

Sitting up on the bed, Yuurei leaned his back against the wall, sitting cross-legged with closed eyes, resting peacefully. He could still sense Shisa's presence across from him, standing at the opposite end of the room, watching him; he did not need to open his eyes to know that.

The flashes came through his mind like bolts of lightning. Subaru, Aoki, Shouri...and Hinoto. The DIET building, there was no doubt of the location. Yuuto and Satsuki and Nataku were also there. And...what was this? Nataku, a traitor? No, that did not seem right. Yet he was being blasted by Satsuki's cables along with Subaru.

His eyes flew open. He had to get over there. He was already supposed to be there. That was his duty--his job. Not only to watch now, but to act. No matter what had just been done to him, he could not let those he cared about down.

He started to get up, then paused as new flashes of images flickered through his mind's eye. Shouri had taken charge of the situation, it seemed. This almost brought a smile to Yuurei's lips--almost. After everything he had seen today--after all he and those he loved had suffered--he felt he would never have the capacity to smile again. But that was all right. As long as Shouri could protect Subaru and the others, Yuurei could relax a bit.

Hopefully Shouri's power would be enough. With a stern glance at Shisa, Yuurei leaned back again and let his eyes drift shut once more. He was still recovering. He could not afford to act rashly. He had never done so in the past--for the most part--and would not start now.

So, for the first time, when Fate called, he ignored it. Instead, he settled back to keep a watch over the happenings from a distance, letting his mind rest in peaceful, rehabilitating meditation. And yet though his expression had become one of tranquility, his soul still screamed and ached in eternal pain....

A knock came from the front door, followed by the doorbell. But by that time, Seishirou had already picked up on Fuuma's essence long before the young man had even reached the stairwell to his front door.

Excusing himself from the table and Hokuto--and their friendly dinner conversation concerning the rape of her beloved brother Subaru-- Seishirou jogged quickly to the door and swung it open, a cheerful smile on his face.

"Kamui-sama!" he greeted the younger man, stepping back to let Fuuma inside. "We've been expecting you." Nodding toward the kitchen, which was the only room in the house with the lights still on, he added, "Hokuto's in there. I didn't make it back until after she woke up." He smirked a bit more coldly, but quickly returned to his pleasant facade as he gestured for Fuuma to follow him.

Glancing over his shoulder, Seishirou spoke up again. "Did you have anything in mind in coming here? A gathering of some sort, perhaps? Or did you just come to pick up Hokuto?" He gave a not-so-subtle chuckle, and continued back into the kitchen.

Fuuma smiled to Seishirou and gestured to his two bags. "I've come to have a long visit. Kind of can't go home since a lot of people know I'm there. Also picked up this." He gestured to the Kendo bag on his shoulder.

Hokuto didn't get up as the door bell rang, she didn't even react as Seishirou went to open it, her mind was absorbed by the horrible prospect of Subaru being raped. But when she heard Fuuma's voice drifting through the rooms, her head jerked up.

Taking Fuuma's bags from him with an absent nod, Seishirou went to put them in the bedroom to be rearranged later. Coming back out to the kitchen, he said amiably, "Can I get you anything to eat? You must be starving."

"Anything you have will be Fine, Seishirou-san." He grinned and gave him a gentlemanly bow. He walked toward where Hokuto was, stopping at the door. "Hmmm You're beauty still knocks me off my feet." He grinned as he sat across from her.

A faint pink spread across Hokuto's cheeks and she reached out for him, feeling much safer now that she wasn't alone with Seishirou.

Chuckling lightly as he went to the refrigerator to get out some leftover tempura, Seishirou set to heating it up in the microwave as he watched Fuuma and Hokuto with a raised eyebrow. "You two can share a room, if you wish...," he said with a teasing tone.

Fuuma laughed amusedly at the comment. "While I would be honored to share a bed...I'm sure she has other ideas." He eyed her when she got close, smiling.

Hokuto shot a look at Seishirou and nodded absentmindedly. "I want to see Subaru."

Seishirou shrugged and took a seat at the table, putting down a few plates and serving each a portion of the reheated tempura. "Don't worry," he smirked subtly, "you'll see him soon enough."

Fuuma smiled at the serving. "Tempura.... It's been awhile since Kotori prepared this for me." He looked over to Hokuto. "I suppose I could take you to him after dinner if you really must see him."

Hokuto nodded, wondering how on earth these two could be so familiar with each other. Well, except being fellow Chi no Ryu. "If you wouldn't mind."

Seishirou frowned slightly. "You can sense where he is, can't you?" he asked, turning to Fuuma. "That might not be the wisest idea...." But then again, he was not about to question Fuuma's sanity....

"I understand your concern San-san." He looked at Hokuto with a friendly smile. "I hope this isn't our last supper though."

Still sitting on the floor, Hokuto attempted to stand, but had no such luck. She was still weak, so weak that she couldn't even support her own weight after hearing that about Subaru. Staying on the cold surface of tiles, Hokuto didn't speak.

"Hokuto!" Fuuma moved closer beside her. "You mustn't push yourself.... I'm sure your brother will be fine if you rest."

Seishirou did not move, but quietly nodded and ate his dinner as Fuuma tended to Hokuto.

Hokuto grabbed Fuuma's arms. "Could you help me stand?"

Fuuma eyed her oddly. "We haven't had dinner yet Hokuto.... Let's not be rude to Seishirou-san."

"I just want to sit." She said, looking at her vacant chair.

Fuuma's eyes widened when he saw the chairs. "Oh! That's new...I guess I'm soo used to dinner on the floor." He laughed nervously and gently helped her up.

Thanking him, she sat down with his aid and watched them eat. All she could really think about was Subaru. And Kakyou. Of course. She wondered if he was still crying. Which dreamscape he was in, what he was doing. Not being able to see him hurt her so much she couldn't put it into words.

Seishirou's countenance grew serious, and he put his utensils back down. "Kamui-sama," he said slowly, "if you wish for her to see Subaru-kun tonight, you should probably leave as soon as possible. You know as well as I do his current condition."

Fuuma finished his portion of Tempura with much the rush of a average teenage male. " I suppose you're right, Seishirou-san...." He wiped his mouth with his napkin. "Ready to go Hokuto-chan?"

She looked up at him and nodded, anxious to see her brother. She hoped beyond hope that Seishirou wouldn't be coming along, but knew she hadn't much to say in that.

Still sitting calmly at his place, Seishirou closed his eyes and chuckled, sensing Hokuto's apprehension. "You two go ahead," he urged. "I'll catch up later if you need me."

"Hmmm Hokuto...I have a idea," Fuuma said.

Hokuto turned her attention to Fuuma. "Yes?"

"I need to get some new clothes and I was wondering if you...." He smiled, taking a moment's pause.

Hokuto shook her head slightly in confusion. "Yes?"

"If you wanted to help me...I'm not as into trends as women tend to be."

"Oh." She nodded, squealing. "Of course I can!" Clapping her hands together in excitement, she felt some of her old spirit return, but a moment later found it a bad idea not to support herself on Fuuma and stumbled into his arms again.

Fuuma smiled and chuckled at her. He knew this was her wish....

Hokuto fumbled slightly to get out of his arms and merely leaned on him instead. "Are we going?"

"Sure...," he whispered to her. "Maybe you can help Seishirou too. He only wears black...kinda scary if you think about it."

Suddenly Seishirou lifted his head and reached into his back pocket, revealing a credit card. "I nearly forgot," he said, grinning guilefully at Fuuma. "That nice Seal gave us his credit card and we still haven't used it yet. It would be rude of us not to take advantage of his kindness...."

Fuuma smiled and laughed. "Oh, yes...I suppose a shopping spree won't hurt him too much. He was very kind indeed."

Hokuto's eyes gleamed at the thought of dressing up Seishirou. Smiling for herself, she contained herself from grinning evilly at Seishirou. "Which Seal?" she asked.

"A kind businessman named...Seiichirou Aoki, I believe." Seishirou tapped the card against his chin, then smirked at Fuuma out of the corner of his good eye. "You say I'm the one who needs a better fashion sense?" he mused with a friendly chuckle as he eyed Fuuma's attire. "Those tight pants and shirt aren't exactly what I'd call extremely stylish...."

"I admit I'm not the expert, but you need more variety in color or you'll look like a corpse, Seishirou-chan." He smiled darkly at the man. A picture of Dracula and a business man formed in his mind. They combined to form into Seishirou. Fuuma chuckled at the thought.

Hokuto looked longingly at the door, but didn't say anything. She felt she had pressed the subject of leaving too much and even if Seishirou knew she wanted to get the hell out of there, she didn't want to be rude.

Fuuma smiled down at her, he put a hand on her head. "Smile...."

Seishirou blinked as Fuuma stared at him, then just as abruptly lowered his gaze to Hokuto as Fuuma spoke to her. He could sense Subaru's life force fading. "So what will it be? Shopping or Subaru?"

Hokuto looked up at him in surprise, trying to smile, but found it hard. She wondered if she had smiled genuinely since being resurrected at all. To avoid the subject, she answered Seishirou's question instead. "Subaru." Then added, on an afterthought. "If it would be okay."

"Yes...but promise you'll come back so we can have that date." He grinned.

She nodded, starting slightly at the word 'date'.

Fuuma smiled at her. "A problem?"

She shook her head, giving him a small smile. "No."

Fuuma walked her to the door and opened it. "Shall we then? I'll be back later Seishirou-chan!"

Hokuto nodded, looking down the hallway she had run down not thirty minutes ago.

Seishirou waved cheerfully as they left, then turned back to his tempura.

Fuuma looked down at Hokuto, lifting her into his arms. "Which way is he?"

"I don't know," she said, blushing at being held by him again. "Is there any way to know?"

Fuuma concentrated and caught Subaru's life force. "Found him...." He walked down the hallway with her in his arms. He received one "Awww" from one of Seishirou's neighbors as they headed out.

As the young boy dashed past Yuuto's attack and into the stairwell, Yuuto paused at let his water barrage cease, leaving the sparks to fly on their on as the cables continued to electrocute the air about Hinoto and the younger wind castor. Turning his focus on the boy, his eyes widened and then snapped shut as he raised his free arm to shield his face from the blast of cold, icy particles that shot out in the shape of a diamond all around the room.

Satsuki's cables burst on contact. This child was powerful. And Yuuto was almost completely exhausted of power from fighting the Seal he currently held in his arms. And with Nataku out of commission and seemingly working with the Dragons of Heaven anyway, this was not going in Yuuto and Satsuki's favor. Best to back out now and attack from the outside if necessary.

Glancing up at the ceiling and surrounding walls, Yuuto picked a spot out of the way of the boy's attack and lifted his hand summoning the hydraulic power to his fingertips and using it to force a thick pipe from the wall through the ceiling. Mortar crumbling all around them, Yuuto made his way to Satsuki and grabbed her upper arm.

"We've done all we can here for now," he said just loud enough so the computer genius could hear. Glancing over at Nataku's still body, he shook his head almost regretfully. "It's a shame, really. But I'm sure the Seals will take care of him justly." With that, he headed back toward the hole he had created to the floor above them and took a high leap.

The sudden absence of Shouri guarding his back made Saiki pale. Slicing through another cable with a blast of wind, he ducked out of the way of a shower of sparks streaming from the still-moving cables around him. The cables seemed to gleam, and squinting, he could just make out water droplets sliding along the sides of the cables.

Water?

He dodged another cable, his thoughts struggling to tie together the cables and the water. And the blonde-haired man lugging a familiar brown-haired businessman towards a hole in the ceiling.

"SEIICHIRO-SAN!" Saiki glanced back at Hinoto, uncertain of where his priority should lie. Hien and Souhi seemed perfectly able to protect the dream seer, but... he swallowed hard. And jumped over the nearest  
cable to aim a blast of wind at Yuuto and Aoki, hoping perhaps to knock his uncle from the water caster's grip.

"What the- S-SAIKI-SAN!" Souhi clutched the handle of her dagger tightly. For once, Saiki's presence would actually be *useful*. She ducked beneath an oncoming cable, slicing through the underside as it passed above her.

The blast of wind hit his back as he reached the floor of the story above the basement, nearly knocking him to his knees. Turning back around to see who had attacked him, Yuuto spotted the young man glaring at him from across the basement room. He bore a strong resemblance to the man Yuuto now carried in his arms.

Letting Aoki's sinewy, shirtless body fall to the floor for a moment, Yuuto focused on the man who had issued the wind attack. "You must be related to Aoki-san," he said in pleasant amusement. "I can see the likeness."

Without another word, he lifted both hands, controlling the water in the pipelines with his mind and shooting a powerful stream back at the young man. "However, I think I'll keep him with me for now. You know...for security purposes." He smirked and turned to Satsuki, nodding that they should go.

Shouri looked at Subaru with a rather light smile. "Gomen" should have been written all over his face in rainbow colored marker, and probably would have been if emotions were so easily placed. After a second or two, he regained himself only to look back to see the blonde man escaping, and taking a hostage with him.

A part of him urged him to go after and help... but his promise to Subaru was echoing in his mind, again. He couldn't. Even so, what would be accomplished by a rash action? He knew that he couldn't take out Yuuto; though, with his ice attacks, he did have an advantage. Neither the doll-like man nor the blonde had seemed capable of controlling the cables that were penetrating the Earth... so there was probably another Dragon of Earth nearby... and Shouri had the feeling that Subaru would knock him out if he acted rashly.

Seeing that his ice had pretty much 'disabled' the cables that were going at Subaru and the white-haired man, Shouri reached them easily. He stopped in his tracks a few feet from Nataku. Blood.

It sent him back a bit, into the depths of his mind. He could see it in a pure river.... thanks to 'him'..

Shouri shook his head, quickly erasing the dazed look from his face. No. He would not think about 'him' right now, nor raise that grudge from its grave, at least not the black flames from before. Seishirou had made a call and technically escorted Subaru and himself to the shrine, although they were pretty much enemies. So, he figured, it was not the time to bring up a grudge. It could wait. He had time... He would always have time.

".... Subaru-san.. is he...?" He didn't believe that the man was dead... and apparently Subaru was on good grounds with him... But still, the boy was timid and very wary of approaching anyone he believed could hurt those he cared about... or himself.

*****

Uo watched Saiki dash off. She didn't budge from her position until one of the cables got under her and nearly dragged her half way across the room. It was one thing to toy with her friends, but another when she actually got involved; however, the cables were a bit too big for her.. and her strength wouldn't suffice at stopping even one of them.

The brunette quickly escaped the cable's carry and dodged off to the side. Dodge ball was really paying off for once! All of those years of listening to the P.E. Coach yell were finally paying off!! Left, right, left, right-!

She paused a second, stopping on one foot and hopping a few times before coming to a complete stop. Something wasn't right. Before the two protectors could say anything to her, she was out of the room and halfway down the hall, already heading upwards. She passed the others rather quickly, stopping stiff to stare up at the hole in the wall.

And she caught a glance. "Nyaaaaaah-! Yuuto-san?" she gasped.

... And it popped up, somewhere in the back of her head- the most unfocused question in the history of unfocused questions, _'... I wonder how much hair he's missing?'  
_  
Speaking of hair, she had almost failed to notice that the kekkai had gone up... but seeing it caused a root awakening. While she wasn't as close as Saiki was to Yuuto or his mysterious companion, she was probably just a few feet behind them.

While she was really in much more of a mood to strike up conversation, the sight of Aoki in the man's arms made her a little tense. Even if they'd just met, Aoki was a friend and she HAD said she was going to read his book when it was done... besides, she liked answering his cell phone and making excuses. Strange, though... she never really was fast friends with anyone, but exceptions were made sometimes.

She didn't speak, but rather let her eyes stare into Yuuto. She would have done the puppy dog pout, but she was a bit too flustered, and it showed. If his friend attacked her, so be it. She'd live... or not. Either way, Uo didn't like how things were going....

... _'... And Saiki-san shouldn't have to stand alone.' _she thought to herself.

*****

Anzu spread her dusky-fiery wings as she watched the sight. The kekkai could not block her, or Kaze, or even Taer had he been there from watching the events that passed. She simply watched from her perch nearby. Shouri seemed to be out of danger.. at least a little bit.... and she had no orders to interfere with this, so why bother? Even if Kaze DID scold her later.

The wind beast was relieved. Taking to a smaller, 'green wind' form, he remained in the room with the dream seer. He could 'see' fine where it concerned Shouri.... but the Dream seer might need help, and Shisa hadn't said that he couldn't. He had encouraged them to protect Shouri, the girl, and quite possibly the Dream seer.... so unless his orders were changed, his mind was made up.

*****

At long last, Shisa moved from his position sitting at the edge of the bed. He walked to the window without saying a word, and unlocked it. His slender fingers ran along the edge briefly before he opened it. A few wild flower petals fell from the window's edge and scattered in the troubled wind.

Screams. He heard them. He always heard them... and they seemed to get louder. While a sword could not have harmed him, the voices of the planet- crying, dying- that was what really hurt him. It hurt his soul. It made him hunger for death...

Death. The one thing that he would never have. It was one of the things that he envied about humanity. Their suffering could end... while his could not. He could share his burden with no one... Though when he had been 'younger' he had believed it possible... but the thoughts quickly vanished as he grew older, watching the people of the Earth. They seemed to give him so many answers... and they were never what he wanted to hear. But that was just it. Shisa, unlike humans, often did not cling to idle hope. To him, it was folly... and he would not be the fool in the king's court.

A soft sigh escaped him as he stepped back and closed his eyes. His 'third eye' was once more opened... and he once again allowed himself to see through the eyes of his dear spirit birds.

.... It was getting worse. No wonder the screams had penetrated his mind. More blood was being spilled. More fighting would take place. More lives would be loss. More pain. More sorrow. ... No tears.

He shook his head lightly as another screech reached his ears. So, this new transformation was sensitive to the earth's cries. That was fine. His original had been, as well, until he had grown used to it.

The water bird suddenly flew in, landing on the edge. Taer was small again, and for a reason, too. Whilst the fight took place, he would have to make a round and see where the other Dragons were... and he knew it, too.

"... Return when you've completed your task." Shisa said simply as he stroked Taer's soft blue feathers.

With a nod and a glance at the Watcher, Taer took off to make his round.

... Another screech, this one like a thousand banshee's howl. It was unreal.... and...

The specter winced slightly as he rested a hand upon the window's ledge. He wouldn't fall to his wants and desires... he would continue to stand strong, as he always had. Pushing himself back up, he managed to regain his composure before closing the window. After a minute, he walked back to Yuurei's bedside and sat on the edge at the end of the bed again silently, not making a sound. He did not plan to be a burden.

_'.. At least the boy is safe....' _Shisa reassured himself as he looked to the floor again.

Closing his eyes, he let himself sink into his thoughts. So much to plan, so much to do.... and so little time in which to do it all. Was it him, or was the burden that he carried until the end of time growing heavier?

Still, no tears...

No tears, even though he knew that he was cursed to suffer for a race that could care less...

And he would never have a person to share it with...

Perhaps he was getting soft. After all, he had been quite juvenile when he had thought that. Shouri had only been 'five' years of age at the time. He forcefully shook the thought from his mind. No... he would not pity himself..... even if the world did not see him.

_...'Sora ga ao-sugite...' _

He watched as Shisa moved to the window to speak softly with the little spirit bird. This being was so gentle, yet somehow he was not human. Yuurei watched as the pain of some source unknown to him burned into the man's beautiful countenance, yet Shisa did not flinch.

When at last Shisa came to sit on the end of the bed again, Yuurei kept his eyes on his form without wavering. He watched as the man closed his eyes, the pain still embedded in his expression. It seemed as though he were trying to cry...and yet could not.

Yuurei knew that pain. He did not know what the man was experiencing, but he knew the agony of not being allowed to cry. Slowly he made his way next to Shisa, kneeling at his back. Placing a soothing hand on the man's elegant shoulder, he murmured gently, "You're in pain. I can see it in your face...."

Satsuki nodded her agreement and turned to follow Yuuto out of the basement, first casting a glance at Nataku's still body. It was rather a pity that it had come to this; the clone had been a great asset to their side. Perhaps, later on, Fuuma could talk some sense into him and bring him back around. But for now, the girl supposed that Nataku would be in safe hands with the Seals.

Leaping through the hole in the ceiling after Yuuto, the girl was suddenly hit by a gust of wind, causing her to stagger backwards. A quick glance around told her where the attack had come from; a young man, apparently a wind caster, stood across from them wearing a glare on his face. This, then, was probably the nephew of the Seal that they had captive, the young man who was dedicated to protecting Hinoto. Satsuki neatly cataloged this new piece of information into her vast store of knowledge in her mind; she then casually stepped in front of Yuuto, Aoki's cell phone in her hand.

"I'll take care of this problem, Yuuto-san," she said coolly to her comrade, her eyes never leaving the young wind caster across the room. "Go ahead and leave with the Seal. I'll make sure he doesn't follow you." The ceiling above them began to rumble with the movement of cables within as Satsuki readied an attack should the young man attempt to follow Yuuto.

Having no doubt that Satsuki and BEAST could handle the situation from here, Yuuto nodded and took Aoki back over his shoulder, turning back for the exit. The building was utterly deserted, probably having been evacuated the moment BEAST's cables had first struck. Yuuto had no problems getting out the doors and escaping the notice of the police who had surrounded the building with their patrol cars and screaming sirens.

Though he was physically exhausted, Yuuto coerced his legs to cooperate, leaping high into the air and landing on the roof of the neighboring building. For a lightweight businessman, Aoki's body certainly was heavy. Adjusting the man's position over his shoulder, Yuuto continued on his way, leaping from building to building, rooftop to rooftop, until at last he came to one that held a familiar sense of home.

He could not think of anywhere else to take his hostage except his own apartment. He had tried the underground headquarters inside the subway tunnel, but that had not worked out so well. So, entering into his home by way of an open window, he made his way to the master bedroom and laid Aoki's unconscious body gently on the bed. Then, scrounging around in his chest of drawers, he returned shortly with a course piece of rope, which he used to bind the man's wrists together, tying them above his head to the bed post.

"A little crude," he said to himself with a cheerful smile as he stood back and admired his work, "but it'll have to do for now." With that he went back into the kitchen to get a glass of iced tea, returning a few minutes later to get his long red, silky robe out of his closet. Slipping into it, he sat down on a cushioned chair situated beside the bed and sipped his tea, uncertain of what he was waiting for, but resigning himself to merely flow with the current.

Subaru pulled himself to his feet, his legs bending inwardly at the force of his own weight. It was always like this, wasn't it? He had almost become adjusted to the pain now.

He pulled Nataku to his feet; his body was so limp that he couldn't tell if he was dead, knocked out, or barely clinging to consciousness.

"Thank you," Subaru said simply, pulling Nataku on to his shoulder.

Shouri nodded his head slightly before he paused. He had almost forgotten that Matsuko had requested his presence at the shrine. The best time for him to depart was now, while he wasn't in such a state that he was clinging to the man again.

His innocent personality seemed to restore itself. Whatever the alien force was that had caused him to become so bold, it faded again. He would have liked to help take the injured man to a hospital, or to wherever Subaru had in mind... but his conscience was pulling him. He had ignored Matsuko long enough.

"Daijobu." He replied. "Subaru-san.."

He paused before glancing back over his shoulder at the damage. He looked back at him. ".. If you, or any friend of yours should ever need shelter, you know that the shrine is open to you at any time. Matsuko-sama would certainly assist you, and your comrades," he paused a second as he noticed Nataku, "Or friends. Perhaps the next time I see you things will be a bit safer. I'll keep a watch out for Hokuto-sama, too."

"After all," he smiled faintly, "I did promise her a little tune on the flute, ne?"

Without saying another word, the boy turned and sprinted to the hole in the ceiling, noticing that the girl who was with the businessman had somehow managed to get up the hole in the ceiling, too. He shrugged. He wouldn't put anything past anyone he had met. He hated to leave Subaru like that, but he knew that if he didn't go, then he probably wouldn't. He was sort of clingy to people that were close to him, especially friends that were in dangerous positions.

Not glancing back at Subaru, Shouri quickly ascended through the hole, only to see Saiki, Uo, and a rather odd looking woman whom he wasn't quite familiar with. He had pulled himself out of the hole and ended up in a kneeling position, looking up at the trio with a wary look in his emerald eyes. His messy brown bangs danced a bit. Strange... he still hadn't lost the scent of spring from his shower, earlier. At least he hadn't gotten messy again.... Matsuko probably was very upset with him for tracking so much blood in.

Uo cast a glance at Shouri. Great. Yuuto had left and now they were going to have to deal with someone who would make her computer handling skills seem petty. Good thing no one else knew.

"Nani? Why fight us? It's obvious you're outnumbered, three to one." she stated, somewhat arrogantly. "Wouldn't it be better to simply withdraw?"

"N-nani?" A small sweat drop made its way down the side of Shouri's head. "I have no quarrel with anyone here and don't intend to start one!! Gomen, but there are matters that I must attend to.." His voice was a little quiet. His guilt was really what was pulling him to the shrine and it was growing by the minute.

Uo didn't flinch, but remained stern and resolute. If anyone had looked at her closely, she would have seemed... a bit more mature, and that was something fairly odd for the hyper, giggling girl who had first shown up in the DIET building. The fact that Aoki was gone only added another problem or something for her to worry about to her list.

She still hadn't found Kotori or Yuzuriha, and didn't know if they were okay. She had not confronted Fuuma. She hadn't contacted her mother who was probably worried sick... and Uo didn't want her mother to worry, because her mother had the tendency to drink heavily whenever she was worried.. and she HAD been acting strange lately. Uo still didn't know what part she played in all of it, and quite frankly doubted that she did at all. After all, while everyone else could actually DO something, she was sitting there ready to fist fight. She still hadn't gotten over her social differences, either. She wasn't as wary of people for some reason, but perhaps it was just because she hadn't had any time to think about it. Not to mention, her diary was missing, too... And to top it all off, she still hadn't gotten to buy ANY pocky!!

The brunette remained behind Saiki and off to the side a little, still giving Satsuki 'the look'. WHY did the people with the sincerely amazing technology have to be on the 'bad' side? Well, it didn't matter. Her focus was.. well, in many directions, but she focused on primarily thinking of a way to get the woman to leave... perhaps then she could think of how to find Aoki, and solve all of her other problems....

She cast a light glance at Saiki. Hai, and maybe she could make a new friend in the process... And then get some pocky.


	70. Chapter 68: Give Me Your Pain

**Chapter Sixty-Eight: Give Me Your Pain**

Saiki cursed under his breath. Yuuto was taking his uncle who knew where do to who knew WHAT with him, and Satsuki's attention turned on himself undoubtedly meant the upcoming presence of more cables. Not to mention that Shouri seemed intent on leaving, the girl standing behind him had no useful abilities at this point, and below, Hinoto was still being bombarded with BEAST's cables. It was only a matter of time until her two protectors' strength and energy wore thin.

His eyes wandered to the cell phone in Satsuki's hand, recognizing it as Aoki's. So, she controlled the cables with electronics. Then if he could manage to somehow take the cell phone from her... Wind swirled around his hands. No. If he attacked her outright, she would summon more cables before the wind could touch her.

"Hey." He glanced over his shoulder at Uo. "You said you knew some martial arts, right?" His voice dropped to a whisper. "Do you think you could get Seiichiro-san's cell phone away from her? I'll try and provide any distraction you might need."

".. I can try," Uo replied in a bit more of a quiet tone, "But I can't promise anything."

Her eyes flickered as she stared at the woman before she looked at Saiki again. Could she actually get that cell phone from her? Saiki seemed intent on it, and she didn't have much to lose, or so she reasoned.

She licked her lips and nodded again, still speaking in a whisper. "If you can get her to drop her to launch the cables in one specific direction.. maybe even get her to turn around or something, I could get it...."

*****

Shisa glanced at Yuurei's hand for a moment, trying to decide precisely what would be the best way to respond. He was not used to any other person being concerned for him, or even noticing. His spirit birds didn't count, though they often did worry about him. Perhaps if he had been in a pure spirit form instead of being confined to a physical form, a human form.. they wouldn't have worried so much.

He knew how every being felt. He could feel them. Their life force. Their energy. He knew them inside out. Who was to say that he could not relate to them? He could relate to the wisest of the wise men, to the most innocent child, or to the most insane or blood-thirsty creature that stalked through the shadows at the border of the light. While he loved life, he also hated it... and his visions were not always perfect. At times, they could grow distorted. While insanity could be vulgar and brutal, he had once reasoned, it could also be beautiful and pure.... and no one else could see through his eyes and know what he knew, or feel what he felt.

Another curse. He could never share anything with anyone.. at least not while calling it his own.

His eyes glinted for a moment before he replied, again trying to pull his emotionless mask up but couldn't quite hold it up fully. Why try? .. Yuurei already knew.

"... After a time, I suppose.. a burden becomes too heavy to bare, for anyone." His emotions formed the words a bit better than he would have wished. "For one to carry the burden and not stop completely upon their path, they must carry hope.. or be driven by another force, if not their own will. Many know so little of the path, that they would stray away, like a small child.. lost at the side, or caught in a rut."

He closed his eyes again. "People.... find a way to draw to themselves a false hope when they need it, or when the situation is truly hopeless. They cannot see past their veil of illusion. They cling to it until the last.... but I.."

His eyes fluttered open once more. The colors had shifted to an almost nebula-like sequence. Blue, green, purple, red, orange, yellow... The colors were all mixed and swirling at once, rather un real... But quite revealing.

"... I can see beyond the veil of illusion. I know the truths that humanity cannot comprehend; that they cannot find after so long a period has passed since the birth of the world. I hear their voices every night and every day. I feel their pain, their joy, their anger, their envy... and not just those around me. I bear the weight of their emotion and souls, and they are oblivious... But, I also feel the pain of the Earth.. and that alone overrides any joy, any happiness, that I might feel. I bear the weight of the Earth, and of humanity...."

He took a break as he slowed down. Indeed, perhaps he should stop. He wasn't angry. He already knew this. It somehow affected him though when he thought of it... at least so deeply.

".... And while humanity is oblivious to this, the Earth is not. It forces me to remain upon this plain. Small escapes are very few and rarely found... and unlike you, Yuurei-san," A small, sad smile found its way to his face, "I cannot open myself to another being."

That was more than true. When he had been 'juvenile', perhaps even a year's span, he had questioned possibly sharing his burden with another. Love. Hai... what was that? He felt another person's love, but it was not to him... and he did not know how to do so, as he always stayed away from humans and never took upon his physical form unless necessary. Too quickly, he reasoned, that it would not be wise of him to seek such a connection with a human being.

There was too much at risk... and would any human understand his predicament? Could anyone accept him, truly understand him fully? No. Not at all. It was an impossibility. He knew that if he should ever open his arms without restraint to any one... that he would not be able to go back on it. He could control himself only to an extent... and should he ever love anyone, his would be true.... a force unstoppable, undeniable.....

.. And that was too frightening for any human. Aside from that.. Shisa knew that he was very picky with humans, so to speak.... and what if Fate did not approve of it?

He understood his mission, his purpose, very well. Anything that could get in the way would most likely be eliminated. What if he ever did gain some mortal enemy? He would not allow harm to befall them, if he could avoid it, but the fact that it could destroy that person, or their life.. it was too much for him to accept.

How could he ask any being to share his burden?

How could he ever love?

.... There was a price.. and he firmly believed that neither himself, nor the other individual, would be willing to pay it.

Besides... who could love one who was not truly human? .... And what would they do should his purpose be fulfilled?

"This is my curse... one of many that I bear with my burden." he said, speaking almost in a whisper. "At times.. I cannot hide it. Gomen.. Yuurei-san."

He remained silent during the entire time Shisa spoke his heart. The being had probably never opened up to anyone this much in his whole frame of existence, so Yuurei merely sat and listened, never taking his hand from Shisa's shoulder.

When at last the man finished speaking and felt silent for several moments, Yuurei's eyes narrowed as he glanced down at the bed. "It seems you've just opened yourself up quite a bit...though you say it is impossible." A brief pause. "You're not the only one with a curse," he said quietly. "You think no one could understand, don't you? Shisa-san...there is no need to apologize."

Yuurei himself had not opened up much to anyone yet--not even Kakyou. He had told fragments of his soul to others, such as Kakyou and Subaru, and even Fuuma and Karen, yet nothing of terrible significance. Perhaps it was time....

Slowly he drew a deep breath and spoke in a low, hushed voice. "Fate is a cruel master, Shisa. Perhaps I don't need to even tell you the pain of my soul, since you say you can read the souls of all creatures living." A pause for another deep, slightly shakier inhale. "I was forbidden to interfere with Fate until the Final Day. However, like you, I feel the pain of those around me. Perhaps not to such an extent, but my mission was to watch the fated Dragons of Heaven and Earth from the earliest moments of their lives, all the way through to the end. I am destined to watch them fight and die, disallowed to do anything. But I denied my Fate, and for it I paid the price. I lost the one I loved most, and in accordance to Destiny's decree, I should have died at the hands of the Kamui of Earth."

There he stopped, unsure of what else he could say. Perhaps he should not have spoken at all. But it was too late to take back his words. More than anything, he wanted to understand more fully what this being suffered. The pain of the Earth itself...surely it was far more tremendous than the suffering of the Angels and Seals that Yuurei had grown up with.

Gradually, ever so slowly--almost as if on a whim, yet drawn by something much deeper that he could not quite define--Yuurei let himself lean forward, wrapping his arms around Shisa's slender yet virile shoulders, locking the man's back close against his stalwart abdomen. Languidly he closed his eyes, resting his chin in the crook of Shisa's neck. It was not that he felt so totally comfortable with touching someone so easily--it was more the intent to fill that person's need that surpassed his own fears and drew him closer and more intimate with the ones he cared about. It was what he had been deprived of as he had watched the Dragons grow and suffer.

"Let me feel your pain...," he heard himself whisper, though his voice sounded far away. With every ounce of concentration, he willed his essence to intertwine with Shisa's aura, using soft mental enchantments to work a layer of sorcery into the attempt.

And when it happened, he nearly choked. Screaming. He heard screaming. Everywhere. But not human screaming, and not even that of dying animals. Was this...the Earth itself? Horrible...he could feel it...crying out....

"Oh...God...." But he did not let go. He refused to back away. Forcibly allowing the screams to sink into the very core of his being. Stifling a shudder as he took a hard swallow, he opened his eyes to stare into the ever placid profile of the magnificent being called Shisa. He knew he did not completely realize the full extent of the weight on the man's shoulders, and he would not fool himself into believing that. But instead of pushing away in horror, he held himself close and murmured softly, "...Help me understand more...."

*****

Fuuma walked down the street with Hokuto in his arms. He noticed the attention he was getting from the people they passed, mostly of the female persuasion. He eyed them from over his glasses...They were jealous of Hokuto? Possibly...He never understood the female gender despite having a sister. This was the truth behind being beyond a mere human and at the age of a high school student.

Hokuto was contemplating if she was strong enough to walk for herself. All the attention they were getting was starting to get on her nerves. After being invisible, not to mention dead, for so long, she wasn't used to it. "Uhm... Fuuma-san, could I try standing on my own?"

"Aren't you too weak?" Fuuma eyed her with some concern.

She looked down, fiddling with the edge of her shirt. "I don't know. I'd like to try."

Fuuma set her down to her feet gently, holding her loosely to see if she could stand without risking in dropping her. It was amusing how much care Fuuma spent with this one.

Hokuto tried standing, still supporting herself on Fuuma. It worked fairly well. Letting go of him, she stood on her own for several seconds then stumbled and grabbed hold of him again. Giving him a lop- sided grin, she cursed herself for being so weak. "I guess not...

Fuuma smiled at her holding him, placing a arm around her. He leaned down to her ear. "I'm sure your brother doesn't want me to deliver his sister damaged so I best be careful with you."

Hokuto actually though Subaru would mind her being delivered by Fuuma altogether, but decided upon saying anything on that matter. Instead, she smiled slightly at him, wondering how on earth this person could be the leading Chi no Ryu. He wasn't anything like she would have expected him to be. In fact, he was the complete opposite of everything she had ever thought the Chi no Ryu's Kamui would be like. "Thank you."

Fuuma smiled and kissed her on the cheek. He peered into her eyes, trying to find her wish.

Hokuto's eyes widened and she blushed, looking down to hide it. Damn it. She had never been this self-conscious before. Around anyone. "So... uhm... Subaru. Where do we go?"

Fuuma laid his head on her shoulder. "I'm not sure...I only vaguely sense his life force." As he spoke the breath blew lightly across her ear.

Hokuto's breath caught in her throat. If Subaru's life force was so weak, wouldn't that mean he was hurt? Or even possibly dying? She looked wildly up in Fuuma's face, desperation writing plainly across her own.

Fuuma eyed her calmly. "I'm not sure what state he is in...But I'm afraid I can't do anything at the moment." He couldn't see her wish...strange. Did she have one? No she had to have a wish...a girl such as this was bound to have countless wishes and Fuuma could see none of them. She was even more appealing now.

"But...." Tears were welling up in her eyes again and she blinked them away. Damn it. She was so weak. She couldn't stand it. Everyone had taken care of her since being resurrected. Subaru, Shouri, Fuuma, Mayouko, Yuurei, Kakyou, even Seishirou had watched her. She wasn't able to do anything for anyone right now. And she was beginning to hate herself for it. "Will we not be able to find him?"

"We will find him... but it might not be as quick as you like. I promise we will." Fuuma was terribly nice at the moment...maybe it was to calm her down. He still knew the chance that Subaru would try to kill him and the chance that in this attempt Fuuma would have no choice but to kill him. This was a reality that he was ready to accept but wouldn't be the optimum one. He leaned down and kissed her tears, staring at her with a smile. "You're finally crying? Hmm, any normal girl probably would've cried awhile ago...."

Hokuto blushed a deep red and quickly looked down, her eyes still blurry. She didn't know what to say. Fuuma was being so kind, but his tongue on her face confused her. She suddenly realized what he was doing and her eyes widened. Flirting? With her? It was actually so obvious she could kill herself for not noticing it before. She had always noticed when someone flirted with her. Always. She had had a radar for these things.

Then why not now? Was she so absorbed by her own misery that she was oblivious to everything around her? Oh my God, was she becoming as oblivious as Subaru had been when he was 16? The thought freaked her slightly.

She looked back up at Fuuma and gave him a smile. "Thank you for caring."

Fuuma smiled at her just as a low rumble erupted from the sky and rain spilled down hard as if just dumped out of a bucket on them. He looked up bewildered and laughed nervously. " I forgot the Umbrella too..." His hair began to look less spiky as it drooped down, his glasses speckled with small droplets of water. "So what now..."

Hokuto's now longer-than-to-her-chin-again hair was indeed sticking to her face due to the raindrops. She eyed her black pants and frilly shirt in dismay. They were tattered and dirty, having been through a lot since her resurrection. And now also rain. "Shelter?"

Fuuma lifted her up and ran toward covered walkway. He smiled at her as he set her down beside him. " This good?" He looked down at his shirt and sighed. "Well I now look like a call boy...."

Hokuto nodded, looking up at the roof above them. Her gaze wandered down back to him and his now very wet, very tight shirt and blushed deeply. She fumbled and looked away from him, casting stolen glances as he commented on looking like a call boy. "Well, ehm... Perhaps, a little?" She tried, sounding like a complete ass.

"Umm, I could take off my shirt...Then I would look like a martial artist or something." He laughed nervously. He noted her attempt to sound rude....He found it amusing if not cute. "You are quite interesting you know that?"

Hokuto found herself staring and quickly averted her gaze. "I think we would attract even more attention if you took off your shirt." She muttered, glancing at him again.

Damn it. This was getting embarrassing. She was rather close to him. Actually, she was pressed against him still not being able to stand completely on her own and all she felt like doing was relax against his chest, but she felt like she would be betraying Subaru if she relaxed even for a second.

Interesting? She wondered. "How so?"

Fuuma smiled at her discomfort....no doubt being true to her brother. "Because you aren't like anyone else...You're special."

Hokuto smiled slightly, the only genuine smile she had smiled since being in Kakyou's dreamscape. That seemed so long ago now. "What kind of special?" She prodded.

"When I look in your eyes...I can't see what I see with everyone else."

Hokuto didn't understand. "What is it that you can't see?"

"Your wish..." Fuuma looked into her eyes. "It is strange....I have even seen Seishirou's inner most desire and yet with you I just see those beautiful eyes of yours." He turned back to the rain. "That is why you intrigue me right now....You also are remarkably strong despite the circumstances."

*****

Kotori was gone the moment that the door opened to let Fuuma inside. It wasn't her place to know anything more. She didn't want to know anymore. And she really didn't want to see Fuuma face-to-face.

She ran off at a slow pace, trying to find her way back to her own home. She wasn't acquainted with the area that Yuzuriha lived in, and so, it was a lot of mere guessing that was going to return her to her living quarters. Not that she was keen on living there anymore.

Rounding the corner, she came across the top of the shrine. A small smile crept across her lips. "Almost there. Father, I'm going to make sure you get the respect you deserve."

The way she spoke it, it seemed as if Kotori believed that her father really was dead; that she actually believed something that her brother had told her. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and slowed to a walking pace in order to catch her breath as she approached the shrine.

*****

Strong? She was strong? She almost snorted, finding it absurd. "I'm not strong. I'm weak. Ever since being resurrected, all I've done is depend on people. It's annoying the hell out of me. I don't want to be a nuisance."

"You're not...I'm a man who could kill you if I wanted. If I found you the least bit annoying or bothersome....Tell me if you are such, why haven't I?" Fuuma didn't look at her, he just stared at the black sky.

Hokuto shrugged. "That's your opinion." She looked down, kicking at a stone. "I just want to be like I was."

"Then why not be? " Fuuma eyed her again. "You are the master of yourself...It is up to you to choose how you react to Destiny."

"I'm not 16 years old anymore." Hokuto stated. "I'm actually 25 and I've been dead for the past 9. I can't just go back to the way I used to act. I can't tease Subaru for the same things. He has gone through so much pain for me that he should have never experienced in the first place. I can't take that back. I can't act like it's never happened. I can't the person I was." She huffed her shoulders, the cold water beginning to trace down her spine.

Fuuma eyes filled with darkness. "You can never return to the past but there is no reason you can't smile you're brother is alive...For now. You can never have those years back...but you can at least make do with the time you have. Seishirou knows why I'm so eager to enjoy humanity...Because tomorrow it might not be there....That day is nearing Hokuto." Fuuma's expression went solemn. "You don't have much time left."

She almost smiled. Almost. He was so naive. Sure, he was the Chi no Ryu's Kamui, but he was not a dream gazer. He could not know the future like the yume-mi and the original Kamui was still alive. She didn't tell him this of course. "We'll see."

Fuuma eyes suddenly widened, ignoring her commentary. A dark grin came to his face, suddenly pulling her into the rain. "Come on!"

Hokuto was pulled out into the rain again and practically dragged along the wet street. "Fuuma?" She asked questioningly.

Fuuma laughed childishly. He was again his cheerful self. He near the Diet Building and suddenly stopped at light post....spotting two figures. One of them Subaru....the life force was undoubtedly his but the other....A Dragon of earth?

Hmm, Interesting.

*****

Okita kneeled beside his flower bed. Dead too...Figured. He was alone now. He got to his feet and walked toward the sliding door of his house. Fuuma had left for awhile....so had he to reflect on the Dragons of Heaven....The allies of that monster....They would pay too...just like Yuurei paid.

The most obvious place was quite often, the last place Kaori looked. So when she approached Okita's home, she didn't expect that Okita would be there.

Okita eyed Kaori from the corner of his eye...Soon she too would be dead.

"OKITA!" She shouted, capturing him in her embrace. "Okita, where did you go!?" Kaori tried to hide her concern with a pout.

"Kaori...Get away from me...." Okita dark blue bangs hid his face...The black trench coat draped over his body.

Kaori frowned. "What's your problem?"

"...Kaori...I'm not safe to be around anymore...I don't want to kill you but.." Okita turned suddenly and his cold eyes met hers. "In a perfect world...If I had a choice...It would be different now...." He moved away from her.

"I would be a Dragon of Heaven and The world would be saved...or maybe I never would've had this stupid power and be a normal kid....and wouldn't know that there isn't much time left. That humanity's reign on this planet is about to end."

"What are you talking about, baka!?" Kaori stuck out her lower lip. "It isn't funny."

"I'm not joking Kaori...Destiny has chosen that I must fight this war...and I must aid in the destruction of the world." He looked her in the eye, there was no sign of the innocent brat Kaori always knew.

"Okita..."

"Kaori.." The wind picked up and he looked toward the shadow. "This is goodbye..."

"But...why, Okita?" Kaori bit her lip, and reached out for him, hesitating.

"Because if we meet again I'll kill you...Kaori you're stubborn. Do you understand me? "

Kaori shook her head. "No, what are you talking about, Okita?" She forced a laugh; "Stop being stupid."

Okita eyed Kaori. "I'm now a Dragon of Earth...and my goal is to give the world rebirth." He stared at her coldly. "Leave now...Don't make me."

"No!" Kaori said stubbornly. "Not until I know what you are talking about!"

Okita snapped his finger, sending the sound wave to toss Kaori back. "I SAID LEAVE!!"

Kaori flew into the wall of her house, but she didn't let that deter her. In a feeble attempt to cover her ears, she slowly approached Okita. "No."

Okita eyes watered. "Kaori-chan...please."

"No," she said firmly.

Okita eyes narrowed and he snapped his fingers again, attempting to push her back.

Kaori's body left an imprint in the side of the house this time. But still, she prevailed, pulling her tired body away from the indent. "Okita-kun..."

Okita turned away into the shadow. "Don't follow..."

*****

Warmth...

He felt the Watcher's arms around him. He felt the closeness of the two as the gap deteriorated and the man rested his head upon his shoulder. Comfort was something foreign to him, but he understood it a bit better coming from the Watcher. Why? He didn't know. Perhaps it was just because they both held some similarities.

Shisa's eyes closed momentarily. He did not pry into Yuurei's being as he heard him speak. He listened to him, not daring to interrupt... and because he listened, he could not prevent what followed.

".. Iie..."

By the time he had realized what had been done, it was too late. Yuurei had 'connected' with him, to say the least... but that actually frightened Shisa to a degree. He had never expected him to do that... and the instant that he realized it, he drew back a bit of the force, confining it within himself as he always had to do to keep from screaming.

It was a natural act, the pulling back of the screams and such. Like the small 'barrier' he sometimes used to hold himself together. It was a way of helping him focus more on other things.. and while the screams had increased during the past hour or so for various reasons, he managed to at least dampen the screams in the Watcher's head.. .but for some reason, he did not break the link right away.

The sound of choking reached his ears. He wanted to panic, but did not. He would not let Yuurei know that he was holding back a great deal from him. He had made up his mind. He would cut off the link. He would not allow this man to suffer. Why did he want to suffer? Had Shisa not said that it was more than a man could bare? Had he not said that he would never share his pain with another? .. For a moment, his thoughts played roughly... and he realized it. He had been right. Humans... other beings.. they couldn't handle the pain that he endured..

And he could not allow one to try. He drew back the force a bit more, pulling it into himself. His body shook wildly as he took in what could be described as a torrent. He wasn't used to pulling in so much subconsciously.... but he did it anyways. Still, he would not relinquish the link.... perhaps Yuurei could make it.

No. False hope was trying to burrow into Shisa's mind.. and plant its deadly seed. He wouldn't allow it. Never. Even if Yuurei was refusing to release..

And just as he was about to shut the link, Yuurei's embrace... it grew tighter.

The Guardian opened his eyes. A deeper blue had filled them, though the colors were still dancing like wildfire. He stared into the eyes of the Watcher with a hint of concern managing to break through... And the words that he heard, they echoed in his ears. Those words...

".. Yuurei-san.." Shisa's voice was quavering again, and he found no more words within himself.

Was this creature... asking to understand?

..Impossible...

No human..

Not one....

Could he have been wrong? Was there more to humanity..?

... Perhaps.. and if not, there was more to Yuurei.

After all.. had humans not come to surprise him at the most awkward moments?

After a minute, the Guardian gave a slight nod. Instead of holding back, he gradually released. Bit by bit, piece by piece, the pain he held back escaped. It was like a river upon the night of a great storm where half of the forest overlapped its other half in ruin and a flood covered the tree tops.

Still, he watched the man. He knew that he could never put the full weight on another, and refused to. What he was releasing- it was only a small part of what he felt. He was... well, afraid to let too much on him. The force itself, he believed, could rip one to shreds... well.. all but him, at the least, but he belonged to the Earth, did he not?

He was not sure what to think. True, it had been his wish to share his burden with another.. and he knew that he could never put even half of its weight on another..... but he also knew that Yuurei had a lover.. and it was not his place to step between the two. But what words he might have said.. were held back.

For a moment, his soul nearly 'unlocked'.

For a moment, he almost felt 'them' spread.

For a moment... he felt as though he really could rely on someone.. Perhaps even relieved...

Just one moment, it seemed like false hope was no what was planting a seed in him....

.... What was then?

.. What was this creature doing to him?

.. Whatever it was, he honestly hoped that it would never stop. What words he might've found...

There were none. He could not find words, but perhaps what he felt.. that alone was what he needed to understand. Was his heart.. responding?

The tension slowly grew greater. Yuurei gasped for air as his lungs seemed to suddenly shrink, and the shrill screaming of the Earth swelled in his mind, consuming his entire being. But...there was something else. Amidst the pain and suffering of this polluted, corrupted planet, Yuurei sensed another type of agony. It was...stronger, in a sense, though much quieter. Suppressed. Harder to detect. But it was there. Was this...Shisa's pain? The pain of a lonely being, suffering and enduring all of this responsibility on his shoulders, in complete solidarity. Yuurei had never thought anyone else knew what it was like to bear such a burden, yet here was a being who lived with ten times as much pain as Yuurei had experienced. So, adjusting his mind to hold in the screams to a point where his mind did not feel like it was going to immediately explode, Yuurei wrapped his arms more securely around the man and whispered in a forcibly calm voice, "Stop holding back. Give me your pain."

Inwardly, Shisa had prayed that Yuurei would not ask that of him. He could have asked anything else of him, and he would have granted it, perhaps gladly...but that.... "It will tear you apart." He forced himself to remain as stern and resolute as possible. "I...can't allow that."

The fact that he was still slowly releasing was worrying him. He was worried that he would not be able to stop himself. He was worried that Yuurei couldn't handle it...or that Shisa would not be able to pull it back. Had the Watcher not endured enough in the past few days as it was? He did not want to give him the full extent. And inwardly, he knew that he really couldn't without perhaps even breaking his shell momentarily.... For to fully release, or at least get to the breaking point, would be at least to pull forth his pain and misery from the years past.... After all, pain and time were foreign to each other.

It was true, Yuurei had gone through much in the recent days. But that was behind him already. He would not allow himself to think of Fuuma or Seishirou or Subaru...or even Kakyou. Not right now. And despite the specter's words, Yuurei felt the being's energy continue to increase, releasing into his body and raising the volume of the Earth's screams in his mind once more. It sent a shudder to the very core of his soul. "No one should have to bear such pain alone," he mumbled, straining not to gasp as the agony threatened to tear what remained of his sanity to shreds. "I know all too well the suffering brought about by the pains of others. I couldn't do anything for them. I could only watch." He forced his inhalations to come slowly and steadily. "Now that I have the power to help someone I care about...you cannot ask me to merely sit back and observe the pain in your eyes."

How was he to respond to such words? Perhaps his lack of social skills was returning to haunt him. He never had been good with words. He didn't want to push Yuurei away. Yuurei said that he cared about him... and that was a first. A thought occurred in his mind. What if Fate decreed that this was not to be? Would Fate try to snatch Yuurei from him? .. No! He felt himself shudder at the transfer as he looked at the other man, not hiding the concern in his eyes as he forced his emotions to speak in a stern, though caring voice.

"...Iie...I don't ask you to sit back and watch; that alone is painful. But I ask you this, how much pain would be born should I lose you?"

He felt a single black strand fall from its place and dance in front of his eyes. The pain was escaping still...and even though he still suffered, the relief and that indescribable feeling, remained with him....

Staring behind the slightly cracked door, the small hard-headed child stood staring in silence. It was the younger boy, the one with the messy brown hair who was obscenely short. He hadn't meant to stop and stare...and he wasn't quite sure how long he had been there. But when he had seen what was going on, he hadn't been ABLE to move. _'Perhaps this is why Matsuko-sama refuses to allow us to watch the television set...or get one,'_ he had thought after a minute, but continued to stare. This was...interesting, to say the least. What WERE those two doing?

Bouygo had grown impatient. The red head, whose red hair outshined fireworks, stalked down the hallway. He had poked at the younger boy until his finger was sore, and not once looked up. But when he did, he too was caught in the web. His fierce orange eyes widened severely. "...S-shimatta...."

Both boys stared intently, wondering what was happening. What would happen next! They felt giddy inside.... Ohhhohoho! If only Matsuko knew! The boys licked their lips, whispering between themselves...until Kouri came. The little girl grabbed them by the back of their hakama and dragged them out.

"...Men," she muttered as she yanked them both. What a sight! A small girl, no taller than four feet dragging two boys that would soon be 5'11" down the hallway. _'...Perhaps I'll check on the two later,'_ Kouri thought with a sly grin.

"Aw...you always ruin our fun!" Bouygo whined.

"...Weasels," she murmured.

Through the increasing pressure on his lungs and temples, Yuurei somehow managed a smirk as he nuzzled his chin closer to Shisa's neck. "Lose me? I was under the impression you only cared about the boy...Shouri." But he quickly ceased his sharp words as he opened his eyes lazily to see the pain had grown more acute in the man's lovely features. Raising the hand nearest to Shisa's face, he cupped the being's jaw and gave a reassuring smile. In a softer, gentler voice, he whispered, "You're not going to lose me. I'm stronger than I look, and I think even you have underestimated my abilities. I'll take everything you can give me. I'm quite aware of my own limits."

To tell the truth, he was not quite as sure as he let on. He only knew that he wanted Shisa not to feel alone. If the pain got to be too much, he resolutely decided that he would break away. Shisa had saved his life. He was not going to throw it away just to prove a point. But he did care. Perhaps that was his weakness. Languidly he closed his eyes again, relaxing his mind to take more easily the pressure that the specter dealt him. "I'm not going anywhere."

Perhaps he should have told Yuurei the full story about why he watched over the boy so closely. Even though Yuurei was the Watcher, he knew that Fate didn't always tell its secrets.... After all, not even Shouri knew, yet. Anyone could guess that the boy would eventually end up growing too involved to escape the End of the World, but could they guess why? He closed his eyes and relaxed himself a bit. He had tightened up so much that it was threatening him....

With the reassuring words born into his mind, he put faith into them. Slowly, he began to break away his barrier, exposing more horrors. In Shisa's own mind, he envisioned a river of red, blue, black, and a nightshade purplish color. The shaded colors...and the others...they all represented something, though what was not always clear. In this river of color ran the natural assistants of humanity: jealousy, hate, anger, selfishness, death, and all of their accomplices. The light died and the pain increased...but so did that feeling within Shisa.

Again, he felt as though 'they' would spread. He felt as though he were nearing the breaking point. And he was, though he did not know it. The energies were leaving him rapidly, though only more came.... He was almost to that point....

A light gasp escaped him as he came to this realization, and he slowed it again. Indeed...he had to be careful! That feeling was getting stronger...and because of the link, Shisa was not shielded entirely, but took the pain as he would have had he been shielded....

Something was pulsating within Shisa, and as the moments passed, Yuurei began to realize what it was. The images of the darkly colored rivers were surprisingly soothing to him; darkness in general had always been a comfort to his hidden soul. So he relished in the power that now overcame him. Instead of pain, as the energy increased, he felt great relief. He breathed deeply and began to relax more naturally now. And that was when and how he felt it. The bulging inside Shisa's very aura. And only when his mind had partially cleared did he begin to fully understand. "It's all right," he murmured reassuringly. "You can let yourself go. Show me your true form. I know you're not human. I'm not afraid...." And this much was true.

He hadn't tried to hide it. He had known that Yuurei knew...and this connection, well...it was only a confirmation. He couldn't lie to him and say that it was nothing...no....

And a part of him longed to spread 'them'. He wanted to. He HAD wanted to for such a long time, but had been restrained. And now...this seemed like such a perfect time. Yuurei wouldn't take no for an answer, he knew. While a part of him hesitated, what safer place could he do this?

Suddenly, and without warning, Shisa's body began to shake wildly. A strange darkness suddenly enveloped the room with the force that could suffocate a child easily. The darkness seemed suddenly to come together, as if drawn by some odd force. It came together and dispersed, transforming into immediate light as it left in all directions, shooting like lasers randomly. The light was too bright for any creature to see through, but on the border, the darkness remained. The spirits in the room seemed to be drawn toward the dispersing light...and then it cleared.

Where Shisa had once been, there was nothing. He had to draw away from Yuurei for just a moment in order to keep from worrying that the link might create a side effect, but he had remained where he was. His appearance had shifted to the point that one might never had recognized him.... Well, perhaps not that much.

The being that now was embraced by Yuurei...he was absolutely not of this world. He had held a ghost appearance for a moment, but it slowly melted into a physical form. The first thing noticeable was the apparel. It was strange to the eye. He wore a cloak that covered him to a degree with a large jewel in the center. It was a better cloak-- pure and silky, a fabric that could comfort anyone and silence any complaints.

As the light cleared, it was revealed the specifics of the dramatic change. This figure looked beyond abnormal. The skin was fair and smooth, perfect in every way possible and lighter than even snow, perhaps. The long, ravenous strands were far longer and much more silky, and were probably normally held back in a low ponytail as most other old world countries might have, but at the moment it was free and flowing, dancing in every direction. The creature's eyes were a mixture of every color, swirling like a mist and reflecting the very essence of the being. No creature could have been more perfect, more composed...and yet this being.... It was too clear that he was not human. His ears were slightly pointed, and while the change might not have been much in the eyes of an ignorant, it was clear precisely why Shisa was so hesitant to release...or it would be.

A light tapping was beneath his cloak, and suddenly it flew off, though it certainly did not push Yuurei away. Hidden beneath the silky black cloak were two large, somewhat angelic wings. The wings were black and white, the colors layered unevenly. The length was uncertain, but it was clear precisely what he had meant when referring to 'they' wanted to spread. They spread low as to not push Yuurei away, a gust of feathers trailing off and making a break for the window. Stars could have danced in them....

And he now looked at Yuurei, the celestial being clearly much different. His bangs were dipped in gold and silver, uneven as his wings were. And beneath his hooded cloak he had worn another cloak, more fitting for one with wings that shrouded him. And so he looked at Yuurei, waiting silently for a response...praying that he had not frightened him. A small smile graced his lips....

Eyes wide in utter astonishment, Yuurei stared into the eyes of the mystical spirit in his arms. The warmth of the light and brilliant flashes of shifting light and darkness had not affected him greatly. The more wondrous shock came from what now knelt in his arms. He was holding an angel. The small smile that alighted in Shisa's alien eyes sparked a similar reaction in Yuurei, and he returned the gesture. He was not afraid, but completely in awe of the majesty before him. How could such a magnificent being be touched or confined? And yet he was holding him so close, breathing in the foreign scent of Glory itself.

As if to prove that he had not been rendered terrified from the sudden event, Yuurei lifted one hand and let it brush the flank of one of the fine, feathery wings. So soft...so beautiful. His dark crimson eyes filled with wonder as his hand traced along the ridge of what should have been bone, moving up along Shisa's back until his fingers came to rest along the being's snowy cheek. When he felt that he could finally speak, he parted his lips and almost had to choke out the words. "You are...beautiful."

For a moment, the celestial being said nothing. Angel, he was not.. though his form was what most people would believe was an angel. It was not his fault that he had been born as such a spirit. After all, he was one of the few that could muster the strength to make the jump and still have energy. Perhaps it was the fact that the spirits in the room also aided him. His eyes glinted slightly. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," he replied with a faint smile.

In actuality, Shisa had always felt like a small rook with his odd colored wings. Black and white...how odd. Perhaps it was symbolic...but his wings had never been bright.. and black was not often a good color. He never had really been much of a social creature, though. So it must have been symbolic. And he did the one thing that he would have never done.

Lifting a hand, he placed it over Yuurei's own upon his cheek. Yuurei had done more for him than anyone, proving that humanity was capable of more than he thought...and that someone did actually care. While deep inside of him, the fact that he knew that horrible things could result from his being close, he also knew that he had already opened his heart just enough, and in doing so, he had already broken the lock. Even if it would take time for him to fully trust Yuurei, to understand 'love'...who was he to be restrained by time?


	71. Chapter 69: Lingering Decisions

**Chapter Sixty-Nine: Lingering Decisions**

Satsuki coolly watched the two people before her, whispering in undertones. Clearly, they were planning some sort of strategy against her. The computer girl smiled to herself in amusement, mildly curious as to what kind of plan they would come up with that could possibly work against her. She eyed her two opponents, her gaze settling on the girl. This girl apparently had no special powers to speak of; as long as Satsuki kept an eye on her, she doubted that the girl would give her much trouble. Yes... Satsuki nodded to herself, an idea forming in her mind. First she'd have to get the girl out of the way; then she could focus on fighting the boy.

"I apologize, but I'm afraid I'll have to interrupt your little chat over there," Satsuki called out to her two opponents over the rumbling noises of the cables in the surrounding walls of the room. "As I have other things that I need to attend to, I won't be able to stick around for long. So let's finish this up, shall we?"

Without waiting for an answer, Satsuki pressed an attack code into the phone. Another barrage of cables exploded from the floor and shot towards her two opponents, headed directly towards the girl.

Saiki's attention returned to Satsuki, catching her last few words before her hand moved to summon more cables to attack. The floor beneath them rumbled and his eyes widened. It looked as if they wouldn't have any time to implement their plan. Cables shot up through the floor, aimed at Uo.

"Get out of the way!" Saiki turned, shoving Uo aside with one hand while aiming a blast of swirling wind at the oncoming cables. Focusing his full attention on keeping the cables at bay, realization hit him.

"Here's the chance you wanted!" It no longer mattered if Satsuki could hear him, so long as Uo did. "Go for it!"

Uo didn't think twice about going after the phone now. Satsuki wasn't that far away and before she knew it, she had started to run in the cyber girl's direction, aiming for the phone.

She focused on the spot she would have to put her foot to pull of what she was about to do. Gritting her teeth together, her left foot fell short of the spot, but Uo jumped into it anyway and swirled around, managing the flying kick and her right foot connected with Satsuki's arm, sending the cell phone scattering across the floor.

Uo stumbled after the phone, grabbed it and whooped at her success. "Saiki-san! Let's get the hell away from here and go after Aoki-san!"  


* * *

  
*****

Aoki stirred a bit, and woke up. He tried to get up, but found himself tied to a bed.

"I see you're finally awake," Yuuto said cheerfully, still sitting in his chair beside the bed, sipping his tea.

Aoki looked over at Yuuto. "Tea time again so soon? So where's my cup?"

Yuuto laughed. "I'd give you a cup, but your hands seem to be a bit preoccupied at the moment," he replied, nodding to the place along the bed rail at the head where Aoki's wrists had been bound.

"Well, yeah, I had noticed that, but there are things known as straws," Aoki replied. He tried to sit up again. "Say, mind loosening these a bit? I don't think I can feel my hands and feet."

Yuuto tilted his head with a sharp gleam in his eyes. "Oh, but I can't risk you attacking me here, now, can I?"

"You do know I can attack you even if I'm not tied down, don't you?" Aoki replied.

"You can certainly try," Yuuto shrugged. "But I doubt you'd have  
very much success. You are in my apartment, after all, and I have a  
pretty big advantage over you at the moment."

Aoki nodded. "I see...I do say, you need to redecorate around here a bit. I'm sure my wife would love to help you out around here a bit with that," he said.

Again Yuuto chuckled, this time setting his tea down on the nightstand and coming to sit on the bedside at Aoki's side. "Obviously you haven't seen the kitchen yet," he said pleasantly. "I rather like what I've done with the place."

"So why bring me to your lovely little bachelor pad? I sure don't look like any kind of young lady you would bring home every night," Aoki said, looking at Yuuto.

Tapping his chin thoughtfully, Yuuto nodded and smiled back down at Aoki. "No, but you are my enemy by decree of this Fate thing, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you anyway. But just ending your life so quickly seemed so pointless and bland. I thought I'd...try to make it a little more fun." A devious simper flashed through his deep cerulean eyes.

Aoki looked at Yuuto. "The old 'torture the spy so you give him enough time to escape certain death' ploy, I take it?" he asked.

Yuuto grinned and shrugged again. "I don't know about escaping," he began, "but the torture part sounds good to me." Holding out a hand, he summoned a stream of water from the bathroom across the hall to his grasp, letting it form a strand and take physical shape, transforming into a firm leather whip.

"What is it with you whips? Learn some things from the girls you bring home at night?" Aoki asked.

"No," Yuuto mused slowly, "but I assume they learned a few things." He smiled cheerfully and stood up, stretching a bit as he rolled back his shoulders. "Oh, and do try not to scream too loud. I don't want to wake the neighbors."

Aoki kept his mouth shut, knowing that whatever he said would almost certainly have a very good comeback from Yuuto that he wanted to avoid.

Grinning at this small victory as Aoki kept silent, Yuuto held back the whip and let it snap forward, making a sharp cracking sound as it struck Aoki's bare abdomen, leaving a long, dark, bloody laceration.

Aoki flinched a bit and grimaced some.

"Oh, come, now," Yuuto chuckled as he whipped Aoki's stomach again, standing back to give himself more room. "I didn't say you had to refrain from screaming altogether."

Aoki spat in Yuuto's face. "I'll scream if I want to."

Wiping the saliva from his cheek with a soft, amused chortle, Yuuto stepped forward and rotated the hilt of the whip in his hand. "I think you misunderstand, my friend," he said in a deceptively amiable tone. With that he jabbed the hilt downward, driving the butt end forcefully into Aoki's groin. In the same calm voice, he added, "You'll scream when I tell you to scream."

Aoki grimaced and bit his own tongue very hard to keep from screaming out in pain.

Leaning down farther, Yuuto grasped Aoki's jaw with his free hand and smiled almost sympathetically, seeing the blood that leaked from the man's tongue. "You're a lot more stubborn than you look," he commented in an impartial tone.

Aoki spat at Yuuto again, this time with blood and spittle coming out. "I'm not going to bow to you."

Stepping back and wiping away the spit again, smearing the blood across his cheek, Yuuto shrugged. "We'll see." And he proceeded to strike Aoki with the leather whip numerous times, traversing up and down his body, leaving streaks across his sinewy chest and abdomen and rendering his business slacks to shreds.

Aoki grimaced and flinched a bunch, but did not yell. Yuuto could tell though that he was going to give up soon.

Yuuto could indeed see the pain in Aoki's eyes, but he held back suddenly, as though just struck by a bout of inspiration. Leaning over the man again, Yuuto smiled kindly down at him. "You're strong, Aoki-san," he complimented. "But I guess I should've expected no less from one of the Seven Seals. Though perhaps...you might bend under a different sort of torture." His fingers flexed and loosened, traveling back down Aoki's body until his hand rested between the man's legs. He gave the bulge there a firm squeeze that almost seemed affectionate.

Aoki looked at Yuuto strangely. "I don't swing that way, you freak...."

Yuuto shrugged affably. "Really, neither do I. But I'm willing to try anything once." His grin darkened. "And since you technically divorced your wife, it shouldn't be a problem." His grip tightened.

Aoki growled a bit.

Yuuto smiled a bit cunningly, twisting Aoki's groin with a sudden sharp movement. "Now, now, it's really not polite to growl."

Aoki flinched some more, and a very faint moan escaped his lips.

With a nod of satisfaction, Yuuto pushed himself up and over Aoki's body, lowering his head to whisper against the man's ear, "Yes, it seems this method is quite the more effective...." He gave Aoki's sweaty neck a short lick.

Aoki flinched slightly at Yuuto's touch. "G-get off of me...."

Yuuto's hand worked more tenderly now to massage Aoki's groin. "Would you rather bleed?" he murmured softly, licking more lavishly over Aoki's throat.

"I'd rather die...," Aoki said.

Yuuto nodded. "And that's precisely why I'm doing this first." He grinned and lifted his head to gaze down at Aoki's nervous features. "Of course, you will end up dying anyway. So, in a way, you'll be getting what you want."

"You bastard...," Aoki said, trying to break free of his bonds.

"You're really hurting my feelings," Yuuto said placidly, still using his never-changing pleasant voice. "You should open up to me more...." His hand maneuvered to the hem of Aoki's tattered slacks and crept inside, his fingers grasping the warm skin of Aoki's hardening manhood. He chuckled. "Oh, my, someone's getting excited..."

Aoki shivered a bit as he felt Yuuto's hand on his cock. "Just kill me now...."

"Be patient," Yuuto laughed merrily, massaging the man more firmly. "I'll get to that in time."

Aoki sighed. "Fine...."

At this Yuuto could not hold back his hearty laughter. "That's an odd reaction," he commented, pushing himself up again. "Perhaps I should make it more painful for you." Whip still in his other hand, he struck it precariously across Aoki's chest.

Aoki flinched a bit, a small yelp coming out.

Yuuto smiled and let the whip fall to the floor, returning to a puddle of water. "I think that should do it." Without too much trouble, he proceeded to tear away the remainder of Aoki's slacks, sitting back afterward to admire the businessman's exposed, naked body.

Yuuto could see Aoki's cock stand up as it was released from it's prison.

Extending an arm, Yuuto brushed his index finger up and down the length of Aoki's erection. "You're pretty good-looking under all those bland business clothes," he said with a sly smile.

Aoki just lied there, looking indignant, though he shivered some at the touch, his cock twitching with anticipation.

Humiliation was a wondrous instrument of torture. Yuuto smirked and stroked Aoki's member a little more firmly. "This place likes to be touched by me...though you don't want to admit it." Bending down on his hands and knees, he gave the hardened length a long, savory lick.

Aoki shuttered some, a bit of pre-cum leaking out the tip of his cock.

Licking the juices off the head of the man's swollen cock, Yuuto smiled almost casually and backed away. "Well?" he said in a guileful tone. "Do you want me to finish it?"

"Quickly...," Aoki muttered under his breath.

Satisfied with that answer, Yuuto returned to Aoki's crotch and took more of the man's length into his mouth, suckling at it lethargically.

Aoki moaned as he felt Yuuto's mouth on his cock. He closed his eyes tightly so as to not look.

Kneading the man's balls with the palm of one hand, Yuuto licked up and down the length of Aoki's hard cock, eventually taking it deeply into his mouth, teasing it with his tongue.

Aoki let out more of a moan as Yuuto continued his pleasuring, shivering some.

Minutes passed as Yuuto continued to suck deeper and harder, aware that Aoki was very close to the climax.

Soon Yuuto could feel Aoki's cock getting ready to let loose his load. Aoki did his best to try and break free at that moment, too.

As the man started to struggle, Yuuto gave a muffled chuckle and bit down into Aoki's tender flesh, not enough to draw blood, but hopefully enough to stay the man's futile attempts.

Aoki yelped in pain and stopped struggling, but Yuuto's bite also started to make him cum in Yuuto's mouth.

Cheerfully Yuuto licked and swallowed the milky substance that spilled from Aoki's quavering cock, suckling at the head harder, encouraged by the man's soft moans of humiliation.

It didn't take long for Yuuto to take all of Aoki's man-juice from his cock. "There...you did it...now just kill me...."

Yuuto chuckled and backed away, wiping a strand of semen from his lips. Then, lowering himself back over Aoki's body, he shook his head deviously. "You think I'm through with you already?" he murmured slyly, then without warning planted his lips against Aoki's, drawing the man's tongue into his mouth.

Aoki began the vain attempts to break from his bonds with renewed vigor.

After a moment Yuuto let him break away from the sudden kiss. "Oh, come, now," he said with a grin. "You liked it. Don't tell me you don't want more...." He smirked knowingly as he watched Aoki's embarrassed expression.

Aoki looked away from Yuuto, afraid to admit what he knew was true.

"I knew it," Yuuto said confidently. He reached down with one hand to unzip his fly, pushing his pants to his knees before wriggling out of them completely. Kneeling before Aoki, his own arousal now exposed, he smiled and bent over him again. "Yes, I can see it in your pretty brown eyes. You want more, don't you?"

"Just kill me, pervert. Then you can do whatever you want to me...," Aoki said.

"You know," Yuuto said, ignoring Aoki's words completely, "just because I like you so much, I'll be nice." Sticking two fingers in his mouth, he lowered his hand to Aoki's anus and shoved his fingers inside, spreading him out in preparation.

Aoki, finally noticing that his ankles were free, used them to try and kick Yuuto away from him.

Surprised by the sudden movement, Yuuto grunted as Aoki's knee collided with his side and sent him sprawling to the floor.

"How do you like them apples?" Aoki said to Yuuto.

Jumping back to his feet and rematerializing his whip from the puddle on the floor, Yuuto smirked and lashed out, lacerating Aoki millimeters above his crotch. "Try that again...and next time I won't miss."

Aoki flinched a bit. "Whatever you say...jerk."

"I was trying to be nice," Yuuto said placidly, kneeling down between Aoki's legs and grasping them firmly to keep them from striking out at him again. "But after that little endeavor, I think I'll skip over the sentimental formalities." He aimed his hard cock at Aoki's entrance.

"You wouldn't dare...."

Yuuto did not need to respond with words. With one swift movement, he thrust inside Aoki's tight body with a low grunt, which transformed into something of a pleasurable sigh as he sank deeply into the man.

Aoki yelled out in pain as he felt Yuuto enter into him.

Yuuto felt the walls of Aoki's passage stretch and pull, tearing at the seams. "See?" he said in a somewhat strained voice. "Wouldn't it have been better if you'd let me make you more comfortable first?"

Aoki panted lightly, glaring at Yuuto.

Yuuto glared back, though with a calmer gaze, and diligently began to pump himself leisurely in and out of Aoki's body.

Aoki's face was distorted in pain while Yuuto pumped himself in and out. Soon, though, Aoki's face began to relax.

Yuuto smiled down at Aoki as he adjusted himself almost subconsciously so as not to hurt the man as much. Leaning down over him, he murmured softly against Aoki's ear, "Enjoying yourself, I see...?"

"N...no, I'm not...," Aoki said, though he knew Yuuto could tell he was.

"Your expression speaks differently, Aoki-san," Yuuto whispered sensually, thrusting himself deeper into Aoki's tight passage as he gripped the man's hips firmly.

Aoki breathed heavily as Yuuto pushed into him. "So what...?"

"So," Yuuto said, breathing just as heavily, "I think...you like me."

"No...I don't like you...but we can still be friends...," Aoki replied.

Yuuto chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Aoki's sinewy middle, pulling him closer and forcing his hard cock deeper into the man's body. "I detect a note of sarcasm in your voice," he said dryly, licking slightly at Aoki's neck.

"Well, what else did you expect from your enemy?" Aoki asked.

"Considering what we're doing at the moment," Yuuto replied in a sultry tone, increasing the pace and strength of his thrusts at a steady rate, "I'd expect you to be a little nicer to me...." He gave Aoki a quick wink.

Aoki sighed and just let Yuuto do as he pleased, in no real position to refuse.

Smirking at Aoki's silence, Yuuto reached down between them with one hand and grasped Aoki's hard, leaking cock, pumping it in and out of his own body while massaging it simultaneously. "Perhaps this will help?" he chuckled huskily.

Aoki moaned a bit as he felt Yuuto stroke his cock.

"I thought so," Yuuto nodded and kept thrusting himself ferociously in and out of Aoki's body, grunting as he sensed they were both drawing close.

Aoki clenched his eyes and his butt as tight as he could and just let loose a stream of cum all over Yuuto.

A few additional, powerful thrusts, and Yuuto also released himself, ejaculating a hot flood of semen inside Aoki's sweltering passage.

Aoki shuddered as he felt the semen fly up and out of Yuuto and into his bottom.

Exhausted and spent, Yuuto let his eyes drift shut as he pulled out of Aoki just in time to let himself collapse onto the man's chest, panting heavily.

Aoki used the last of his strength to have his legs shove Yuuto off of him as best he could.

Yuuto let himself be pushed partially off, but came back to entwine an arm around Aoki's supple middle, laying his head on the man's shoulder. "You're very good, even if you are unwilling," he chuckled through a heavy yawn. "I think...I'll save killing you for later...."

Aoki was too tired to complain and fell asleep.

Smiling softly as Aoki drifted off in his arms, Yuuto let his hold on consciousness go as well, and settled into a deep slumber of his own.


	72. Chapter 70: Stay Away, Don't Go There

**Chapter Seventy: Stay Away, Don't Go There**

"Beauty is all in the eye of the beholder."

This was true. Yuurei's soft smile spread wider as he gazed down into Shisa's translucent, kaleidoscopic eyes. This creature was the very essence of light...while Yuurei himself seemed to be the very essence of darkness. Still, he was glad that Shisa trusted him enough to show him his true form.

That was when he sensed it. His eyes lifted, and he saw the two girls standing at the doorway, peering curiously inside. Their eyes were wide with wonder and confusion. Quickly Yuurei let Shisa sit down on the bedside as he got to his feet and strode placidly to the door.

"Forget what you've seen here," he said in a hushed voice to the shocked children. Then, without another word, he slid the door closed and turned back to Shisa.

The beautiful, heavenly being only gazed back at him with luminous, multi-colored eyes and a soft smile. Yuurei came back and sat down beside him again. In a low, smooth voice, he said, "So what do you intend to do about the battle for the End of the World?" He nodded toward the window from whence the small spirit birds had recently flown. "I understand that's how you keep watch over the situations. Do you plan to intervene at all?"

* * *

Hokuto was pulled to an abrupt stop near a light post and managed to take hold of it to steady herself. Fuuma had obviously sensed her brother somehow, because she could see him now, not far off, with another person.

She started slightly at this person's presence. There was something she could not place, something that should be there, but wasn't. Kind of like her own presence, she thought briefly, before letting go of Fuuma's hand and stumbling towards the two people.

"Subaru-" She tried, but then noticed his bleeding body and her breath caught in her throat.

She reached them and touched her brother's face, concern and worry written across her own. "Subaru-kun? What happened?"

"I got in a fight." Subaru was quite proficient in pointing the obvious.

"Hokuto-chan, do you think you can help me with him?" He gestured to the bloody pulp of Nataku, who was hanging dangling over Subaru's weak shoulders.  


* * *

Karen awoke to the sound of crickets chirping outside her window. Yawning, the red-haired woman stretched in her bed and sat up, groggily looking towards her clock as she rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Moments later, she did a double take, taking a closer look at the clock. No, that couldn't be right… it was so late in the evening already? So she had slept through the whole day. That wasn't usually like herself… the red-haired woman vaguely wondered where she was supposed to be right now. Work didn't start for another hour or so, so she supposed that she should be with her fellow Seals—

Karen's eyes snapped open in wakefulness, and she gasped, memories of the previous day's events suddenly hitting her. Her friends needed her help! Subaru—he was in trouble! He was out wandering about the streets somewhere! And Aoki—Aoki had been kidnapped by the Dragons of Earth!

The red-haired woman had already leapt halfway out of bed before she stopped herself, breathing deeply to control her anxiety. _`Hold on a minute, there, there's no need to jump the gun,'_ Karen mentally reprimanded herself. _`Deep breaths, girl. Be rational. Take some time to think about this before you run off and do something stupid that you'll regret.'_ After a few moments, the young woman regained control of her runaway emotions, allowing her to think logically about the situation. It was no use looking for Subaru now; he would have hidden himself by now if he didn't want her to find him. Besides, Kusanagi had already promised her to find Subaru; Karen trusted that the young man would keep his word. And the last time she saw them, the younger Seals were well out of harm's way. No, it was Aoki's predicament that was her most pressing concern now.

This decided, Karen closed her eyes and stretched out her inner senses, hoping that she would be able to detect Aoki's aura and use that to locate him in the city. After a few minutes of searching, the red-haired woman sensed a faint glimmer within the center of the city. It had to be Aoki… it didn't feel like it was anyone else. But the aura was so weak… wherever he was, he had to be seriously injured, if he was not already dying.

Karen came out of her trance, her brow creased with worry, but her eyes filled with a new determination. She had some idea of where Aoki's location was based on his aura; now she would have to somehow get past the Angels guarding him and bring him to safety. The young woman held out her right hand before her, the palm facing upwards; at her mental command, a ball of fire instantly appeared, floating above her palm. She was back to full force now; the sleep had done wonders for her strength.

Quickly changing out of her torn garments into a clean dress, Karen then opened her bedroom window and leaped out, nimbly landing on a rooftop below her apartment. The young woman vaulted from rooftop to rooftop, nearly flying towards the place where she felt Aoki's aura. She soon found herself in front of an apartment building that looked like any other, but which contained the fading aura within. Karen quickly sprinted into the apartment and rushed up the stairs to the complex where she felt the aura coming from. The woman dashed into the apartment without knocking; feeling her way towards the aura, she hurried to the back of the apartment and burst into the bedroom, then stopped dead in her tracks.

"Oh my..." Karen stopped mid-sentence, staring horrified at the scene before her. Aoki, her comrade and friend, was lying asleep in the bed, stripped of both his clothing and his dignity. And lying asleep on top of him was... Yuuto Kigai, the Dragon of Earth?!

Karen reeled backwards, stunned by what she saw. Her stomach turned as she absorbed the implications of the scene before her. No-- it couldn't be! Yuuto—she thought that he was one of the decent Dragons of Earth. The Yuuto she saw was a gentleman; he had actually helped her in her time of need, even though they were on opposing sides! He would never have done such a hideous, uncalled for deed; it was impossible! But-- there was no other explanation... Yuuto-- Yuuto had-

The world went red before her eyes; she heard a voice screaming, and it took her a few moments to realize that it was her own. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!?!?" she screamed at Yuuto, so furious that she saw red spots and for a few seconds was unable to focus on what she saw. Karen somehow found herself at the side of the bed without knowing how she got there from the door. Though not physically strong, the woman was so livid that she grabbed Yuuto by the hair and physically yanked him off of Aoki, dragging him onto the floor.

Acting first purely by instinct, Karen pinned her opponent on the ground in a furious rage. She drew back her hand and slapped Yuuto in the face with as much force as she could muster, leaving a glaring red mark in the shape of her palm on his face. The infuriated woman took no notice of the injury she had caused, slapping him again as painfully hard as she did the first time. "You monster!!!" she shrieked, violently pummeling Yuuto with her fists and clawing at his face. Her chest heaved violently as her eyes filled with angry tears. "How could you do this to him?!? I won't forgive you for this!!!" she screamed as she slapped Yuuto yet again, the tears now falling from her eyes.

She didn't know for how long she had screamed at him or exactly what she called him. Nor could she remember for how long she had clawed and beaten at him in a blind rage. When Karen came to her senses, her hands had somehow wound themselves around Yuuto's neck; livid tears still fell from her eyes. She glared at him directly into his eyes, her own filled with tears of anger at what he had done and hatred for him. "You beast," she spat out at Yuuto, her voice venomous and filled with hate. "You'll pay for this." She lifted one hand from his throat, summoning a ball of flames. "Give me a good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."

The sound of the door bursting open echoed in the back of his mind, but he failed to so much as stir, his body still pressed against Aoki's warm, soft flesh. The scream was what jarred him. His eyes slowly opened as he started to give a deep yawn.

He was cut off in the middle of it when the furious fist suddenly clamped down around a handful of his golden locks. Wrenched from the slumbering Seal, Yuuto let out a grunt as his naked body hit the floor. But before his vision even had the chance to clear, his face was suddenly pelted by blows so sharp and vicious, he wondered if he were being attacked by a rabid animal.

And in all truth, that probably was not so far off. No sooner had the numerous strikes ceased when he felt the lithe hands wrap around his throat, suffocating the life out of him. Droplets of liquid splattered on his reddened cheeks and bare chest, and it was not until his sight finally focused that he realized they were tears.

Yuuto found himself glaring into the horrified, furious glower of a familiar face. Kasumi Karen. One of the Seals. But how...? It must have been a concentrated effort, and in the back of his mind, Yuuto was impressed with himself that he could even think at all.

As soon as he could get his limbs to working again, he reached up and gripped the woman's wrists, attempting to loosen her grasp on his throat. And when she held up a fiery fist and spoke her indignant words, he froze. She kept yelling that he had done something to "him." He thought for a moment. Who was "him"?

Then everything from the past hour came flooding back into his mind, and a light of understanding came over him. Seiichirou Aoki. They had slept together. Well...not exactly in mutual consent. What had he done? He frowned up at the woman, though what he saw was not her face. It was quite out of character for him to act so rashly. Usually he was the cordial gentleman who never crossed any lines whenever he could avoid it.

So what had possessed him to go this far? He was aware of his dark side; it was not even two days ago that he had tortured Sumeragi Subaru with the help of Satsuki's BEAST. But still...to rape a man? He must have been tired. He must not have been thinking clearly. And now, hovering above his perception, was Aoki's closest cohort amongst the Seven Seals, ready to tear him limb from limb.

His senses collected, and suddenly, before she could move another inch, Yuuto let his body dissolve into a puddle of water and seep into the carpet, trickling down under the bed and around to the other side. In an instant he rematerialized and grabbed for his previously discarded pants.

"Ah, it seems there's been a bit of a misunderstanding," he said to her, his voice as calm and pleasant as ever, his smile just as inviting. "It really is a shame we're on opposite sides. I do admire your determination and spirit." Then, after adjusting his slacks, he moved quickly to the bed and grabbed Aoki by the shoulder, untying his wrists and pulling his unconscious body up against Yuuto's abdomen.

"I don't ever recall there being a rule where one can't play with his enemy before doing away with him." His friendly smile persisted. "So I wouldn't advise attacking me at the moment." He wrapped an arm securely about the insensible businessman's waist. "Unless, of course, you don't mind frying your teammate along with me...."

Karen gasped in surprise as Yuuto's body suddenly melted into water and disappeared from under her, only to reappear on the other side of the bed. The red-haired woman hissed in angry irritation. She had forgotten that he was a water caster; he could do things like that. In her anger she had barely thought of using her powers; she had instead been intent on using physical force, which of course seemed ridiculous to her now that she could think somewhat clearly again.

The red-haired woman's eyes flashed with rage as she glared her opponent. Her stomach seemed to do a flip as Yuuto grabbed Aoki and wrapped an arm around his waist. Something in that movement caused her previous momentary calm to snap.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!!!" Karen shrieked furiously, her eyes blazing through her tears. A sudden explosion of flames swirled around her body in her angry outburst. As if by instinct, the fire caster lifted her arms, ready to send a torrent of flames at her opponent, before she stopped herself. As much as she hated to admit it, Yuuto was right. She couldn't attack the water caster without injuring Aoki as well. She'd have to use another strategy.

The fiery Seal held out her arms again, but this time not to summon her flames. The familiar green, cross-shaped figure appeared in her palms and immediately expanded outwards, rapidly enveloping the entire area.

The instant her Kekkai was set up, Karen swept her arms out around her; in accordance with her arm movements, a blast of flames swept around herself and her opponent, leveling the walls of the apartment and effectively enclosing them in a ring of fire.

The red-haired woman once again brought her gaze to meet Yuuto's, her eyes still brimming with furious tears. "I'm not through with you yet," she hissed angrily at him. "Leave Aoki-san out of this. I told you once before that if you were ever in the mood for a fight with a Seal, come to me. This is MY Kekkai that you'll have to break out of if you want to leave, not his."

She glared venomously at her opponent, her eyes blazing with fury and hatred. "This fight only involves you and me."

"Only between you and me?" Yuuto repeated in speculation, still holding Aoki's body close against his own, seemingly unaffected by the ring of fire that had suddenly surrounded all three of them. "I don't think that's acceptable at all...seeing as how you would make burnt toast of me the moment I were to let my only defense go." Yet still his friendly smile persisted. "I also don't really appreciate you destroying my apartment like this," he added, glancing about with a vague sense of visible interest.

It was amusing, the way Karen suddenly lashed out in fury every time Yuuto touched Aoki. He studied the tears streaming down her face with scrupulous curiosity. Undoubtedly she cared about this man...and had obviously figured out what Yuuto had done to him. But...it was something more than that.

He snapped his fingers as though suddenly coming to a revelation. "Could it be possible that you're in love with Aoki-san?" he asked cheerfully, much like a professional singles counselor or matchmaker might have spoken the words. "He is married, you know." He chuckled in mock warning.

Not-so-subtly he pulled Aoki closer to him, seeing the rage ignite in the Seal's fiery amber eyes. A sly simper passed over his thin lips. Gingerly he let the fingers of one hand brush lightly down Aoki's naked side, resting on his slender hip.

"You hate me now, don't you?" he asked quietly. "Is it just because of the act itself? Or maybe...you're jealous...?" His grin broadened, and he leaned inward a little to let his lips graze Aoki's jaw line. Amidst the roaring flames, he murmured barely loud enough for Karen to hear. "Would you like for me to tell you what it's like?" Cunning sparked in his amiable blue eyes. "Would you like me to tell you about...the little noises he makes...when you touch him in just the right place? Or how to make him...cry out...in undeniable, excruciating pleasure...?"

The hand on the businessman's naked hip proceeded to descend lower, just to where Yuuto's fingertips made light contact with Aoki's more...sensitive areas. And he knew exactly what he was doing as he gazed into Karen's magnificent, furious eyes. His grip on the water pipes within his own apartment were already firm and sure...ready at his most impromptu command to strike the hate-blinded Seal.

"Don't play dumb," Karen snapped angrily at Yuuto. "Your apartment will be fine. You know as well as I do that it'll be restored as soon as I remove my Kekkai." Assuming, of course, that she removed it by her own free will, the woman reflected. If Yuuto somehow defeated her-- which she wasn't about to let happen-- all the damage that had been done would remain. It was all the more reason for her to win this fight, to protect the innocents who lived in this apartment building.

All thoughts of anything other than the current situation were erased from her mind, however, when Yuuto spoke his next words. _"Could it be possible that you're in love with Aoki-san?"  
_  
Karen drew in a gasp and stilled, her eyes widening. As her opponent spoke those words, her turbulent, unidentifiable emotions that she had felt for Aoki since the day she met him finally solidified into something that she could put a name to: love.

The red-haired woman almost laughed to herself, despite the seriousness of the situation. It had taken this crisis for her to realize that she was indeed in love with Aoki Seiichirou. And her enemy had realized it even before she knew it herself. Karen smiled wistfully to herself. She was a foolish woman in love, that's what she was.

Then the confused look in her eyes changed ever so slightly, to one of determination-- and unparalleled anger as she watched Yuuto's hand wander down Aoki's body and heard his infuriating words. It took all of her effort to prevent herself from attacking her opponent with her flames on the spot; she forcibly reminded herself that doing so would only hurt Aoki, the person who she was trying to protect.

With supreme effort, Karen spoke again to Yuuto through clenched teeth, barely audible unless one was listening carefully. "What I feel for Aoki-san doesn't matter," the red-haired woman said quietly.

She looked away to the side, carefully focusing her gaze away from Aoki's direction. Her body was trembling, but she held her voice firm. "You're right, he is married. He has a beautiful wife and a lovely daughter. And he adores them just as much as they adore him. They need each other... and I won't be the one to tear them apart with my own selfish feelings. Not now, or ever."

She lifted a hand to her face, wiping away the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. She then lifted her head to gaze directly into Yuuto's eyes, her own eyes still glistening with tears, but now filled with a burning anger.

"And you're right, I do hate you. I hate you for what you've done to him, and I hate you for taking away his dignity and his pride. But I hate you most for coming between Aoki-san and his family."

Karen's eyes blazed as flames slowly gathered around her, swirling dangerously about her body. "Aoki-san is loyal to his wife because she is his happiness. And now you've destroyed a part of that. So I won't forgive you."

Without waiting for a response, Karen allowed herself to release her fury; the angry flames radiated from her body, setting fire to the walls of the apartment and everything else around her. In an irrational rage, the fire caster lunged forward, directly towards her opponent. It was perhaps not the most logical and soundest of ideas, and she would surely suffer the consequences. But Karen thought of nothing else; her focus was only on the Dragon of Earth before her, moved to fury on behalf of the man she loved.

* * *

Satsuki let out a surprised gasp as the phone went flying out of her hand across the floor. Before she could take even a single step towards the phone, the other girl, the one without any powers, had already snatched it up.

The computer girl spun around, glancing at her opponents and quickly analyzing the situation. She no longer had any offences; without a cell phone or some other electronic device, she could not control any other electronics. Some of her cables were still attacking the people below in the basement, but they would soon stop moving without her control. It seemed that she would have to end her attack for now. But it was no matter; she had already accomplished what she had meant to do.

"Well done," Satsuki called across the room to her opponents, a smirk crossing her lips. "It seems that I've underestimated both of you. I commend you for your quick thinking."

She turned around, almost casually, and cast an idle glance in the direction that Yuuto and Aoki had gone. "I suppose it was time for me to get going, anyways," she remarked conversationally. "Yuuto-san should have gotten to wherever he needed to go by now. And believe me, he'll be well hidden," she added, casting a warning glance at her two opponents. "Don't bother looking for the Dragon of Heaven. You'll be wasting your time."

Satsuki yawned, and idly glanced at her watch. "It's getting late. I'll be taking my leave now." She nodded briefly to both the boy and the girl. "It's been a pleasure."

The computer girl pushed her hands in her pockets and lightly leaped onto a slab of concrete jutting out of the now-destroyed wall. She was about to leave when, almost as an afterthought, she turned to face her two opponents again. "One more thing. Don't try to follow me," she said, looking directly at Saiki. "I don't know any more about where the Seal is than you do. Of course, you're welcome to come with me if you don't mind facing the wrath of the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth."

With this last parting shot, the female Angel leaped through the hole to the outside world. She landed lightly on the roof of a neighboring building and stood up, surveying her surroundings. It was already quite dark, but she was sure that there were still some shops that were open somewhere. The girl smiled to herself, bemused. After the events of this evening, it was time for her to get a new cell phone. Preferably a newer, more compact model. Perhaps she'd get herself a second one for backup. On second thought, she could always indulge in one of those expensive new handheld PDAs, which would work equally well. After all, she could always use BEAST to smuggle more money from the bank if she needed it. Then again, she could always just put the tab on Kanoe...

With these thoughts in mind, Satsuki set off across the rooftops of Tokyo, intent on finding herself some new toys before the night was over.


	73. Chapter 71: Chosen Words

**Chapter Seventy-One: Chosen Words…**

Uo paused a second as she watched Satsuki vanish. She had said something that had caught her attention and stopped her in her tracks. She seemed to lose herself for a moment as she looked at the cell phone.

That woman had said "The Kamui"... "of the Dragons of Earth". That meant..

"Fuuma.." she murmured under her breath.

Her mind took a dramatic turn, a turn for the worst. Her allegiance to the Dragons of Heaven was very strong... like a brick wall. But even a brick wall can topple and fall if hit properly and in just the right place. In her mind, she asked herself precisely WHAT allegiance she had to them to begin with?

... Her real allegiance was to her friends, to Kotori and Yuzuriha... not to the Ryu no Ten.

She paused a minute.

But to abandon the Ryu no Ten....

Even if it was to look for and confront a very dear friend, at least he was to her...

By forsaking the Ryu no Ten... would she not be forsaking her friends? Yuzuriha was a Ryu no Ten.. and Kotori, as Uo already knew, cared deeply for that stern, somewhat cold boy who was introduced to her first as "Kamui"...

By betraying the Ryu no Ten, she betrayed a friend.. and the lover of a friend, inversely betraying Kotori..

_'But Kotori would understand...'_ she thought to herself for a minute, not noticing how shallow her own breathing had become.

No... she wouldn't. And what kind of a friend would she be if she left Yuzuriha and Kamui to take care of Kotori. They didn't even know where she was.. if she was even alive.... and she didn't know if they were alive either. Fuuma wasn't going to die anytime soon. She knew him too well. He was a survivor, even if he was a bit sugar obsessed.... And even if he had become some kind of madman, surely his survival factor would not change.

If so, she'd have to get a priest or something to revive him so she could kill him again for dying.

Still, her thoughts wavered. Kotori or Fuuma..

Her blank look changed into a frown. How ironic. Two friends. Two choices or options. One choice...

Just the thought of having to decide between the two made her flinch.  
She wouldn't. Not yet. No. Fate would NOT make her decide yet. Her allegiance was to her friends, to all of them.... even if they changed. No one could change that. Fate could not change that. Not even she could change it.

She looked to Saiki suddenly and thought of something else. Aoki. Wasn't he her friend? Of course!

And she always helped her friends, right? Besides that, she had made him promise to let her read his book when he was done. So, it seemed that her favor rested with the Ryu no Ten... but she still refused to decide. Besides, she couldn't let Saiki go alone....

..... After all, hadn't she let enough cute guys escape her grasp in the past few days?

How many had there been?

Okita..

Yuuto..

Not to mention she had let another anonymous guy escape her for years...... but they were just friends.. or not.. who knew..

Well, she couldn't leave Saiki to find Fuuma. After all, it wasn't like Fuuma was going to find her missing diary and find out all of the ridiculous things she'd written since age.. four or so. It'd be fine. So, she'd help Saiki find Aoki and try not to be too clingy in the process. Kotori would understand, and so would Yuzuriha....

.... And what HAD happened to Okita. She frowned again before looking back at Saiki and giving him a nod after glancing once more in the direction that the woman had vanished.

"Shouldn't we be going, Saiki-san? We've got a lot of ground to cover if we're going to find the Water-Boy!" She said with a determined, though somewhat school girl-ish smile. "After all, Seiichirou-san promised to let me read his book when it's done so I can't very well leave him in Yuuto's hands...."

_'Aside from that, I need to know if Yuuto knows where Fuuma is, ask him why he abandoned his comrade, and also find out if he has a bald spot or not.'_ she thought to herself. _'... That.. and if he knows where Okita-san is.... I don't know why.. but I-I guess.. I'm sort of worried about him... that, and I.. owe him an apology, too.'  
_  
Giving one more nod, she tilted her head and waited for his response.

Maybe things were looking up for her, for everyone...

The only thing that was missing was pocky... but she'd get that soon! After all, she couldn't confront Fuuma without pocky, and pocky made the greatest I'm-Sorry-Gifts.

*****

Shisa's eyes remained locked on the man at all times. It wasn't an act of suspicion, but rather of concern. Even with his wounds healed, Shisa was concerned. The spell that Matsuko had cast could only be completed with Shouri's aid.. and the boy still wasn't there. He had decided it best not to worry, though.. and now focused on the words that had been spoken to him.

To intervene. Indeed...

He took it into consideration. This would probably be the best of times to tell Yuurei precisely why he guarded the boy so carefully... but perhaps not what his eventual fate would be. Destiny had set a path for him, but his fate was undecided.

"... I'm sure that Fate would prefer me to say 'no'... but I know that I eventually will intervene at some point. The battles are growing too intense... and the boy, he hasn't adapted enough to any of this to be able to defend himself..." he stated, carefully selecting words as his emotions reflected.

"Understand... it is not only the boy that I am concerned for. There are those who enter this war and have no comprehension of the complex web that was weaved before they see it. The boy, Okita, for example.. he has chosen the Chi no Ryu. Shouri chose the Ryu no Ten, partially because he is very loyal and respectful of Subaru and Hokuto, and harbors great feelings for both of them.... and there is the girl, Uo.."

How ridiculous it must have sounded. Then again, Shisa was one of those who sometimes would not tell the full story unless asked. When Yuurei asked why he guarded Shouri so closely, then he would tell him... if not, then he would not tell until he decided to do so.

The Guardian paused as his right wing rose a little, the black, white, and silver feathers glistening slightly before he pulled both of his wings a bit closer together as to not take up so much room. It had been ages since he had taken upon his true form, at least in such a light.... though, the body was still premature... and he had not yet grown enough to reach the minimum of his full potential. It was the price of guarding Shouri... and the price of losing so much by being sent to the physical plain of the Earth, into the realm of humans and such. It was rebirth to him... and he was, and had been, forced to 'grow up' again.

He looked again to Yuurei. "There is too much at risk.. and the fate of this planet rests in the balance. I side with the planet, and consequently a 'part' of me would side with the Ryu no Ten.. but, being connected with Earth, a part of me sides with the Chi no Ryu. My interference is inevitable... have I not already done so in saving you from Fate's wrath? Or.. perhaps that was also Destiny's hand, if not another face of Fate.."

A single strand of sleek black played in front of Shisa's eyes as his right ear twitched just a little. That was one of the disadvantages to having 'elven' ears. You could MOVE them. But, he hadn't meant it to sound like 'that'.. his words had sounded like something a human would say. In this form, he was far from human. Why had he said that?

.... Either way, the slight curiosity that Shisa harbored could not be seen on his face. Only his smile told how he felt... and perhaps his multi-colored eyes. The colors shifted a little and an orange veil danced lightly over.

"Besides," he stated after a moment, "the planet also has permission to intervene.. and should it direct, then I shall carry out its will. I suppose that is also why I can intervene, at times, and not suffer Fate's wrath.... and know when I will and won't."

Looking at Yuurei again, he just watched him. Such a beautiful creature ... and that was something that Shisa thought rare Hai.... And while he protected Shouri, he was going to end up watching Yuurei, too, he knew..... not like a child as he did the others, but just because..... after all, what Yuurei had done for him was the one thing that he had wished for since his appearance upon the physical plain.. and the sudden attachment he felt was not going to go away... It was a flame that would always burn.

Yuurei stared at the being for a long time after these words. Then gradually he lowered his head and let out a husky, sardonic chuckle. "Okita and Uo, ne?" He remembered the boy quite well. How could he not, after Okita had beaten him mercilessly when he had no way of even defending himself? "I didn't know their names."

Something akin to a mixture of confusion and a strange sense of jealously began to pull at his chest. "Seems you know more about the situation than I," he said more slowly. "I've failed my duties as the Watcher, but even so...." His voice trailed off for a moment, then picked up on a new sentence. "Perhaps...that's why my punishment was supposed to be death. Maybe your Fate is to take over my position, watching the players from a distance until the appointed time."

As he listened to Shisa's words more carefully, Yuurei nodded wisely. "Caught between Heaven and Earth. Again, just like myself. You're more neutral than sided, ne?" His brow furrowed into deep creases. "Yes, we are indeed very much the same, Shisa." He lifted his gaze to stare back into the being's kaleidoscopic eyes. "The more I consider it, the more I'm starting to believe it would be better if I had died...."

Shisa paused a minute and allowed himself to easily pick up on Yuurei's emotions. Listening to his words, he forced himself not to face fault, though his smile did seem to fade momentarily.

"No. Don't say that." he said, tone stern as he shook his head.

His multi-colored eyes glistened slightly, swirling again with deep color as he looked at the Watcher. What to say... What words could break through this sudden 'shift' in the Watcher? Well.. the truth would be best, but it wasn't always the proper medicine for such things.

He closed his eyes for a minute. ".... If you seek death, it can be found easily enough.. but.......... I don't believe that you would allow yourself to die, or perhaps that is just my wish...... and I know that I wouldn't, even if it is not my decision."

"I could not take your place. My path is different. Similar, we may be, but I know that I could not take your place.... we are still very different, even if we are alike."

His mind pushed him to tell Yuurei why he guarded the boy... why he was chosen for this task, or perhaps just why he believed he was chosen... but he couldn't. His mind held him back, though. Again, his right wing shifted ever so slightly.

Shisa's response did little to sway Yuurei's self-loathing thoughts. However, the tension in the being's ethereal voice did cause him to pause and break out of his contemplation. Was Shisa hesitating about something? He seemed worried...anxious.

"What is it?" he asked softly, his tone full of genuine concern. Gazing into the being's beautiful eyes, Yuurei could feel some of the deeper emotions radiating from Shisa's aura.

"It's the boy, isn't it?" he concluded at last. "Shouri. The one you protect." He furrowed his brow slightly, struck with a sudden sense of curiosity. "Why is it you protect him more than any of the others? I am aware of his Fate...and it is a difficult one to be placed upon a boy so young...." His head lowered. "But if you are his guardian...then there must be more to the situation than even I'm aware of, ne?"

Shisa nodded slowly after a moment of contemplation. ".. I suppose that you could say that."

He looked at the Watcher and nodded once more. His eyes shifted into deeper colors. Really, it was hard to speak about the boy sometimes, but he would get over it. He needed to tell him.

"... Many forces would like to destroy the boy. I was placed as his guardian, forced to be reborn on this plain.... and must protect the boy, no matter what the cost." he said, taking a breath before continuing.

"However, while the earth wishes to remain how it is and sustain humanity, it also has a 'side' that would side with the Chi no Ryu. That specific emotion of the planet will try to engulf Shouri.... And has, in the form of cult-related assassins, when he was just a boy. When Shouri cannot protect himself, I must step forward..."

"In a way, he and I... are like mirror images, or so I sometimes think. He has a path to choose as well, I think.. and should he choose the path intended, he will be forced to grow stronger. He will change for better or for worst, though his destiny will remain the same.... to be honest, not even I am aware of the situation, entirely. There is no doubt that if the Kamui of Earth knew of the boy, he would be in danger... if ANY of the Dragons of Earth knew, in fact.... though, it is undoubtedly that he already seems to have chosen his side. I can only wait to find out precisely why I was chosen.... and why not another human being." He said as he shook his head. "Perhaps the planet needed one who was of itself to take up the roll, since the planet itself is against itself..."

Shisa's eyes flashed slightly as he gazed at Yuurei. His eyes flickered a little bit more as he nodded. He only prayed that Yuurei could understand his words..

*****

Hokuto quickly grabbed Nataku from Subaru's hold. She was still weak though, and quickly fell to the ground under Nataku's weight, but didn't complain.

"Subaru.. Are you ok? Are you seriously injured?"

The cables that had been held at bay by the winds swirling from his hands slowly lost momentum and fell to the ground without the guidance of their mistress.  
Saiki stared through the hole above them where Yuuto had fled with Aoki earlier, and through which Satsuki had recently departed.

"Damn it..." His uncle was in the hands of one of the Dragons of Earth, and he was furious that he didn't have the ability to sense either a kekkai or a dragon's life-force. He caught the tail end of Uo's words, having temporarily forgotten of her presence, and turned a startled expression towards her.

"I agree. We have to find Seiichiro-san. But..." He glowered at the hole above them again. "I have no way to locate him. No matter how much I may wish to.. And the fact that he's with one of the Dragons of Heaven -  
I don't want to THINK about what might be happening to him." A sudden realization hit him and he knelt, directing his gaze downwards. "H-Hinoto-hime!"

"We're fine down here," came a somewhat breathless reply from one of the twins. "Hinoto-hime seems to be as well." The cables below seemed to be stopping and slowly sinking back into the ground from whence they came.

Saiki breathed a sigh of relief. With the dream seer safe, he could focus on finding his uncle, however difficult that might be. He stood, turning to face Uo again.

"Are you sure you want to go with me to search for him? Things are dangerous, and I'm not even one of the seals or angels. I'm not as powerful or skilled as Seiichiro-san, and I can't offer you much protection. It's your choice, Uo-san."

"Don't worry about it!" Uo shook her head lightly as she nodded several times in a four-beat count.

She smiled a bit uneasily before she turned to face him fully. "I can see the kekkais, so we won't have any problem finding them! We'll rescue your uncle, make Yuuto cry like a baby, and maybe I can find out what I've been wanting to know.. that is, if Yuuto can stop sniveling long enough."

She blinked a few times before a rather serious look appeared on her face, though still quite childish. "No doubt about it. I'm coming along, too, or you're not going! I've lost enough friends in the past few days, missed quite a few important tests at school, and there's no WAY I'm losing another one AND failing school at the same time! Got it? So let's go find Seiichirou-san and pull Yuuto's hair out!"

She hadn't meant to be so ridiculous, but she almost couldn't help it. Perhaps that was what happened when Uo was deprived of sugar.

*****

Before the battle with Satsuki was done, Shouri had crept away in silence. He had wanted to help the two, but his conscience was just too, too strong for him to stay and help them.

Down the streets he walked. His pace was swift. His mind was acting like jello again... but could he be blamed? He was worried. Had Seishirou done something to get at him? .. No. Seishirou wasn't that idiotic...... even if Matsuko was weakened, surely he was intelligent enough not to so much as even try to assault a sacred place like the shrine. So what could be the source of the disturbance that would require him to be summoned?

Who knew.

He just kept walking.

The wind played roughly with his outer coat, trying its best to beat the edges of the trench-coat like coat as he walked. The sound was only helped build up the boy's expectation as he hurriedly walked.

_'Almost there.' _He thought as he began to breath rather roughly. He could already feel the shrine's positive energies reaching out to him. That was the power of the shrine... or at least a small portion of it.

He turned the corner, running along the tall walls until he stopped near the dead, out-of-season sakura tree. At least it wasn't looking so pale, anymore. Perhaps Bouygo had been gardening up the street again.

_'Almost there..' _he thought to himself as he broke into a run. _'So close....' _

It was an unwise maneuver on Karen's part to lunge at him. Yuuto smirked as he realized his tactics had worked perfectly. She was blinded by rage. With Aoki between them as Yuuto's shield, and Yuuto's water attacks ready at any given moment, he felt he had a pretty fair advantage.

Before Karen could reach them, Yuuto summoned forth the pipes from the walls, tearing open the drywall and spraying a sharp torrent of water toward the Seal. And just to be safe, he leaped back a few feet, taking Aoki with him.

*****

Saiki blinked, uncertain if Uo was being incredibly optimistic or just very, very stupid. She was certainly a strange girl, although she reminded him of Yuzuriha, in a fashion. He wondered for a moment what had become of the young seal, but his thoughts wandered back to his uncle and he nodded to Uo.

"Let's go, then." He paused. "Umm.. how high can you jump, by the way?"

"Ano... maybe... ten feet?" she blinked a few times. "Why?"

Weird question for him to ask her. What did jumping have to do with anything?

"Hmm.." He glanced up at the hole in the ceiling again. "That won't work, then." He glanced back at her. "Erm..." A slow blush crept across his cheeks, which he ducked his head to hide, turning slightly away from Uo.

"I.. suppose I'll have to carry you, then..."

Uo blinked a few times, comprehending the words a little bit slow at first. A blush crept across her cheeks but she glanced off to the side to avoid looking directly at him. "Aha... can't I take the..err.. elevator.. or.. something?"

Still staring off to the side, Saiki shook his head.

"If we're going to find Seiichiro-san, we have to move quickly. I can leap across rooftops like the dragons, but you can't...so..." He sincerely hoped his face was shadowed enough to cover his blush.

"W-well, then we don't have a choice. Seiichiro-san's counting on us." Uo said, blinking a few times as she looked back at him, managing to conceal her blush somehow.

"Y-yea...." He glanced at the floor, running a hand through the side of his hair nervously. "Umm.. well.. then.." He wished he could have thought of a better method of travel, or managed to somehow dissuade her  
from going with him, now that he was faced with this situation. Quite frankly, he didn't really know HOW to go about carrying her.

Uo blinked a few times, sneaking behind and around him, blinking as she faced him directly again.

"Saiki-san.. are you okay?" She asked. After all, he was acting weird...

"Y-yes!" He practically jumped out of his skin at her sudden reappearance in front of him. "L-let's just go, alright?" Taking a deep breath, he bent down slightly. "Grab on and I-I'll carry you." The red traveling across his cheeks darkened.

"A-ano... okay." She blinked a bit and did as told, ignoring the fact that her cheeks were so red that she felt she was going to explode.

She paused for a second. It was such a good thing that no one she knew was going to see this..

Saiki stood, tucking one arm beneath the Uo's knees and the other behind her back.

"Hold on." With a quick leap, he cleared the hole in the ceiling and landed on the floor above them amidst some rather surprised politicians.

Uo blinked, keeping her head down. She didn't want to look around.... really, she was just hoping she remembered to breath. Of course, when she looked up and saw all of those politicians, she went about beat red. GREAT! Hopefully the news cast wasn't there...

"A-ano....." A small sweat drop traveled down the side of her head.

Saiki bowed his head numerous times, mumbling apologizes as he raced through the crowd to get to an exit point. His eyes fell on the shattered remains of a window at the far end of the room, and in a few more running strides, he had reached it. With only a quick glance below, he leapt upwards through the window's remains.

"Aiaiaiyeeeee!" Uo blinked several times, closing her eyes and clinging to Saiki, though not tightly.

What had gotten into her? Who knew... perhaps it was the fact that she was afraid of falling backwards.... or maybe just because she was already latched onto him to begin with. Either way, she found herself feeling like she was going to fall.

Saiki's feet touched the surface of the top of the next building, hard. He made a mental note to adjust his landings to accommodate the fact that he was carrying an extra person. This thought renewed the blush across his cheeks.

"A..anou, which way do you think they went?" His eyes scanned the horizon for some clue as to Aoki's whereabouts. Was that...? He squinted. "U-Uo-san, do you see something over there?"

"Hnn.." The girl paused a minute as she stopped her blushing and peculiar clinging and looked around for a second.

Releasing him for a minute, she looked around wildly. ".. Let's see....... ! I.. think I see a kekkai." She said after a second, trying her best not to lose her balance. That was the last thing she wanted to do. Plummet to her doom... after all, she had to double date at least once before she died and she still needed to invent a new flavor of pocky..

"That's what I thought." He strained to make out the shape. "I think it's... Karen-san's. Although it could be Sorata-san's as well..." He leapt to the next rooftop suddenly, taking a few steps upon landing to maintain his balance. If it was Karen's kekkai, then that could mean that his uncle was nearby. They made an unusual team, but she seemed to care about him.

"Well then, let's go!" She said with a nod, though she was oblivious to who 'Karen' and 'Sorata' were. "The sooner we get there, the better, right?"

She looked back at him, ignoring the fact that her long, dark brown strands kept trying to get in the way.

"R-right." He tried to avoid looking her in the eyes for fear of his blush returning at full force and leapt into the air again, aiming for the next rooftop. His feet had hardly hit the next rooftop before he  
launched them into the air again, roof hopping to get nearer to the kekkai they had spotted in the distance.

Again, Uo was clinging. She tried not to look down, but it was very hard not to. The instant she saw the ground below, she looked back directly in front of her and began to murmur, "I'mokayI'mokay" repeatedly. The only reason she wasn't flailing was because Saiki was there..... and that thought caused a bright blush to appear almost as if by magic.

He skidded to a stop on the roof of a building just outside the kekkai. It was clearly Karen's, and there was clearly a battle going on inside. Karen was undoubtedly involved, but he couldn't think of anyone else who could be. Then again, he knew hardly anything about the current locations of the angels. Save Satsuki, who was probably still near the DIET Building.

"We're going in," he said simply, trying not to blush as his grip on Uo's back tightened to secure her. As his feet left the rooftop, something in the back of his mind commented on the possibility that Uo couldn't enter a kekkai. But it was certainly too late now to change course.

Jell-o. That was how Uo thought that going through a kekkai felt. Like jell-o. She closed her eyes for a minute as they went through, only to look down when they came out again.

".. Is it safe yet?"

"A kekkai generally doesn't mean safety," Saiki answered, placing Uo on her feet and hastily releasing his hold on her. During their descent, he thought he had seen movement several floors down from the roof,  
and walked around, looking for the door leading to the stairs. He waved Uo over upon finding it. And conveniently unlocked, no less.

The girl quickly followed him, though tried to keep her usual headstrong-I'm-not-afraid attitude in action. She had a bone to pick with Yuuto, sure.... but she was NOT going to be caught off guard or anything.... and she didn't want to be left alone, really...

Saiki practically slammed into the wall on the first curve of the stairwell, taking the stairs at least two at a time. The sounds of an ongoing battle drew him forward as well as a nagging suspicion in his mind that he would find his uncle here. And Karen. And Yuuto. It was this last he least wanted to see.

Down, down, down. Uo felt like she was on a merry-go-round again.. that thing with the scary horses, but she refused to succumb to fear as she followed him. She should be brave, not frightened. How was she going to support her friends if she was shaking in her boots? She had to be strong... and she knew it. She followed him fast, a new resolve having risen from the ashes of her fear.

Slamming open the door to the next floor, Saiki paused for a moment. The sounds seemed to come from one particular room, which meant there could be who knew HOW many people fighting in a cramped space, and the door had been left wide open. Saiki dashed down the hallway, stopping before the open door; his eyes widened at the sight inside.

Brown strands flying this way and that, Uo nearly ran into Saiki, but luckily came to a reasonably timed stop. She blinked for a minute before she actually realized what was going on.... and that caused her to take a step back. She couldn't speak... but hell if anything, she couldn't charge ahead and go hero-girl...

Surprise turned quickly to anger. Saiki's gaze had moved from Karen to Yuuto to Yuuto's naked shield. Winds began to swirl away from Saiki's clenched fists.

"SEIICHIRO-SAN!!!" A strong blast of wind flew through the open doorway; Saiki's attention had turned completely away from Uo.

A bit stunned by Saiki's sudden outburst, Uo took a step back. If things cleared up enough, maybe she could get Aoki out of there... then again, he was naked, and he was a full grown man. While she could knock them out easy enough, carrying them after only eating a cracker or so during the entire day was an entirely different story.

_'.... I hate being so.. weak.' _she thought to herself..... but now was not the time to dive into THAT again...


	74. Chapter 72: A Sensation So Sweet

**Chapter Seventy-Two: A Sensation So Sweet**

Just as he ripped open the torrents from his walls, the door burst open. Lifting his head in surprise, he frowned as Aoki's relative and the powerless young girl from the DIET building entered. The strong gust of wind blasted in Yuuto's direction, and he held Aoki's body in front of him to block most of the force of the attack.

Just perfect. Outnumbered now three to one--four to one if he counted the unconscious Seal in his arms--the odds were quickly starting to look bad for him. True, the girl had no powers, as he could plainly sense, but the others would pose a high threat. He could only pray that Aoki did not wake up any time soon. At the rate this was progressing, Yuuto would need his human shield.

At this particular moment, Aoki began to stir and wake up.

"Uuuhhh... where am I...?" he said, his eyes flickering open.

* * *

Yuurei nodded sagaciously. "So you're a part of the Earth, then," he concluded. Yes, that would certainly explain a lot. He knew Shisa was not human, and rather an ethereal entity of some other origin. And it made sense that the Earth would produce a guardian such as he to protect one of the most important factors in the End of the World.

"I know perfectly well Shouri's destiny," he said slowly, staring squarely into Shisa's radiantly blazing eyes. "I know the burden on his shoulders, and I also know that he's currently unaware of this likely end." His gaze was direly serious. "And if you are his guardian, that means you have something to do with his Fate." His words slowed with concern as he slowly began to piece together the fragments of the puzzle in his mind. "Shisa...when are you planning to intervene?"

Because if his hunch was right, then Shisa's Fate had also been predetermined, and the guardian himself probably knew this was so. If that was true, was this beautiful guardian also going to meet his end before all of this was over? Worry began to take a hold on Yuurei's grim features.

The Guardian took a breath before he redirected his gaze off to the side, staring at the floor. He couldn't keep his eye-contact with the Watcher, at least not at that moment. Even then...

"... I will intervene when I am forced to.. I cannot do so... until I am required. My Fate.." he broke off suddenly, his eyes shifting to deep, pure blue for seconds before shifting into the rainbow colors once more.

It was the blue of despair.. of sorrow, but it vanished as quickly as it had come.

"My Fate remains undecided, Yuurei-san. Once the boy is gone.... There would be no need for me to remain on this plain.... I will be of no use to the planet.. and with no reason to stay......"

He shook his head suddenly. ".. My Fate remains unclear to even myself. The boy is a deciding factor, as are my actions. Not many know I exist.. so it would matter little to humanity. Unless the prophesy that belongs to the boy links me still to this plain, then...I honestly don't know."

He caught the brief glimpse of agony in the being's beautiful eyes before Shisa turned away. And then he spoke. The words clutched at Yuurei's chest like an iron fist. No more need for Shisa? Did Shisa believe no one would care?

Before he knew completely what he was doing, he reached up to cup the man's slender jaw, lifting his head and forcing their eyes to meet. "It matters to me, Shisa-kun," he murmured huskily, adding the affectionate suffix "kun" to the being's lonely name. "I know that you exist. Isn't that enough?"

And then, as though he had lost complete control over his own body, he leaned forward and let his eyes drift into hazy slivers. What was he doing? He almost tried to pull himself back, but knew it would be to no avail. He had felt this man's pain. And so deeply he wanted to aleve it.

That was when it happened. It was the lightest of touches, not even a verifiable caress. But nevertheless, he felt his lips brush against those of the sorrowful guardian.

Bliss... total, complete, and utter bliss...

If only it could have lasted forever. If the Guardian requested anything, of anyone.. it would have been to live in an alternate dimension where being together with Yuurei would have been possible.. but in the dimension that he lived in, in either plains.. it was impossible. The worst part was, he knew it to be true, in his heart.

After a brief minute, Shisa pulled away gently and looked Yuurei in the eyes. ".... You know what could happen.. if we don't open our eyes.. to reality..." he said, quite uneasily.

Curse his conscience.

Why did Fate wish to twist him this way and that, tease him with something so sweet that to refuse was madness? Perhaps.. Fate was doing such things simply to taunt him. Was this HIS punishment for intervening in Fate's punishment of another? Even so... he couldn't take Yuurei from Kakyou... and he wouldn't try. No matter how much he wished it, he would leave it be. After all...

_'Angels do not lust.' _The wind whispered in his ear.

_'But I am not an angel.' _Was his reply, mentally. _'Just a lost soul, baring a burden... forced to suffer..'  
_

His lips were so soft. He felt Shisa leaning into his touch at first, though he knew the guardian did not mean to. And when Shisa pulled away and spoke his soft, forlorn words, Yuurei could not help but frown in concern. Did Shisa know about Kakyou? Yes, of course he knew. Shisa had read Yuurei's emotions and seen through his delirium.

"Reality?" he repeated, his voice questioning the word in every sense of its meaning. "I know perfectly well this reality you speak of." His tone remained soft and soothing. "You saved me from my Fate, Shisa-kun. You brought me back to life and gave me another chance. It's as if I've been reborn. I'm completely free, I'm not restrained by anything."

Cupping the being's pale face with both hands, Yuurei stroked the smooth cheek with his callused thumb. "I see so much suffering in your eyes, Shisa-kun. Not only for the Earth, but for yourself. I know that pain. You're afraid to want anything for yourself, because you don't think there's time for that, or that your duty will allow it. But...you don't know. Not for certain."

The ache in his chest had not receded, and he averted his eyes from Shisa's face for a short moment. "I don't want to see you in pain. I sense your loneliness, and it pains me to know you think so little of your own existence. Maybe because I feel the same way about myself...or maybe it's simply because I care about you so much. I just know...I don't want you to suffer."

A small smile made an appearance upon Shisa's face as he looked at Yuurei through his glassy, multi-colored orbs. Indeed.... when he had first received the hint that there was more to humanity than he thought, he had not thought that they could achieve such a height as Yuurei had. Perhaps it was just the fact that Yuurei was the first to say those words, or perhaps.. it was just because Shisa wanted so much to hold him to those words. His eyes flashed slightly.

"To exist is to know suffering... to know pain.. to know happiness.. to know anger.... to know hate and love." Was his wise response, although he already knew that Yuurei knew such things. "So long as I know you, and you remember me.... my suffering is easily overlooked, and my pain is halved."

Strong words... very strong words for him to say. He had the feeling that it might come back to haunt him, but he did not allow it to show in his eyes.

"Knowing that I am not alone... and that someone cares, that you care...." He seemed to lose his words. Some emotions.. well, there were no words for them.... and it seemed he had found it again.

Indeed.. why WAS Fate playing this cruel game with him? ..Or... Was he the cause..?

As the guardian drifted off in his words, Yuurei closed his eyes and pulled the beautiful being closer, running the fingers of one hand through Shisa's long ebon tresses. Lowering his lips to brush against the man's ear, he whispered over and over again, "You matter to me. I would never forget you. You matter to me so much...."

He dipped his head lower, burying his lips against Shisa's pale, tender neck. Lightly he gave it a soft kiss. "You're not alone." Another kiss to the delicate flesh of the guardian's throat. "I don't want you to be lonely." Another kiss. "You don't have to be alone now. I'm with you." Another, and yet another, tracing all along Shisa's slender jaw line and caressing his smooth cheek.

And somehow, all the while, his eyes remained closed. The skin he touched, the hair he stroked...became something completely different behind his sealed eyelids. Soft, silky ivory tresses tangled between his fingers. Alabaster skin rubbed against his own, and sharp golden eyes stared up fondly into his bloody crimson gaze.

He knew this was not Kakyou he was touching with such affection. And something like a pang of nausea gripped his stomach. Yet still he hesitated to stop. Shisa was so much like himself. They knew the same pain, and shared so many of the same experiences. And besides, Kakyou thought Yuurei was dead, right? And so Yuurei could start an entirely new life without ever needing to look behind him.

...But that seemed so wrong. Had he only been using Kakyou, then? True, the dream seer was beautiful--and helpless against Yuurei's advances. But now that Yuurei had treated the frail man so cruelly, he knew nothing could ever be the same between them again.

Did that mean he no longer loved Kakyou? Had he ever loved Kakyou in the first place? If so, how could he be treating another man so affectionately when his lover needed him now more than ever? But...Shisa needed him, too.

He grimaced and finally pulled away, clenching his teeth in frustration. His eyes met with the sorrowful, longing gaze of the kind, beautiful guardian, and he nearly lost himself to his desire to never let this sweet man be alone again. "Shisa-kun...." Quickly he averted his eyes. "I...don't know what to do anymore..."

Shisa didn't pry into his mind, but rather allowed himself to receive the emotions as they came. He watched Yuurei, even after he had looked away from him and broken eye contact. It was understandable... wasn't it?

"Don't think." He said, voice rather soothing.

He couldn't let his voice reveal the worry and concern... no. He had to hold himself up, right? He had to.

"Let your heart decide."

The Guardian stepped away, footsteps light as he approached the window. He looked out over the city silently. So silent... but within it, another battle had begun, and he felt it as it rocked his very being. It was enough to shake him up... this battle held a great deal of rage that hit him hard. Too hard. So much anger.

His slender fingers reached out towards the battle, but he could not see it... nor could he reach it. He closed his eyes as his fingers gently slid down to the window sill and rested there.

_'... I don't want to come between them.. no matter how strongly I may feel for Yuurei..... I cannot come between them.. once attached, I won't be able to let go.. not without twice as much pain.' _he cursed himself inwardly. _'Would you do that to him? .. Would you do that to yourself?'_

His shield began to slacken as his worry grew worse. Whispers began to enter his head, the whispers of life around him...whispers of the spirits of the shrine. The problem was that their words were not... completely kind.

_`Strange creature....`_

_`Why is he HERE?`_

_`What a loatheful thing...`_

_`I knew that he was not as he seemed..`_

He shuddered.

_`I think he's afraid....`_

His body shook slightly as he fought from responding to them. They were certainly not above him... but this was their sanctuary, and he could not afford to anger them. His barrier returned again.

Slowly, Shisa's eyes opened again. He still did not turn to face the man. He could not rely on Yuurei.. he could not be selfish and snatch the man from Kakyou. Both of them would regret it in the end. If Fate did not make them pay, then their own minds would torture them, and it would be worse than anything that Fate could stir.

Acknowledging these things, Shisa spoke his 'mind' again. "... I cannot ask anything of you..... and.. no matter what I may wish, I must remember my reality. Friendship is all that I will ask, may ask... can ask.... because both of us know that you truly love Kakyou, Yuurei-kun..... and I.."

His eyes shifted to white momentarily. He had to use the last of his mental strength to keep from simply succumbing to his own wishes. White. The color of.. oh-so-many things...

".. I can't take that from him. It would not be sincere." He felt as though someone had dispersed his very core in every direction.. wrenched his wings from his back just to see the blood flow, but he did not show it. No. He wouldn't... he couldn't...

As Shisa got up and walked over to the window, Yuurei sighed and stood as well. The guardian had just said that he knew Yuurei loved Kakyou, and yet...how could he just ignore Shisa's pain? Moving up behind the celestial being, Yuurei let his hands come up to rest on Shisa's waist, leaning over the large wings to nuzzle his chin against the crook of the man's neck.

"I won't lie and say Kakyou doesn't matter to me," he said quietly, breathing in deeply Shisa's sweet, unearthly scent. "But he is part of my past, and that past was discarded when you saved me from Fuuma. He's probably forgotten all about me by now. After all, he has someone else who loves him, anyway. He doesn't need me." Desperately he willed himself to believe that. Even though it pained him to think of Kakyou being with anyone but himself. "Shisa-kun...I will forget the past...if you will do the same."

Shisa's eyes flickered open again as he heard those words. Even though he knew that they would regret it later, his guardian instinct had somewhat shifted...to that of a "normal" creature's own. Was it wrong to want something for himself when he took so much from others? No...but what he was truly concerned with being hurt...or hurting Yuurei. His last defense began to crumble like a wall that had been with the force of a tsunami at such a speed that it responded in another time.

"Yuurei-kun...." His words failed him. How was he to respond to him...to those words...? Before he could think of anything to say, his heart spoke its mind. Not a second had passed before the guardian's lips gently, though hesitantly, brushed over those of the Watcher....

Yuurei felt a jump of surprise shoot through his spine as the warm lips brushed against his own. Shisa wanted him. Until that very moment, Yuurei had not been quite sure. But now that he felt that sweet caress, he knew that he wanted the guardian as well. His arms gradually wrapped around the being's slender waist, pulling him closer as he lifted one hand to cup Shisa's smooth jaw. Letting his fingers glide to the back of the man's head, through the silky raven tresses, he deepened the kiss, closing his eyes and melting into the man's embrace as he felt Shisa do the same. No more words were needed. He was not even aware that all thoughts of Kakyou had already escaped his consciousness.

In the back of his mind, he felt his last defense drop completely. Another nagging had begun, the nagging of the 'Third Eye', but he silenced it. Anzu, Taer, and Kaze would have to understand...though, he knew they would not. This was his time...and his small piece of eternity. He slowly closed his eyes, savoring every moment of the kiss, needless to say, an honest kiss. It was sweet, sweet and beautiful...and at the same time, it held meaning. So, this was why love was valued beyond the world of greed and gold...why so many who were called 'foolish' gave everything to be with another....

Subconsciously, he heard the ramble of the children's approaching life force. He lifted his left hand from his side and let it drop again. The doors locked. A barrier formed around the room. No normal human could enter...and hopefully not the priestess. It was his time now. He was going to enjoy it...and he refused to share it with anyone else but the one who held him close in such a warm embrace.

Feeling the energy envelop the room, Yuurei let the notion slip to the back of his mind as he let out a low moan into the intimate kiss. He allowed his tongue to explore every nook and crevice of Shisa's hot mouth, relishing in the feeling of the guardian's arms around him.

When at last they separated after what seemed like a fraction of sweet, blissful eternity, Yuurei brushed his lips against Shisa's cheek and whispered, "Even if I am involved in the End of the World, I am still only human, Shisa-kun. However...I'd be honored to show you the joys of human existence...even if they are small and trivial, and perhaps only temporary. That is...if you'll let me...."

"...Would you...?" Shisa asked, a mixture of curiosity and perhaps even childish joy hidden within the confines of his supernatural voice. A small smile graced his lips at the thought. Really, it was sort of funny. He--in appearance, a grown man--unaware of what the human world really was worth, while he had observed them, known them...felt them for eternity. He went deeper than any of them, and yet he knew so little of how they really were. He trusted Yuurei...and the fact that he revealed such tones in his voice only proved it...though he still held his composure.

Chuckling huskily at Shisa's innocent reply that was also a question, Yuurei nodded and pulled him back, stepping toward the bed, sinking down onto the mattress with the beautiful man still in his arms. Giving no verbal answer, he leaned forward again to caress the guardian's tender neck with his lips, moving outward gradually to kiss his shoulders, running a hand up across the flank of one magnificent wing. Languidly he stroked the soft feathery flesh, letting his head eventually drift to the side to kiss along the seemingly fragile bone that ran along the top of the wing. This man was not human. He had to remember that. He had to be particularly careful.

If there was any way to get Shisa to bend to another's will, it was through his wings. His wings were a prized feature, very sensitive and very delicate. Had Shisa been younger, he might have purred...but he wasn't a cat, and he wasn't a child, at least not in years. His wing expanded just a little, not far at all, but rather shifted in unison with Yuurei's movements. It was obvious that he liked it...perhaps a little too much.

* * *

The darkness enveloped him again and it was eerily silent, the only sound were the soft sobs that filled the place and were immediately swallowed up by the liquid-like floor.

Mayouko's words kept echoing in his head...over and over.. they just wouldn't go away and it was killing him...

The tears dried up slowly after a few minutes, leaving his eyes puffy and scratchy.

Nothing mattered anymore...Yuurei was gone.. He was alone...again... The only thing he could do was see dreams again...and wish for death.... He stayed curled around himself for a few minutes, trying to convince himself to take deep breaths...

It was then that a broken fragment of a dream stumbled upon him. It was one he had never seen before. There were no people.. Just auras.. and emotions...

Emotions so profound and deep that Kakyou wondered if he would drown in them.. Love.. Lust...Caring... all rolled into one...

One of the auras was so familiar that Kakyou was sure he would have recognized it immediately...but his disjointed mind could not place it right away...and he groped for it...and after a few minutes of struggling to put his mind together he grasped it...

Yuurei...

But he was dead. Unless his mind or Mayouko perhaps was beginning to play tricks on him...

Kakyou moaned, "Stop it! STOP IT!!!" his voice raspy. "LEAVE ME ALONE!!! HE'S DEAD!!!" His whole body shook violently as he screamed.

But he could not help but be reminded of how much he knew his dreams were true.. They always were. And as much as he hated to admit it... he had to believe in them. He noted with irony that they seemed to be the only things he could believe in now... Struggling to stand, his chest heaving now with the overflow of emotions from the dream, he bit his lip enough to make it bleed...

The dream passed as quickly as it had come upon him, leaving him drained and his mind in even more turmoil then it had been before.

So he was alive... His heart jolted in his chest at this. But if he was why had he not come back..?

And with another jolt this time one of pure pain that traveled straight through his whole body, he understood that those emotions were not for him... They were for someone else..

Kakyou fell onto his hands and knees. No tears spilled down his cheeks, they remained completely dry...

He shouldn't have been surprised...... shouldn't have been surprised at all...

His body shook, creating light ripples in the floor as in fought a battle within himself..

_~Maybe it's me... maybe I'm not strong enough.. not good enough for him...~  
_  
_~No...he does it because he doesn't care... maybe he even faked his death just so he could get away from me... because he didn't care about what he is to me.. what I feel for him...~  
_  
_~Perhaps...he deserves this other person more then he deserves me...in his eyes perhaps I am nothing but a burden....~_

What had Yuurei said... _`I'll be waiting for you...'  
_  
_~Like it mattered anymore... Yuurei obviously had never cared for him in the first place.. Maybe he had just been the Watcher's bit of fun... perhaps he had been nothing but a play toy...~  
_  
Everything was just a blur, his head dropped and he stared through glassy golden orbs into the blackness of the floor, his reflection rippling within it's depths. Sinking to his knees he clenched his hand within his kimono and tried to find something to grasp on to that would comfort his tortured soul...

The answer came not from the lonely and pain-filled creature staring back at him but from the single movement of a hand. Shifting his eye slowly he stared almost blankly down at his left hand where it was clenched up in the folds of his kimono. He studied it then.. the white fingers curled into the cream colored fabric, the pronounced knuckles, the smooth back all bone white...

These hands that could not reach out and change the fate of those he cared for...

It was then that he recognized the blue colored vein that ran just beneath the surface of his skin. The hand sprang open and slowly turned over and now he studied the palm...the wrist...those blue veins.... and in his benumbed mind a thought suddenly clicked... And at that moment as if by some unknown force of magic, his hand clasped around the slim handle of...something..

Lifting his head to stare at it out of pain-fogged eyes, he immediately recognized it. A dagger..

It fit into his hand like a glove, the silver of the simple blade winking in the non-existent light. It shimmered as if calling to him..

Puffy and clouded golden eyes stared back at him as he lifted it and peered into it's surface, as if hoping it would show him something.. Anything that he could do to ease this pain and agony that weighed him down to his very soul...

His golden eye flickered between hand and knife... his mind had snapped and he could no longer think clearly.

He watched, a look of fascination and wonderment apparent on his features as the knife slowly moved forward. It was almost as if Kakyou no longer had control over his own body. But he knew that it was his hand that was moving smoothly toward his upturned wrist. There was no trembling.. no last minute hesitation... no immediate last thought that this wasn't what he wanted to be doing to himself...

All he could think of was of dulling the pain...making it go away to ease his suffering...

His head bowed, golden blond hair spilling around his face though his pain-racked eyes never left the spot on the left hand where palm met wrist.

At first it was just a prick, knife point lightly embedded, enough to create a single drop of blood that slowly welled up and trickled like molasses down the side of his wrist. A harsh intake of breath, though he wasn't even sure it was his anymore.

Next a tiny thrust and the point went deeper.. more blood welled up and made tiny rivets of a red color as it ran down both sides of his arm...

This time a movement toward his elbow, the blade cutting lightly into his white flesh. A thin red line appeared as the drops surfaced and spilled over, his arm now a mixture of stark white and dark red...

Tears now welled up in the corner of his golden orbs and spilled over, streaming down his cheeks and dropping to mingle with the blood that pooled on the floor. Closing his eyes, he jerked the knife toward his elbow again, this time farther then before and deeper...

His face contorted and he gasped, a shiver ran through his body as a sensation so sweet spilled through him, like the blood that welled up and oozed down his arm..

He took a deep, shaky breath and let it out in something akin to a sigh, and slowly opened his eyes to stare at his pale arm...which was now covered in the thick red liquid...his own blood... His salvation...his escape from pain..

Hazy golden eyes watched as he angled his arm downward letting the blood pool into his hand and run through the crevices between his fingers, letting each drop fall to the black floor with a small plop...

Voices and scenes of the past bombarded him now.. though one drowned out all the rest. A cold sneering voice, a flash of maroon eyes.. _`You have always been alone haven't you?'_

A tiny voice deep within his mind and heart now answered..

..."Yes."

* * *

When Subaru didn't answer, Hokuto grew anxious. "Subaru...? Are you ok? Are you seriously injured?" Something was tugging at the back of her mind, but she ignored it, her concern for her brother being the only thing that mattered.

She couldn't leave the person in her arms lying on the ground, so she tried to stand with him, but had no such luck. "Subaru..."

She looked at him, her eyes blurring up. This had to be the hundredth time that day and Hokuto was so tired of it. She was so extremely weak now.

Once again, she felt the tug in the back of her mind. No... In the back of her very soul. It was stronger this time. She grabbed her wrist, expecting to feel the sticky substance of blood, but there was none.

_Kakyou..._

Her mind panicked, trying to reach out for him, and she scrambled to her feet, only to fall back down, unconscious.

Too much emotional stress.

Once again, waking up in that cold black dreamscape, she cried out, her heart being pulled in different directions. She wanted to be with Subaru, she had just found him again, but she needed to see if Kakyou was ok. Another part just longed back to being dead and not feel this complete desperation that came with being alive.

She was stronger in her dreams. Hokuto gingerly stood up and her eyes immediately fell upon the fair haired yumemi. Blood was seeping through his white kimono, making puddles on the floor. She let out a small intake of breath and stumbled against him.

"Kakyou..."

* * *

As he ran his hand along the span of Shisa's wing, a faint smile curved his lips. He felt the angelic being shiver under his touch, which only compelled Yuurei's fingers to become more intimate with Shisa's pale flesh. The guardian's eyes had turned white--the color of.... It was an odd color to see in a humanlike creature's eyes.

Delicately Yuurei let his other hand drift to Shisa's stomach, creeping under the dark robes and stroking the tender skin of his side. As he let his hand travel farther up the man's body, something suddenly lurched within the very pit of his bowels. At first he ignored it, pushing the unpleasant sensation to the back of his mind as his index finger brushed over Shisa's protruding nipple. But when he took the tender nub of flesh between his first two fingers and began to pinch and massage it carefully, the feeling rushed back even more acutely.

How long had it been? A year? Two? No, it had been less than two days. It mattered none what direction Fate led him--whether toward Heaven or Earth. He was still the Watcher. And more closely than anyone else, he had watched over one man. He had loved Kuzuki Kakyou ever since they had first met in the young yume-mi's dreams more than fifteen years ago. His body had ached to be with the delicate, beautiful Angel for years without fail.

It had been only two nights ago that they had finally been reunited, after years apart due to Hinoto forbidding Yuurei to reveal himself to the frail beauty. They had at last joined together in body and soul--the most precious moments of Yuurei's life.

He opened his eyes languidly, unaware that he had ever closed them. Two stunning ivory eyes gazed back up at him, filled with a strange but sure sense of longing. Yuurei nearly forced out a dry laugh, but held his breath back; he had almost expected to see familiar golden eyes staring up at him, an angelic face framed by stringy tresses of platinum-blonde.

But no. This was not Kakyou. This was not the man Yuurei had spent over half of his life watching and loving. The being before him was kind and strong and beautiful, yes, and he had even saved Yuurei's life and sanity. But it was not the same.

Good God, what was he doing? What was he about to do? True, Kakyou believed Yuurei to be dead. True, Yuurei had mistreated the lovely dream seer so badly that nothing could ever possibly be the same between them. And true, Hokuto was alive now and capable of loving and taking care of Kakyou. But did all of these aspects make it all right for Yuurei to forget about and abandon him? He may have had no right to come back into Kakyou's life after everything he had done, but that was no reason to treat the sweet man as though he had been nothing but a temporary play toy.

Ever so gradually, Yuurei lowered his head in disgrace and backed away. Yes, he cared about Shisa deeply and wanted to take away his loneliness, but it was simply not worth sacrificing everything Kakyou meant to him...even if they would never be together again. Still...he could not bring himself to meet the guardian's wanting eyes. He could not bear the thought of hurting this kind, generous, lonely being.

"Gomen nasai," he murmured at last, his voice low and almost on the verge of breaking. "I seem to be jerking you around so much tonight. I have no right to ask for your forgiveness." Why was it he seemed only capable of hurting those he cared about most? "I'm a fool." It was a plain, clear statement, with no hint of question or hesitation. He rested his forehead in one hand. "God, I'm such a fool."

Finally he managed to life his gaze enough to meet Shisa's entrancing eyes, unaware of the silent tears that had begun to spill down his ashen cheeks. "I can't put the past behind me, Shisa-kun. I thought I could...but I can't forget him. I've betrayed him so many times...in so many ways...but not like this. I can't betray him like this. Even if I never see him again...." A forced smile crossed his tired features as he glanced back down into his open palm, then back up at the guardian's face. "It doesn't matter if I never see him again. I can make it through the rest of my life alone."

Miserably he shoved his way to his feet. "I didn't want to hurt you like this. I care about you so deeply, Shisa-kun, and that will never change. But...." He turned his forlorn gaze toward the open window, then ducked his head guiltily. "Gomen nasai, Shisa-kun. I love him. Only him. And that, too, will never change."


	75. Chapter 73: Inner Turmoil

**Chapter Seventy-Three: Inner Turmoil**

Karen gasped as Yuuto's water barrage came bursting from the walls towards her. The fire caster hastily threw out a shield of flames before her, but not in time to stop the spray from reaching its target. The red-haired woman cried out in pain as the water struck her full on, knocking her breath from her, and she crumpled to the floor.

As she struggled to regain her breath, a movement in the corner of her vision caught her attention. Turning towards the new distraction, she saw a hazy, familiar figure swim into view. As she blinked through the tears still in her eyes, she recognized the figure as Saiki, Aoki's nephew. With him was a girl she didn't know.

"S-Saiki-san, watch out!" Karen cried out, still gasping for breath as she struggled to stand. "Be careful, you might get hurt!" The red- haired woman fell to the floor again and grimaced. Things weren't looking good; Aoki was still in the hands of the enemy. But as long as she kept her Kekkai up, Yuuto wouldn't be able to escape. Karen closed her eyes and concentrated, putting all of her energy in keeping her Kekkai up. Hopefully Saiki would be able to stop Yuuto.

* * *

He watched. He listened. There was not much more that he could do. He had felt the emotions, ready the mind of the Watcher as he had felt the hesitance…

He had known what was coming... and yet now, it seemed too hard to grasp.

Yuurei said that he was a fool... but that wasn't true. Shisa knew who had played the part of the fool, and it was not the human, but himself that was to blame. If he had been stronger, not revealed himself to begin with...

If he had shut out emotion as he had always done, and not allowed false hope to coil around his body and tease him, then none of this would be happening. None of it! He wouldn't have to feel the pain that now coursed through his veins, traveling to the very heart of the celestial being and ramming a dagger through him a thousand times over.

The man's words echoed in his mind, though they seemed to be in the background as a thousand pained words traveled through his mind, a thousand tortured, cursed thoughts.

... No pain could be this great. His burden dimmed in comparison... and the worst thing was that his heart would not allow him to forget. Shisa wished that he could ask himself, "what heart?", but he could not. Once he was open to someone, he simply could not close himself. It was too late for him to look back... to prevent his pain... And knowing that he had allowed himself to fall into a humanoid state...

Shisa flinched, saying no thing after the man finished speaking. To speak too soon wouldn't be wise. He might say something irrational.  
Truth be known, he wasn't even sure who he was anymore... and how could he be? Within the past hour, he had betrayed all that he had believed in.... all of the observations, and his trust in himself... It was gone, gone in a flash.

The spirits in the room dispersed, scattering themselves so that the whispers could not reach the guardian's ears. The earth loved Shisa very much, as did its many spirits- the spirits of life AND even the spirits of death.... but they could be cruel sometimes. No one would want to talk to another after a tragedy, an embarrassment- no, a degradation of honor, soul, and dignity, or look them in the eye.... and that was how they treated Shisa. They could not bear to comfort him. They could not extend their soothing presence to him. His pain had increased... but this time, it was a pain from within himself. Personal....

Deep eyes became clear, though not blank. He would not reveal his pain to the Watcher. He hid it carefully, blocking his mind once more to any who would wish to penetrate it... even Yuurei, though it was not meant harshly.

At long last, he gently pushed himself up. His left wing pushed him gently to the right side of the bed, away from Yuurei. He could not bare to look at him.... because he knew that looking upon the man would only expose his humility and worsen his pain.

He cleared his throat, eyes half-open as he spoke. His voice was as it had been when he was a 'child'. Monotonous.

"... I understand, Yuurei-san.... and I cannot hold that against you. Who am I to come between any two people, especially two that love each other so much that they would sacrifice themselves for one another, defy Fate, if necessary."

His voice did not shake as he spoke, still monotonous. His eyes grew a deep blue.. so deep that it transformed into a new color, close to the shadows of black.

".... After all.. Fate has twisted herself once again.... Another successful attempt at piercing souls..... funny. She seems.. to be laughing."

The bitter realization only made it harder on him. The whisper of spirits grew worse. Outside of the sanctity of the shrine, he could hear others laughing at him. Laughing at his mistakes... hus humility...

Laughing at the tears that stung his face. Just to cry was painful.. but perhaps that was because he cried tears of red. Tears of blood.

".. Although I would ask for your friendship, Yuurei-san.. I'm afraid that I could not have even that. Too many wounds, too deep, that you must attend to.. and I refuse to be one of them. Acquaintances.. yes, that would be best."

The tall silver and black feathers were ruffled by the Guardian's slender fingers, almost as if he were preening... and yet, he took his time and did not rush like some every day bird. His slender wings outstretched, a small gust arising and spreading his supernatural scent through out the room.

"I cannot promise that I will be upon any side, Yuurei-san." His eyes flashed. The tone was now that of the Guardian, no longer that of simply Shisa. "But in the war to come, you may be assured that I am at your side in spirit. Your Kakyou, I will watch from a distance as well.... he means a lot to you.. and I would rather not see you in any pain." His muscles were tightened. It wouldn't be good to try and fly now.

But he couldn't stay in the same room. The tears would not stop coming. His energy was depleting rapidly and he did not wish to transform back into his normal form there.. after all, his cloak had been withdrawn and he would be revealed. He did not plan on allowing that to happen. He just wanted to get away... Not to melt back into the earth as he had been once....

But to die..

To disperse his very soul....

.. But Face was cruel and would not allow him to rest... The planet wouldn't, either. He was its property. And it LOVED to remind him of that.

".... G-gomen ne.." Shisa choked slightly before suddenly standing, eyes flashing as he walked to the window and stared out. The pain was growing worse... and it was somehow.. sweet to him. ".. I... need to g-"

He stopped short.

Something was wrong.

Two of his 'eyes' were closed, and the third was.... flinching.

A look of sheer confusion appeared upon his face as his emotional barrier broke again. He felt as though he were a special type of glass that could take a beating, breaking little bit at a time.. and someone was using him for a punching bag. Dark... very dark..

".. Oh God.."

Shisa's eyes widened slightly as a gasp escaped his lips.

".. The boy.."

The emotion drained from Shisa's eyes. The guardian was hiding his true feelings again. Yuurei grimaced. He had liked it so much when Shisa had opened up to him, let him sense the very innermost part of his soul. Something about it was so comforting. And now...it was over. And Yuurei hated himself for it.

What had he done? He had hurt the man. Of course, he knew this would happen. But he also knew that he could never betray Kakyou so unjustly. But to see that hidden pain in Shisa's now unreadable eyes...it was almost too much for him to bear. He nearly came forward again and took the man into his arms, wanting so direly to banish his every loneliness.

So, to refrain from doing so, Yuurei straightened his back and reluctantly stepped away. His eyes cleared; his focus returned. If anyone could hide his emotions just as well or better than the guardian, it was the Watcher himself. Indifference clouded his grim countenance, though his chest still burned with regret.

Suddenly Shisa seemed to break out in a panic. "Oh, God...the boy!" he cried frantically, though he refused to meet Yuurei's gaze.

Yuurei glanced at him impartially, but he frowned all the same. "Shouri? What's happening to him?"

But before the celestial being was even given the chance to respond, an acrid sting so deep and acute bit into Yuurei's soul that he physically flinched, crimson eyes growing wide with shock. What was this...? No...it could not be. Kakyou...? Such pain...not only emotional, but physical. Was someone hurting him? He did not know. All he could sense...was the blood...and the suffering.

"No...please...not now...." He needed to either reach Mayouko's apartment or find away to fall asleep as soon as possible. But what about Shisa? What about Shouri? His duties still remained, and when it came down to choosing between helping one on the side of the Dragons of Heaven or those of Earth, his loyalties still lay with Heaven. But Kakyou...the man he loved...was in pain.

Grimacing from deep within himself, he glanced back at Shisa. "I'll go to him," he said finally, his voice calm and almost apathetic, though his soul was still somewhat undecided. "Whatever's happening, I need to be there, anyway." Kakyou would just have to wait a little longer...

_-Gomen nasai...Kakyou-kun....- _

"... No." Shisa's eyes flashed suddenly as he turned and looked to Yuurei. "I cannot allow that. Shouri is my reason for being. He is my responsibility.... besides...... he needs you, now."

The lingering connection- the presence he had felt in the room only briefly before the sudden separation- had told him just how Kakyou was doing. The man had grown worse, probably... and who knew what he was doing. Although he didn't have the details on the man called Kakyou, he did know that something was wrong... wrong enough that he didn't need to look at his face to know it.

"The boy can take care of himself long enough for me to get there.. perhaps it is only a disturbance in the area, anyhow." Shisa turned, walking towards the window as his wings suddenly folded behind him, ruffling into place as they appeared to grow a little more slender and curve. He could easily fit through the window.

"This is my business.... now go, and quickly. He needs you." Words.. so unselfish from such a pained creature. To be needed... That must have been lovely... but to be wanted, now that was a true blessing.

If he ever did meet Kakyou, he would tell him so. But at the moment, he needed to find the boy.

That wouldn't be hard, provided that his wings were a benefit. The question was, could he make it across the city without reverting? He hoped so. It wouldn't do to drop from the sky... It would be very cold.. for him, anyways.

He glanced back before he nodded again. "Don't worry about me. The turn out will be good in the end." His fingers slid the window open with little trouble. "Keep your eyes set on the path before you and you will find your way back through the clouds. I would have liked to go with you... but I don't think I can."

A small smile appeared before he nodded his head. No tears came from him. No. He wouldn't let them. He hid his emotions well. He wouldn't look back, either. He couldn't. Not without crying... and that was unacceptable.

Suddenly the wind picked up. Just right for a perfect flight.

".. Sayonara."

And with that, the Guardian seemed to fall out the window.. or rather dive.

A flash of silver and black lit the area. The sensation was enough to make his heart pound in his chest. He had not flown in ages.... At least not in *this* plain. The wind whipped the long, slender strands of black this way and that way without mercy. It grew colder. He was heading for the ground...

And suddenly his wings spread out as he twisted himself in a complete 'circle' and released, the wind catching his wings as they lifted up and came down. The wind beneath kicked the dirt up, though the grass seemed to 'grow' directly back where it had been kicked up as his wings beat the ground mercilessly. Slowly he gained altitude, leaving the grounds of the shrine swiftly.

Immediately after he was out of the shrine, he heard the laughs.. The voices of the spirits in the wind. They were laughing at him, or at least some of them were. Some of the more friendly offered to allow him to rest his wings on them and let them carry him for a while.. which he gladly accepted. He needed to preserve the energy that he could. His stupid mistakes were costing him yet again.

_~".... Have you seen him?"~ _His eyes darted to a light hint of wavering blue lines- lines that made out the form of a horse with blue wings.

The response wasn't helpful... but he felt the boy nearby. He was close now. So close..

It was at that moment that he felt himself begin to give way. From the wind he fell, eyes flashing down at the ground below. He couldn't stop. WHAT was wrong with him?

... His will to live..

Was slowly vanishing...

That was why he was falling....

Or so he thought..

_`Without the will to live, we fall short of our expectations... And fall into the river of darkness...` _A voice whispered in his mind.

He could feel himself falling. He was going, going into the darkness. It would consume him... rip him apart.

Good. Death was all that he longed for after the recent events.

But Fate once again acted against his will. The Earth would not permit him to die...

Never.

He was its property. It always reminded him.

The wings of a giant dusk-red bird flashed beneath him in a dive, catching the falling guardian upon its back. It was none other than Anzu, the dusk-fire bird..... there to save her master from her harm.

Her red eyes flashed as she looked over her shoulder, making sure that he was secure upon her back. _`.. Master..?`_

_~"..Anzu...."~  
_  
He said nothing, closing his eyes as he gazed up at the sky. It seemed so dark to him..... so very dark..

The bird looked at him still as she flew over the city, leaving a trail of red 'stars' to float in her wake. She was concerned for her master. He had seemed as though.. he might've been happy for once, last she had spoken with him through their link... and then he had shut it. Surely, something must have happened... but if so, why was he so miserable now? Something must've gone wrong... and the wind spirits had taunted and teased. Something about a human man.. and a celestial creature.

But she didn't care what they said. Shisa was her master and she cared very deeply about him, even if she was only a second rate spirit. How could she not? They were linked?

_~"... Is the boy..?"~_

_`He is fine... merely the result of a kekkai being summoned. The fields of energy in this area were unstable at the time.` _Anzu replied as her wings beat against the wind.

Shisa fought to close the voices out and focus on the connection with his dear spirit birds. Kaze. Taer. He could feel them again. He could hear them again.

_`"Shisa-sama!"` _The two male birds said in unison, though they were no where in sight.

_~".. Taer...... Kaze.."~  
_  
Shisa could barely keep his eyes open. His body was fatigued. Two transformations in one day. First a new humanoid transformation.. Then the conversation to the pre-mature (not to mention the only celestial form he has reached after rebirth) version of his true self. The jumps in energy were too high... and the fatigue caused by changing so much was unexplainable. Transforming after a transformation.. into his true form...

How stupid could he be?

_~".... Thank you.. for watching him.."~_

_`"Shisa-sama, are you alright? What happened?"` _Kaze's voice was concerned as his eye seemed to tremble in fear.

_~".... Nothing.."~  
_  
What a lie. He had fallen for one of a race lower than his own.. And now suffered the consequences of Fate's revenge... but worse, he suffered the pain of having his heart ripped to shreds.. and hearing nothing but laughter from every direction. He was in pain... and he refused to let anyone share it.

No one else could take it, not even Yuurei had been able to. That brief relief seemed like folly now...

Indeed. What a fool he had BEEN!

_`Shisa-sama..`_ Anzu's voice penetrated his thoughts. _`Should I take you to the warehouse? .. You seem tired...`  
_  
_~"Hai.... please do.. I would appreciate that very much, Anzu."~ _His long black wings seemed to mingle with her own for a moment before he curled up upon the back of the giant red bird, hiding tears that tried to escape him.

_`Very well then..`  
_  
She flew upwards, narrowly avoiding a building as they glided over its top, and began to head for the warehouse. Never had she seen the Guardian in such a condition.... and it pained her quite a bit. Still, she did what she could....

And eventually they arrived at the old warehouse where Shisa rested. It was one of the few old places in the city where that delightful music that the wind played could be heard like the steady beat of a drum.

He dismounted, thanking her once again before giving his orders. Taer was to watch over the 'extra children' that had found their way into Fate's path, as well as the Dragons of Earth. Kaze was to watch over Shouri. Anzu was to watch over the Dragons of Heaven. Once given the command, Anzu took off again, though hesitantly....

Seeing the last trace of the firebird vanish, Shisa cast his glance to the ground and dragged himself a few feet before stopping. Surely he could concentrate enough to get through the walls and to the abandoned old room that he stayed in. It was worth a shot, wasn't it?

His image flickered as his body began to lose its physicality. He fell through the floors wordlessly, walking through the walls.

But it only hurt his head, causing a minor headache to arise. He wasn't sure where he was going...

Shisa reached the corridor after some time, wings folded neatly behind his back. He was out of breath and bent slightly over. The pain piercing his body was worse than a thousand knives stabbing at the skin simultaneously. It hurt. Oh, it hurt.

Was this heartache..? .. Nay, it was heart break. He had been so close, but so far away.

At last the laughter had ceased momentarily. Anzu's fire had probably had something to do with it, not to mention the fact that most respectable spirits and entities would not enter to merely taunt him.

As he walked down the hallway, he stopped by the usual door and slowly pulled himself in, body sagging even more. He tried to think of Yuurei... but it was hard not to...... The man was the only thing on his mind.

Over to the half-decent, sorry, pathetic-excuse-for-a-bed, Shisa walked, or rather past it. When he grew tired, he would lay.... but he didn't want to feel any kind of bed at the moment. The floor would suffice. He slunk down the wall that he was leaning against.

It was so hard... so cold...

The dust stirred a bit, and a small gaggle of rats ran off in every direction. He didn't care. He could barely see them.

The Guardian's eyes were filled with tears...

And they wouldn't fall.

Although he refused to allow himself to sink into depression and hopeless despair, he could not help it. He wanted to cry so badly, but he was not permitted. He wouldn't. And so he sat there, miserable and alone, unable to cry...

Unable to die...

Unable to think of any but the one who had shown him just a little compassion...

A small whisper escaped him as his emotions spoke once more. His lips never moved, as he usually didn't 'puppet talk' unless near humans who didn't know about him. It was a small whisper... a secret whisper.... a plea...

"..... Tasukete.."

* * *

He said nothing as Shisa left. If he had tried, his apathetic façade would have shattered, and he would have run to stop Shisa from going. Once the guardian was gone, he began to breath more easily. But his chest still felt tight. His aura was brimming with guilt. He had broken the celestial being. Perhaps it would have been better to love the man...?

No. He shook his head sternly. That was not an option. Kakyou was the only one he loved. And now he had to get to the sweet dream seer before anything else occurred. So what were his alternatives? Either he could return to Mayouko's apartment to deal with the happenings in person, or he could fall asleep...somehow.

Well, visiting his dear little imouto-san was out of the question. The risk was too high. That left only one option. But it felt impossible that he might be able to go to sleep now...like this.

Nevertheless, he lay down on Shouri's bed and closed his eyes. He tried to sleep, but no rest came. All he could think about was Shisa...and how much pain he had caused the innocent guardian.

* * *

Humans were imbeciles. Ever since the first man had walked the Earth, this planet had been corrupted. And as the Earth's Arbitrator, it was Chitsumi Kurai's duty to represent and judge the dark, sinful side of humanity. And there was far more than enough to name the putrid race guilty as charged.

He had watched his counterpart from afar throughout the night--in fact, he had been watching with "eyes" that were not physically part of himself for almost as long as the Earth had existed. Of course, he always kept his essence hidden from the Guardian's perception; it would not be wise to let himself be known to his so-called adversary. After all, Shisa represented the purity and good intentions of humanity--something Kurai could not even comprehend.

He had seen how Shisa had been broken by rejection. Kurai nearly scoffed, though something deeper within his aura did not find the situation amusing at all.

And now he stood inside the warehouse, upon a top beam high in the rafters, staring down at the being he had been created to oppose. He watched as the spirit bird lay Shisa down on the floor, and let him slump against the wall. He listened to the being's quiet, unspoken plea. If he had possessed a heart, perhaps it would have reached out to the hurting soul. But as it were, he was empty and no better than if he were dead.

"Help you?" he finally said, also in a "voice" that was not uttered from his lips, but rather from his mind's tongue. "I've never seen you so weakened. Haven't I told you all along humans are a burden?"

Refraining from further, harsher taunting for the moment, Kurai leaped down and landed lightly on his feet, his lean, translucent body covered in a magnificent cloak of purest ivory, lined with silver hemming--ironic for one so tainted and depraved. Still he stood a good ten paces from where Shisa sat, studying his ethereal form scrupulously, face scrunched up in mock perplexity.

And he saw it. Shisa's deepest pain; the celestial being could not hide even his innermost emotions from Kurai. After all, they were practically one and the same. And Kurai could now tell exactly the most pointed agony Shisa was experiencing. The Guardian was lonely.

"You've existed all this time on your own, not needing anyone," he said in a voice of total indifference. "Yet now you long for someone to hold you--and a human man at that." He held back a smirk. "Or was your valiant strength merely a facade? Tell me, Shisa, why should the spirits of the Earth help you, when you cannot even help yourself?"


	76. Chapter 74: Flawless Corruption

**Chapter Seventy-Four: Flawless Corruption**

He strode threw the area up to the two alerted Dragons of Heaven. "Are you the ones that made this field...this Kekkai barrier?" He spoke in a normal voice.

He drew a cigarette and lit it, trying to act as humane as he could. "If so, then you must be the Dragons of Heaven...I'm your ally, Shikyoden Dante of the Enochian College of Hermetica," he smiled, it was a lie but that's what he was good at, this would have to pass.

Now alerted to the voice from behind her, Arashi grabbed Sorata's wrist. She yanked his hand off her breast, and down from under her shirt. She tried to reach for the other hand working at her bra, but she simply turned sharply.

"W-who are you!?" she replied. The crack in her voice was obviously for the embarrassment of the situation.

_"...You must be Dragons of Heaven." _she caught the tail end.

"That's none of your business." She would have loved to reply with 'yes', but...

She glanced over her shoulder at Sorata, and held her sword in front of her. "Ally?" Arashi scoffed. "I've never heard of you..."

He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. "Who am I...I am Shikyoden Dante of the Enochian College of Hermetica" he explained again, opening his eyes.

"I know either both of you are Dragons of Heaven...or that one of you is a Dragon of Earth trying to rape a Dragon of Heaven or vise versa. Oh yes, you would not heard of me, I was sent in by outside forces to act on their behalf...Celestials are funny on this sort of deal, no?" he spoke as he noticed the man groping and fondling Arashi.

"But....If you want your time alone...so be it." He awaited an answer and withdrew a cigarette and light it with the green flame from his fingertip.

* * *

The Guardian did not bother to look up. Why make the effort? That voice was not of a creature that he wished to communicate with, and his rudeness and disrespect had always made it apparent. Some things never changed, new form or not. He thought that he might have been spared from the mocking and the taunting by entering his far-from-perfect sanctuary, but apparently he had been wrong. If he had known that his counterpart would have been at the warehouse when he got back, then he would have continued to wander the city.

Of course, that wouldn't help. He would have shown up to tease and ridicule him anyways. He was like that, after all... though, Shisa had never understood why he was so cruel. He had not stopped trying to understand, though he told himself that he had. It was ironic. The one other creature, similar to him in the fact that neither were from the plain of the earth, was his nemesis.

He said nothing, but listened to the cruel taunting. He dropped his emotionless mask after about five seconds. It was obvious that Kurai could *still* see through it... and he sincerely disliked him for it. His expression was that of one who had been thrashed, beaten, whipped, and torn apart limb from limb. Broken glass.... indeed, that was the best description for him.

".. Don't you ever knock?" he murmured.

Slowly, a set of shadow-blue eyes trailed from the ground to look upon Kurai. Ignoring the man had never caused anything but more of his talk.... so why ignore him? All that Shisa wanted was to be alone, but even that wasn't allowable.

".... I never asked for help." The shadowed eyes flashed a light tint of red before reverting once more to the dark blue. "My strength is not my own."

He cast his glance to the floor once more, still sitting against the wall of the giant warehouse. Luckily, the door to the room where he usually rested wasn't too far away.... but he didn't like the idea of sleeping near the rat infested areas and decided to use the room at the other side of the warehouse when necessary. He wasn't tired enough to sleep, yet, though.

"Just.. leave."  
He didn't need to hear the ridicule. He didn't want to be teased. He just wanted to suffer in silence.

His dark bangs cast a slight shadow over his eyes again as he looked off to the side, away from Kurai.

Instead of leaving as Shisa had demanded in that soft, broken voice, Kurai came closer and sat down carelessly on the half-destroyed mattress. He closed his eyes for a moment, leaning down to rest his elbows on his knees, letting his ivory-silver tresses fall about his angelic face to hang toward the floor.

"I'll never understand why you waste your time on these pitiful animals," he stated bluntly, his voice low and indifferent. "You could roam the Earth free of all cares, but instead you choose to suffer as a result of your so- called 'love' for these humans...."

"What would the point be in roaming? Never belonging anywhere...it would be pointless. I have a responsibility...and I can't discard it, even if I want to." He looked ahead again before glancing at Kurai out of the corner of his eye. He was uneasy with him being so close, but didn't say anything about it. After all, they were having a conversation. "They amuse me...so simple, and yet so very complex. There's more to them than you would think...."

His eyes flickered slightly as he extended a hand, focusing roughly on a nearby area that suddenly seemed to rock a little before a black hooded cloak literally made its way to the two, stopping in Shisa's outstretched hand. He said nothing as he easily faded through it, the cloak fitting him perfectly. Once it was on, he sat down again, flinching slightly from having to move. A sad smile appeared on his face.

"And why not love something that is different? Everything else is the same. Difference is beautiful, as is simplicity...but you wouldn't understand that, would you?" He looked to him again.

Kurai gave off a shrug. "I know what beauty is, and simplicity. But your views of same versus different seem a bit obscured. Life is beautiful ...but human life? Yes, humans are different from all other animals." He shook his head morosely. "But not in a good way. Just look at me, Shisa. Look what my human form has become."

He held out his arms, traced with fine tattoos, but indicating more than just what had been physically done to his body. "Human beings are corrupted--all of them. I don't see how you could think such corruption qualifies as beauty."

"It is the mind and soul," he countered. "The human mind is very complex, though simple at the same time. It is like a 'computer', so to speak. There are basic components of emotion, thought, understanding. It is the way that they grow that influences what, or rather how, they will eventually become. They're fragile...."

His eyes traced over the tattoos, and a frown appeared before he flinched and looked away. Tattoos were a part of ceremonial things, sure...but not that kind. For some reason, some of the designs made him want to turn away.

Seeing the uneasiness in Shisa's expression as the Guardian turned away, Kurai retracted his arms with a subtle smirk. "Yes, that's one aspect on which I can agree with you. Humans are very fragile creatures." He glanced over at Shisa with a gaze that was slightly more guileful.

"I'd always thought your love for the animals was more of a father for his children. But after that recent display...." A sly simper spread across his lips. "I never even imagined you, the sagacious Guardian, would fall in love...and with a human man, at that."

Shisa didn't move for a minute, but suddenly stood up and turned away. He was growing angry with Kurai, but his sorrow and broken spirit wouldn't allow him to do so for too long. He shot him a glare, eyes flashing as he tried to hide the slight glint.

"Must you always confront me? What kind of--what sick pleasure do you get from seeing me suffer? Am I really that amusing to you?" His words were more like daggers now, even if they wouldn't phase the other. "Just leave me alone! I'm not in the mood!"

With that, he suddenly headed for the wall, walking right through. Yes, he'd rest...but not in there. There were some better rooms at the other side. That was where he usually slept. They actually didn't have rats in those rooms and the beds were still a little good, better than that room, anyhow. Yet, with every step he took, it became harder to hold his ghost-like state... until he finally stopped it and halted in his tracks, leaning roughly against the wall. He felt...cold....

Kurai did nothing to stop the Guardian from leaving. He did, however, follow unnoticed, keeping his essence hidden from Shisa's senses, as was his usual method. And especially in this case, it was an easy task, as Shisa was already tired and nearly ready to collapse. The Arbitrator phased through the wall and let himself drift upward, back into the rafters, where he continued to watch his weary counterpart.

Was his breathing growing shallow? He couldn't tell anymore. He just knew that he was tired and wanted to sleep. He had yet to transform from his winged form, and that only made it worse. He couldn't hold the transformation anymore, though...but to change back would be even more painful. He wasn't given a choice in the matter, though, as he felt his body slide against the wall. He was falling...and within a second, he couldn't see anything. He had fainted.

His wings slowly began to retract as a dark shadow encompassed him, his wings fading into darkness. Long black tresses shortened to a degree, perhaps just about to his waist again instead of nearly to the ground. He was still the fair-skinned guardian, though...but one wouldn't know it with the emerald eyes closed and the breathing so heavy. Then again...perhaps they would.

Agile feet landed once again lightly on the floor. The almost wicked smile that had been plastered across Kurai's fair countenance only moments before had transformed into something much softer. His radiant yellow-orange eyes flickered with a tinge of dark blue in his pupils as he stepped closer, stooping to one knee beside the fainted Guardian.

"You really do press yourself too hard," he said quietly in a tone that was almost sympathetic. Extending both arms, he let one wrap around Shisa's slender shoulders, hooking the other under the Guardian's legs to pick him up and carry him to the destination Shisa had been trying to reach. Gently Kurai laid him down on the tattered mattress, shifting his body to make him as comfortable as possible before draping a worn blanket over the Guardian's slumbering form. Then, brushing a few strands of ebony out of Shisa's face, Kurai straightened himself and shook his head with a forced smirk. "I'll never understand you...Shisa-kun."

And without another word, he turned his back on the bed and melted into the nearest wall, disappearing from sight as abruptly and easily as he had come.

* * *

Saiki glanced at the red-haired seal, hearing his name briefly. The sight of his uncle naked and in the hands of one of the angels had blinded him to the other occupants of the room, as well as to the girl beside him.

"Karen-san-" His eyes narrowed as he nodded, his attention returning to Yuuto and Aoki, who seemed to be stirring. Slowly, but at least he was waking. Hopefully Yuuto wasn't aware of that yet. Two wind masters would certainly be more than a match for him, right?

One hand clenched into a fist at Saiki's side. It seemed that he would have to stall for time until Aoki was fully awake and able to attack. Fully awake, able to attack, and preferably wearing SOMETHING in the way of clothes. The air around Saiki's body began to swirl outwards again as he stepped into the room.

"I don't know what you've done to Seiichiro-san," he said through clenched teeth, "but I won't allow you to haul his body around like a trophy!" The winds about him flew out, striking anything within range.

_*Hurry and wake up, Seiichiro-san... I'm not strong enough to really hurt him without your help...* _

At that same moment, Aoki managed to wake up enough to be able to generate a small whirlwind at Yuuto's feet.

"L... let... me... go... you sick freak..." he said under his breath.

* * *

Startled as a body stumbled over his, Kakyou looked up from watery golden eyes and they quickly widened in surprise. "Hok...Hokuto.." he managed to get out, stuttering though his voice was monotone. His blank eyes turned back to his blood red arm and he murmured, "Leave me alone.." The knife poised for another light cut.

"No!" Hokuto grabbed the knife from Kakyou's hands, managing to cut herself slightly with it. "I won't let you do this! WHY are you doing this?" She was crying again, but she didn't care anymore. He was hurting himself on purpose and she was becoming so afraid of losing him.

Kakyou blinked as the knife was wrenched from his hand and he looked up at her his face blank, tears still falling down his cheeks even though one had to wonder if he was even aware of them himself. "Because I don't know what to think anymore..."

Tossing the knife away, she kneeled beside him, embraced him, trying anything she could to help him feel at least a little bit better. Just a little. Drawing slightly away, she looked him into the eyes. "Whatever it is, it's not worth killing yourself over."

"What if it is?" he questioned softly, remaining stiff within her embrace, his eyes cast down to his arm once more watching the blood continue to slowly trickle down his arm.

"What happened?" She asked into his hair. "What could possibly have happened to make you want to kill yourself?" She froze, realization hitting her. "It's Yuurei, isn't it?"

He was suddenly feeling shaky and to be honest it felt nice that someone actually cared for him... not that he had ever doubted Hokuto didn't of course.. it was just that... Closing his eyes he sighed again and tentatively leaned back against her....

Yuurei was not sure exactly when he fell asleep. But somehow, when he came to his senses again, he immediately recognized his surroundings. It was the border of a dark room...with thin walls all around.

He cursed himself under his breath. Why did his dreams always lead him here? Perhaps it was his subconscious that always brought him to this same place...the one place his soul longed to go....

She didn't know what to do except holding him, so she did. Running her hand silently through his hair, she sighed. She didn't know what Yuurei had done this time, but she couldn't forgive him for making Kakyou hurt like this.

Kakyou kept his eyes closed, and without thinking leaned slightly against her touch. "Why did he have to do this to me? Does he like to torture me?" his voice was so soft that Hokuto might not be able to even to hear it.

She kissed his hair, making soothing noises, the tears running silently down her own cheeks. "I don't know, Kakyou. But you shouldn't put up with it. You shouldn't have to." She sniffed slightly and ran her hand across his hair, through the golden tresses and down to cup his face.

Kakyou's hand reached up and enveloped hers. "It just hurts...and I can't stop myself from loving him... I...I'm not sure I know how..."

* * *

Would this day get any weirder? Was that possible? Why was it that all of her friends- or at least the people whom she considered friends- kept getting hurt? It wasn't necessarily because of her. She knew that. It wasn't her fault.

So why did she feel like it was? Uo felt her fist tighten, but she stayed back. After all, what could a teenage girl do to a hydrokinetic?

Nothing. She was useless in the fight, and she somehow found it in herself to admit it. She was weak. She was fragile. There was nothing that she could do to help Aoki. She had to leave it to Saiki and that woman.

But really, seeing what Yuuto had done...

That alone was too much for Uo to handle. It reminded her somewhat of what had happened to Kotori. The mental images stuck from finding Kotori, after that woman had vanished.. speaking of which, who HAD that woman been? She'd find out. Probably someone involved in all of this insanity.

Uo flinched lightly, a hand resting on her forehead. What was going ON? Why did she feel so dizzy? Simple. It was too much for her to handle, and taking into consideration, everything she still had to do.. only made it worse.

She slowly opened her eyes, but only saw what had been there before. Yuuto still holding Aoki's unclothed form. "A-ano.."

She didn't say anything else. Her feet had carried her just a few steps back, almost against the wall. She had to stay out of the way... and not run away. Weak or not, she wasn't running.

... She really wished she had some pocky about then..


	77. Chapter 75: The Kiss

**Chapter Seventy-Five: The Kiss**

He smirked as the fire castor Karen fell back from his attack. The two children would not be too hard to handle, supposedly. The blast of wind the young man sent at him was easily blocked by Aoki's body, but some of the excess whirled about him, cutting small incisions across his bare back and face.

Aoki stirred in his arms. When he spoke his harsh words and used a blast of stronger wind right against Yuuto's body, Yuuto nearly dropped him then and there, but managed to keep his hold. He could not afford to release the one biggest advantage he had over the Seals. If Aoki somehow managed to get free, then there would be nothing to stop Karen and the others from attacking him head-on.

He had to think quickly. Though his mind was still in a muddle, he managed to ease his way over to where his jacket was still lying on the dresser beside his closet. Wincing as the gales whipped about his body, feeling them trying to tear him apart, he reached into the pocket of his jacket and revealed a rod handle.

With no time to waste, he easily whisked it out, letting the cords extend from it like double-whips. At the end of each appeared a knife-like razor, and Yuuto wielded it expertly to strike at Saiki, so as to get the more minor attacker out of the way first. Then he held up the sharp end of one of the whips to Aoki's throat, smiling pleasantly all the while at the others, though a few cuts on his face dripped blood into his mouth. The salty taste stung his tongue, but he faltered very little.

"I suggest you let down your kekkai and leave now," he smirked in Karen's direction in particular. "Unless, of course, you want your colleague to die here." He knew it was a dire attempt, but he had to try something. Though the situation was still looking as though he would not make it out alive.

Oh, well. At least he would be able to take at least one of the Seals down with him if he were to fall.

Aoki growled some.

"D... don't listen to him... you know he won't make good on his word..." he said.

Aoki looked over at Karen.

"L... leave the kekkai up..." he told her.

Using his wind powers, Aoki violently pushed him and Yuuto towards the window of the room.

* * *

Hokuto pulled slightly away from him and pressed her forehead against his. "Kakyou..." Her other hand drifted to the other side of his face and she closed her eyes, sighing slightly. She didn't know what to say, she didn't know what to do. Nothing she could say would ever ease his pain and suffering and she was starting to hate herself for it.

"I just... "

Pausing, she opened her eyes to find his closed, tears streaming from them. "I'm sorry."

Kakyou nuzzled his cheek against her palm. "You shouldn't be sorry...Hokuto. It's the way Fate works.. and there's nothing I or you can do to change it. " his voice had a bitter edge to it as he said this. Opening his eyes he looked at her. "I…I'm glad that you're here."

"I'm sorry for not being able to be there for you as he was." She explained "I'm sorry I couldn't spare you this pain. But I died for Subaru. I had to die for Subaru." Her chest tightened, but she needed to say this. "Because he was... he was going to be a Ten no Ryu. And he was my brother. And if I didn't die for him, Seishirou would have killed him in my place."

She gave him a faint smile, lacing her fingers through his. "I want to be here for you."

Kakyou nodded and let their hands twine together. "I know you died for him." he said softly. "And I don't blame you for that, not at all. But you're here now with me .. And that makes me think that maybe...maybe I'm not alone...Yuurei is..."

He sighed. "I just don't know anymore..."

"You don't have to know. No one says you should have all the answers." His hands were also cold, though warmer than hers, and she gave a soft sob, craving to make it all better for him. Her eyelids slid shut, another flow of tears being pressed out and running down her pale cheeks. "Kakyou, I... I'll always be here for you. I won't leave you alone."

Kakyou nuzzled her wet cheek lightly with his nose as the urge to comfort Hokuto like she was comforting him swept through him. "Thank you Hokuto. And...I'd like to be there for you too. I promise I won't ever leave you alone." Almost without thinking, his head moved and his lips brushed lightly against hers.

Feeling his lips brush over hers, Hokuto started and her eyes flew open. She hadn't kissed him since before her resurrection, in his dream, just after she'd snapped out of thinking she was still 16. Looking into his eyes, she found him equally surprised, but before she knew it, she kissed him back.

Kakyou blinked and pulled away quickly. He watched her for a moment, his chest tight and his breathing sped up. Her lips were so soft.. Closing the gap he had made he kissed her again.

* * *

Wading through the darkness as though compelled by some unseen force, Yuurei made his way closer to where he knew Kakyou would still be. Waiting for him? No, probably not. Or perhaps...Kakyou had felt the intense emotions in his soul when he had been with Shisa? That was a larger likelihood.

Finally the clearing came into view. But what he saw was not at all what he had expected. He had thought Kakyou would be alone. But...Hokuto was still here? Had she never left? Or perhaps...she had come back to comfort him? But that meant she had to have been unconscious… again... and still with Fuuma, most likely.

And then it happened. He watched from the shadows with wide, disbelieving eyes as not Hokuto but Kakyou leaned into give the other a gentle kiss on the lips. At first it was mild and fordable, but then it progressed with another and another, and gradually swelled to become so intimate that Yuurei could not hold his gaze any longer. Fervently he looked away.

And yet...he could not be angry. He did not even have the right to be hurt. After all, he had nearly taken Shisa to bed not an hour earlier, and though he had realized that he could never love anyone but Kakyou, he now knew that the same was not true for the lovely dream seer. He had no place to be upset or forlorn. This was what he had wanted for Kakyou. This was why he had resurrected Hokuto in the first place.

But somehow...seeing Kakyou make the first move tore his heart through the seams, though he cursed himself under his breath for caring at all. It should not have mattered. This was the way it was supposed to be.

He had to get out of here. He did not belong in this place now, with such a sweet, intimate moment happening between the other two in Kakyou's dream. Turning abruptly, however, he threw all caution to the wind in a desperate attempt to flee as quickly as possible. And he uttered a quiet curse as he heard the sounds of his footsteps suddenly echo through the landscape, whereas he had been so careful to conceal them previously. He froze, praying that the two lovers would not notice, and that he would be able to take his leave in peace.

Kakyou felt himself drowning in that kiss and in all honesty whom he was kissing suddenly became hazy..

Soft green eyes flickered crimson every so often.

His breathing sped up and it suddenly occurred to him that he was feeling a bit light-headed. And that's when he heard it...footsteps...of someone walking away..

He pulled back abruptly and reeled back away from Hokuto half expecting a pair of crimson eyes to be staring back at him. _'Oh god what have I done..'_ he whispered to himself.

He knew exactly who it was that was walking away, and he knew that it was probably the worst thing that could be happening. Yuurei must have caught them kissing...

"Oh god.." he said again, golden eyes staring at the spot where Yuurei was located. He twitched the sleeve of his kimono down to cover the cut and staggering up, wincing with the weight he had to put on his arm, he started slowly walking toward the Watcher.

"Yuurei..."

The soft voice that spoke his name barely reached his ears. It more precisely stung in his soul and caused him to flinch. However, he straightened his back and did not turn around, uttering only the words, "...I'm glad for you...."

Hokuto heard the echoing footsteps, felt Kakyou tear away from her and leave her side. Her eyes fluttered open and she turned her head to see both Yuurei and Kakyou's retreating forms. She shouldn't have done this. She knew he still loved Yuurei and yet, she couldn't help herself. Standing up, she tried reaching out for the yume-mi, but her hand barely missed the white cloth of his kimono, and she fell without a sound to the cold dark floor.

Kakyou stumbled back a step at his words as if they'd been a physical blow as well as an emotional one. "It's not what you think, Yuurei... please...." A tiny noise from behind him and his eyes moved to see Hokuto had fallen to the floor, and for a split second confused golden eyes flickered back and forth unsure of what to do.

And he made his choice...one that he would most likely regret for the rest of his life, but he wasn't thinking about that at the time. Turning around he somehow managed to sprint back and falling to his knees gathered Hokuto into his arms and whispered, "Are you alright?"

A melancholy smile passed over Yuurei's lips. He did not have to look over his shoulder to know what had happened. Kakyou had already chosen. And it had been the right decision. At least...he tried to keep telling himself that. Numbly he began to move forward again, veiling the sounds of his footsteps once more, unaware of the tear that had slipped down his cheek. He deserved this. He only wanted to leave as quickly as he could to get away from this strange, unjustified, selfish pain....

Hokuto's heart stopped a beat and she reached out, clutching Kakyou's kimono in her pale hands. Nodding, she whispered back, knowing she was making someone unhappy, but didn't care. "I'm ok." She was being so selfish, just wanting to have Kakyou for herself, but still something in her mind couldn't let go of the fact that Yuurei would be sad, that he would be as pained as she had been. And she didn't want that. No one should have to feel that pain of not having the one you loved beside you, especially if he loved you back. She pushed at Kakyou slightly, hesitating.

Kakyou whispered, "Are you sure? I don't want to leave you if you're not alright...." He smiled down at her as best he could, though it was tinged with sadness, uncertainty, and unhappiness. His golden eyes moved back to where Yuurei had been to see that he was walking away again and called out, "Yuurei, wait...."

He stopped short again, though his mind and soul begged him to keep going. Still he said nothing, afraid that if he tried, his voice would break, and he would lose his strict hold on himself. He merely stared out into the darkness and waited for Kakyou to speak, though he wanted nothing more than to flee from this place without pause. It took controlled effort to refrain.

Hokuto tightened her grip on Kakyou when she felt him move away, not wanting to feel his absence again. But she couldn't keep this up. He loved Yuurei, not her, and she would be living on a lie, trying to convince herself otherwise. Letting him go, she slumped back down and her gaze shifted to Yuurei's back.

Kakyou shifted his gaze back to Hokuto as she let go of him. Her unselfishness sometimes astounded him. But he wouldn't leave. He had been the one to go to her, and though she was giving him a chance, he wouldn't give up on her...like he had before.... So he stayed where he was and called out again, his voice dropping to a whisper with each word, "We need to talk, Yuurei. Please...at least turn around...."

Gradually but surely he did as Kakyou pleaded. But his eyes fell not first to the dream seer's lovely face, but instead to the bloody sleeve of his left arm. He had not even noticed it before, he had been so absorbed in the man's kiss with Hokuto. Brow lifting in consternation, Yuurei forgot temporarily all about his concern with leaving and rushed forward to take the man's wrist up, raising the sleeve to glare down at the ugly gashes. Again his eyes lifted to stare in abhorred disbelief at Kakyou. "What the hell is this?!"

Hokuto's eyes flew to Yuurei's glaring face, and she did all she could to restrain herself from lashing out at him physically. Replying to his question intended for Kakyou through gritted teeth, she stood up, crossing her arms over her chest. "He cut himself. Could you ever guess why?"

Kakyou stared up into Yuurei's angered crimson eyes, arm limp in the man's grasp. He opened his mouth to speak, but Hokuto beat him to it. He bit his lip and cast his eyes downward, "It's nothing...."

Fire ignited in Yuurei's crimson eyes as he shot a glare at Hokuto before returning his ferocious countenance back down at the sweet dream seer. What was this fury swelling within his chest? Before he even knew what he was doing, his arm suddenly lifted and just as swiftly came down brutally across Kakyou's cheek.

"Fool," he heard himself spit coldly. "I'm no reason to bleed yourself over." Then, as if to drive home his point, he added in a bitter tenor, "If I thought you had died, do you imagine I would go become hopelessly lost in some self-mutilating dream world? Get on with your life, Kakyou."

The brutal slap stung but unfortunately for Kakyou it didn't sting as much as the words that followed. His head whipped back and tears came to his eyes.

_Why...why was this always the way it had to be? _His head fell forward, chin resting against his chest. _Why didn't he understand...? Why didn't he get that this hurt me more than anything...more than betrayal, more than knowing that we could never be in the end...?_

He sobbed. _All I want to be is happy with the time that we do have together...and though Fate is a cruel mistress, why can't we keep trying to overcome her for at least a little while...? _He whispered almost to himself, "How can I make you understand...?"

Hokuto couldn't be here doing this. She couldn't put herself between them. All she could really do was wake up. But that wasn't a possibility she could control. Staggering to Kakyou, she put her arms around him, at least trying to be there, even if she couldn't help much.

Shoving Kakyou back into Hokuto's arms, Yuurei shrugged and turned his back abruptly. "There is nothing more to understand. I've betrayed you; you've betrayed me. What more is there?"

Turning back to face Kakyou one more time, he glared into the dream seer's tearful eyes and forced himself not to break down. In slow, crisp words, he spat in a low voice, "I understand what you need. And I understand my own needs as well. So read my lips, Kakyou. I. Don't. Need. You."

And with that, he reverted his attention sharply to the opposite direction, clenching his teeth in a physical struggle to hold back his tears.

Kakyou closed his eyes and for the first time felt anger rise up in his chest, pushing himself out of Hokuto's arms he glared at Yuurei's back and clenching his hands into fists said in a calm quiet voice, "That's not what I meant Yuurei. It had nothing to be with betrayal, nothing to do with need. It's the fact that..." He sighed unsure of what he wanted to say.

Another deep and shaky breath and he continued. "Why is it that every single time something like this happens this is what we...no you revert to?"

He blinked, as the edges of his vision become foggy. He staggered a bit on his feet but tottered toward Yuurei anyway.

"I still love you Yuurei, more then anything...or anyone in the world. And every time you push me away it tears another piece out of my soul.. as I'm sure it does to yours too."

Not caring about the consequences of his actions he stepped in front of the Watcher, locked his arms around the man's waist and buried his head against Yuurei's lithe chest.

"Please Yuurei for both our sakes don't just walk away...give it one more chance..." Tears welled up in the corner of his eyes and streamed down his cheeks.


	78. Chapter 76: The Sake of your Happiness

**Chapter Seventy-Six: For the Sake of Your Happiness**

"...as I'm sure it does to yours too."

Yuurei frowned. Yes, deep within himself he realized that this was true. He felt as though his chest were tearing him apart at the seams. Above so many other aspects especially concerning a relationship, he absolutely hated being told by others what he was supposed to feel.

He wanted to forget this, to leave everything behind. He wanted to start over. Yes, he loved Kakyou. And a part of him even believed that the sweet dream seer still loved him as well. Kakyou was certainly not making this any easier on Yuurei by stripping away the mask of indifference that he had worked so hard at perfecting. It disturbed him that even his beloved could read him so well, and he hated being contradicted in precisely what he had been trying to tell himself, to force himself to believe--that he did not need Kakyou, and that both would be better off to end this ludicrous endeavor now.

But when Kakyou pulled away from Hokuto to stand in front of him, blocking his way out just as he had started to walk away again, Yuurei found that he could not avoid those beautiful golden eyes that he had treasure for so long--had longed to look deep inside for so many lonely years.

And then the lithe arms wrapped around his virile middle. Yuurei sucked in his breath and looked down at the man's glossy platinum-blonde tresses. He said nothing; he probably would not have been able to speak around the huge lump in his throat, anyway. But he did not pull away, either. In fact, one arm lifted almost of it's own accord, draping about Kakyou's waist in a fordable manner, not pulling him closer, but neither did it shove him back.

_"Please...," _Kakyou pleaded._ "Give it one more chance...."_

It had only been two days. And already they had endured so much. How could he give up so easily? After finally being reunited with his sweet yume-mi, after making passionate love in the sanctums of the man's dreams, how could he turn his back on all of that so soon?

And before he could stop himself, the words spilled from his lips. "I still love you too, Kakyou-kun," he heard himself murmur. Languidly he let his eyes drift shut, pulling the dream seer slightly closer to him with his one arm. Letting out a forced, dry chuckle, he added, "We may be bad for each others' health, but you are and forever will be my one and only...."

And then the other reason for his hesitation suddenly bombarded his consciousness like an anvil. Hokuto. She was still standing right behind them. The reason he had brought her back to life was so she could take care of Kakyou...because Yuurei had believed he had no more time to live. And yet now, here he was, alive and well, thanks to a twist of Fate. And the thought brought a wave of guilt over him like a blanket.

He opened his eyes again to stare down at Kakyou's silvery tresses. Softly he let the question out in the form of a whisper. "...What about Hokuto...?"

He had thought for a few moments that Yuurei would be even angrier at him...would cast him away again and keep walking...leaving him again. But when an arm came up and cradled him lightly around the waist, his heart fluttered with hope. Perhaps he would give it another chance...

_"I still love you too, Kakyou-kun," _Yuurei murmured.

At that Kakyou's heart skip a beat, and he let those words run through him. He made them echo into every part of his mind and soul.

A laugh rumbled through Yuurei's chest and then he continued. _"We may be bad for each others' health, but you are and forever will be my one and only...."  
_  
Kakyou sighed and murmured back. "I agree whole heartedly to that statement."

Yuurei whispered question about Hokuto caused him to look up quickly and stare at the young women. "She understands..."

He didn't get out anymore then that before his head suddenly felt like it was floating in the air, and he slowly collapsed within Yuurei's arms, the affect of blood loss finally catching up to him.

Hokuto watched the display of love in front of her in apathy. She had known it would turn out like this, Kakyou would never choose her. Not her, it wasn't a possibility.

Not her.

Not.... her.

She swallowed a sob, Kakyou's words echoing in her mind. Understand...? She would understand? She didn't even know what she should understand. Yes, she did understand that Yuurei and Kakyou loved each other, yes, she did understand that Kakyou would never love her again, but she did not understand why she should just accept it and walk away.

But she couldn't stay here and watch those two express their love either.

Tears sprouting from the corner of her eyes, she quickly turned around and ran as fast as she could away from them, away from the black dreamscape. Her sobs came out in short gasps of panting and when she entered the ocean, the dreamscape she had brought Kakyou too so long ago, she couldn't take it anymore.

Collapsing to the white sand, she cried.

* * *

Finally, Shouri stopped. The electrifying feeling that he had felt whilst passing that dark street in town. Surely he hadn't taken a wrong turn while walking...

Surely, he would never forget where his home was, would he? No. Never. He could never forget. It was just like that old warehouse that he had met Hokuto and Subaru at.

Hokuto.

Where was she? He stopped at a corner and looked down. Even though no cars were going, he didn't move from the spot. He felt guilty, guilty for leaving Subaru alone with that man to find Hokuto. They were all that he had besides the shrine, Matsuko, Bouygo, Rei, and Touma..

The sound of the laughter of children reached his ears. He looked up slowly and his eyes fell upon two children- a boy and a girl- laughing as they threw their ball back and forth between each other.

Shouri stared for a minute at the two as his thoughts wandered to Sasori and himself. Hai. Sasori. He missed her so much. He closed his eyes, ignoring the changing lights as he simply stood there on the street corner. He probably would have waited through another light, but he pushed himself to walk across. It was just as he made it to the other side, and the light went red, that he felt it. Sudden fear... coming from behind him?

The brown haired boy turned quickly, eyes locking onto the source. It was the little boy who had been playing with the little girl. His voice reached his ears, even over the busy bustling crowd. How could it not? He had heard the cry before.

"Onee-san! Onee-san!"

And he saw it.

His eyes widened.

The little girl had walked directly into the middle of the traffic, narrowly escaping the cars, just to get the ball that they had been playing with.

Shouri didn't know what made him do it... but within a second, he had reached the girl. The oncoming car that was heading toward the poor, clueless girl wasn't paying attention at all, because it didn't stop. Shouri's grunted lightly as he skidded to a stop on the concrete and swept the girl up, still leaning forward as if ready to run. He didn't look back, or even try to grab the ball. There wasn't time. Sure, he was fast... but not fast enough... and that car was speeding.

Almost as if in slow motion, he dashed again for the sidewalk, to the side of the little boy who was screaming, crying, and shaking like a maraca at a festival. The one thing that Shouri failed to notice was the other car that was coming right at them...

But something intervened. Surely the blow would have crushed his ribs from the right... but Kaze had been told to watch, and he was watching. The wind bird's eyes flashed a darker yellow, like the sun almost. The spirits on the wind stirred...

And a small gust flew, pushing Shouri off to the side to lessen the impact. It hadn't been what Kaze had intended, but it was successful.. sort of...

Shouri had known what was coming, at least concerning the car. He was still unaware of Kaze's existence, but when the car did hit him, it did not touch the girl. He secured his arms around her and forced himself to curl slightly and turn away from the car so that she was protected. When it hit, he barely felt it.. but he knew it was there.

His eyes flashed as he skidded over the concrete, wincing roughly as his white coat skidded over the ground, providing some protection. When he opened his eyes, he saw the little boy standing over them, still crying and sobbing.

"Onee-chan...onee-chan.."

Their eyes met for a brief moment as Shouri slowly sat up. The girl was still in his arms, and she was shaking just as badly as the boy was. He released her after a minute or two, ignoring the spectators that were whispering around them, someone yelling about calling an ambulance.

The girl crawled to her brother and hugged him tightly, letting him cry on her shoulder. It was odd. She didn't cry, but smiled comfortingly at her brother and simply hugged him.

He flinched. Those children reminded him of himself and Sasori...and even of Hokuto and Subaru. He knew that both were stronger than he was, or so he had always believed, but Hokuto, much like Sasori, was just.. well, a kind person like that... at least in his opinion.

In a minute, he was up again. It wasn't true that his side didn't hurt. It DID hurt a little bit...though he was surprised nothing was broken, after a little investigation. It didn't matter... He needed to get home, before someone tried to inject him and tote him off to that 'hospital' thing again.

Shouri turned slowly and started to walk away again. He felt the girl's eyes on him until he was out of sight.... and it shook him a little. Hopefully, Subaru would find Hokuto. He was really, really worried.

"Hokuto-sama, Subaru-sama.." he glanced down and proceeded again to the shrine. "Stay safe."

He exhaled again and kept walking.. and he walked until he could see the shrine. He was almost there. Almost home...

And suddenly he stopped. He felt a great deal of tension from the building... many, many emotions, radiating too strongly to be Bouygo or the other children's own. He tilted his head to the side. Blood had been spilled in the area.

He shuddered lightly and proceeded ahead, only to be greeted by Rei, the small girl, who practically clung to his right leg. A small smile appeared on his face as he hoisted the child up and into his arms, giving a friendly hug to the little girl before he sighed.

"... What's wrong? Why did Matsuko-sama call me?"

"Ano.... she had to heal somebody..... that that really nice man brought by."

"Man?" Shouri paused a minute. The only 'nice' man that Rei could have been talking about was Subaru... unless she had taken Seishirou to mind as 'nice'.

The little girl nodded. "A man with really long, black hair and really.. really deep eyes. He and Matsuko were so serious, though...she treated him different."

Shouri paused as he looked off to the side, a bit disappointed. Well.. then Hokuto's location was still unknown, and Subaru's condition... that was even worse to think of. Unfortunately, he had seen the kekkai up, but had forced himself to walk by. He had PROMISED not to fight.

"It wasn't Subaru-sama.."

"Nani?" Rei looked at him confusedly. "Iie.. it wasn't."

"Then.. why is there so much tension here? So many odd energies lingering..."

"W-well.." Rei kept an arm secured around Shouri's neck as she looked down. "Matsuko-sama said that when the really nice man left, he didn't take his friend with him.... maybe you should ask him. Matsuko-sama needs your help though to complete the healing process and completely restabal-"

"SHOURI-SAMAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

... And it happened. Within a second, Shouri was on the ground, tackled by two boys who looked respectable enough.

The flame-firework-like-haired boy was clinging to one of Shouri's arms, and Touma, the smaller sleek-haired boy, was clinging to the other. Both had a tight grip, and both looked overly concerned.

"Shouri-sama! You have to come take care of Matsuko-sama and help her finish!" Bouygo said, voice filled with concern.

"She's getting tired of keeping the energy at a stable area on her own..."

After shuffling them all off of his form and managing to stop wincing from the immense pain at his side, he nodded just slightly, kneeling to their level.

"What method did she use?"

"That special one.. kind of like how she helped you and Sumeragi-sama..." Bouygo said, red bangs dangling before his eyes.

"... Then my presence should have stabilized and finished the process. The man will be fine." Shouri managed to say. "And Matsuko-sama should be feeling better, too."

"Because Ryuji's statues respond to your water energy." Rei stated after a minute or two.

"Nani? .. I suppose so." he said after a minute before he glanced down. "Let's go inside... I.. I need to talk with Matsuko."

Bouygo nodded his head lightly and shuffled Rei and Touma ahead of them. It didn't take long for them to get inside.. and Matsuko was waiting inside of the main room.

Shouri stopped. He felt as though something was really wrong.. And his talk with Matsuko was even more unnerving. She mentioned nothing about the Guardian...but rather about the state of the world...

When he left the room, he stopped at the long flight of steps and sat down at the top. Tears brimming, he cried...

And cried...

And cried.....

Until he couldn't cry anymore.....

Why? Why? .. He wasn't even sure. Tears for Subaru and Hokuto.. tears for Sasori..... tears for the people he cared about...and he couldn't stop.

* * *

The cold night air stung Kamui's cheek as he made his way down the lit streets of Tokyo. He was lost to where the other Dragons of Heaven could be. Despite choosing to alliance himself with them, he didn't have any contact.

Even worse, he had left Kotori alone all by herself. He had half a mind to head back to the apartment, but he knew in his heart that she would be safe. He had to track down the remaining Dragons and then...find Fuuma.

Gazing up at the moon, he sighed heavily, knowing this wasn't going to be an easy task.

* * *

Kotori turned away quickly. Maybe it wasn't Fuuma that she saw at that apartment. If it had been, he would seen her for sure. Or at least that's what she tried to think. Getting away though...

Right now, yes. Getting away from that place seemed for the best. Maybe he was tricking her. She turned, the rain having stopped, and walked off into the rising night.

* * *

"Kakyou!" he exclaimed as the frail dream seer suddenly collapsed against him. Even in this strange dream world, blood loss had apparently taken its toll. Wrapping his sinewy arms securely about Kakyou's slender waist, Yuurei kept him from falling, opting instead to sink slowly to his knees so Kakyou could rest more comfortably in his lap.

That was when Hokuto turned and ran. Yuurei lifted his concerned crimson gaze to see her dashing in the opposite direction, into another part of Kakyou's dreamscape. The seashore. The same place where Yuurei and Kakyou had made love just two nights ago....

"Hokuto, wait!" he called out to her, but doubted it would do any good. The very reason Yuurei had summoned her back from the grave was so she could take care of and protect Kakyou. Now what had he left her with? A wave of guilt crashed against the rocky shores of his soul, and he clenched his teeth.

But he did not let go of the gentle man in his arms. No...he would never let Kakyou go again. Even if Fate condemned him to Hell for aiding his supposed enemy--after all, he had chosen to be an alley of the Seals--he would always protect this sweet Angel.

* * *

He hadn't been paying enough attention. The sting of something slicing through his side made that painfully clear. Saiki's eyes widened, the winds around him dying down as his attention turned abruptly to the  
blood seeping through his shirt. One hand went to his side in an attempt to slow the blood flow. He couldn't be rendered useless so easily! He certainly couldn't leave his uncle in the hands of one of the angels, let alone this one, who seemed to have -unusual- intentions.

Cringing, he leaned against one side of the doorframe. He had to do something.... But keeping himself conscious against his blood loss governed all of his attention, preventing him from summoning all but the smallest breeze. He hated feeling so useless.

The wind continued to bluster about him, cutting his skin and causing him to wince. But the fire-castor had faltered and stumbled back, so at least that gave him some room to work.

The two adolescents did not do much more than merely stand there gawking and visibly trying to figure out what to do, much to Yuuto's relief and advantage. But when Aoki began to use his control over the indoor gales to shove them both toward the closed window-- practically the only thing in the room that was not yet broken--Yuuto suddenly came back to his senses.

He needed to get out of here. Karen obviously was not going to let down her kekkai until Yuuto was dead or the fire-castor herself lost consciousness. So there remained very few options with which he could by himself time.

They grew nearer to the window. Suddenly, when they were no more than a few paces away, Yuuto abruptly gripped the man's bare arm and slung him to the side, jerking him powerfully behind himself so that he was now between Yuuto and the window. And before the wind-castor could so much as react, Yuuto lunged forward, as though merely flowing with the current, jarring his shoulder into Aoki's chest and forcing the Seal's back against the pane of glass.

The window shattered as the weight of Aoki's body was smashed against it. Simultaneously Yuuto felt the pang of the sharp gales from the younger wind master biting into the flesh of his naked spine. Yet he did not relent--he could not afford to.

With a forceful finishing shove, he propelled Aoki's sinewy body through the window as the shards of glass flew everywhere with the swirling eddies, some cutting into Yuuto's body, while most fell from the apartment window toward the ground.

He did not even wait to watch as Aoki fell. Spinning around on his heels, Yuuto abruptly forced himself to bring up his thin--and by this time rather fragile--barrier of water to protect himself against Saiki's meager attack.

"What will it be now?" he called over the whipping winds, the pleasantness fading from his voice, though his tone was still far from seemingly hostile or angry. "Will you kill me now...or save your colleague?"

And truthfully, not even he knew what they would do. It had been a risky maneuver indeed. With his human shield gone, he would be susceptible to any attack they--especially the fiery Kasumi Karen-- dealt at him. But at least they were doing more than just standing around staring at one another.

And Yuuto did so hate being bored.

Aoki screamed in pain as he was shoved through the window and out of it. Growling some, Aoki reached out and grabbed the window sill, more screams of pain coming out of his mouth. He quickly threw out a blast of wind at Yuuto's legs, trying to get him to trip up and fall backwards and out the window with him.

"I... I'm not going with out... you..." Aoki said softly.

At the same time, Aoki's cell phone began to ring.

* * *

The minute that she saw Saiki's blood, Yuuto should have been praying to God for help. Uo knew she shouldn't get so emotional over a guy that she had just met, but then again, it wasn't emotion! It was just "teenage hormones", as she told herself in her mind. Then why the heck was she so angry?

The dark look upon her face only worsened when she saw Aoki go flying out the window. Her anger was not clouding her judgment.. now, it was just a matter of her secret genius kicking in... and it did.

Her eyes scanned the window that Yuuto was standing so conveniently in front of. The innocent looking little school girl had changed into an overprotective young female with a habit of doing far more than she said she would. She was calculating, though it might've looked like she was sobbing. That was impartially because she was shaking so badly out of anger.

This was no longer a simple acquaintance.. but she viewed Yuuto at that moment AS a Chi no Ryu.... and it was the Chi no Ryu who she was against, in particularly their leader. Though she was just a girl, that didn't mean she couldn't face off against them... and at the moment, she seemed to be the only one able. This was what her friends so often called "a break in the balance".

Uo consisted loosely of three 'personalities', or rather attitudes. One was her "deep" personality, the other her was her uber kawaii and obscenely happy personality... and the last was her overprotective personality. Overprotective was in overdrive.

Without so much as even flinching, the girl took a step forward after answering the cell phone and saying rather briefly, "Seiichiro-san can't talk right now," and hanging up before pocketing it. She took five more steps towards Yuuto and stopped, eyes narrowing.

"Yuuto, I'll give you a chance to surrender. Either way, you don't get out of this place unscathed.... I assure you that I am more than capable of tearing you limb from limb. You aren't strong enough to hold that shield up for much longer."

Even when Aoki attempted to throw the man off balance, she stayed in her position. Mhm.. it was his choice. She was serious.

The girl's words were bold but foolish. Even in his weakened state, Yuuto probably could have easily thrashed her against the wall, or slung her into the doorframe and dashed her brains out against the wooden panel. If the situation had been less tense, he might have smiled or even laughed.

But that was when the sharp gales struck his shins, and he stumbled back, completely caught off guard. So busy protecting his front, he had not even thought Aoki might catch the windowsill and survive. Uo's words slipped from his mind as his eyes widened and he tripped over the ledge...and fell.

"I'm not going...without you...."

The words struck a chord somewhere in the back of Yuuto's mind as he plummeted, somehow managing to catch Aoki's arm on the way down. "How romantic of you," he said with a nervous grin, though his voice remained arrogant and almost pleasant.

Aoki sighed a bit.

"Persistent... aren't you?" he said.

Aoki then made a kick as best he could right at Yuuto's groin.

"Too bad... I won't die today..." he said.

* * *

_…And so it begins…_

_Time is drawing near…_

_For them to start the…_

_FINAL BATTLE._

**End..?**


End file.
